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Chasing Ghosts on Skyline Drive to Shenandoah National Park
The Appalachian Way Home, Virginia Rebecca Loomis The Appalachian Way Home, Virginia Rebecca Loomis

Chasing Ghosts on Skyline Drive to Shenandoah National Park

I drive alone on black roads coiling like a snake ‘round misty blue mountains, rendered flat by haze, with nothing and no one for company but the blissful expanse of nature. I emerge from my parked vessel to stand in the middle of it and stare down a long, echoing tunnel that splits the cliff, tempting fate as the tremendous roar of an oncoming car reaches my ears. As I sprint to safety, the sound fades into the distant calls of crows and miniature waterfalls trickling down the mountain’s face.

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Copper Castles Without Kings: Luray Caverns, VA

Copper Castles Without Kings: Luray Caverns, VA

Long shadows spread across the ceiling from the spears that peer down at me. The fingers of God and Adam touch as a stalactite kisses a stalagmite. Drapery of stone melts down in orange sheets like icing, transparently glowing from the lights behind them. Spongy coral-like rocks adorn the ground below me and the ceiling above, giving the impression of being submerged in the depths of an empty ocean. I look up and realize the outside world—present, modern day—is just above my head, oblivious upon the crust.

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Sweet Briar College
TX-PA Road Trip, Virginia Rebecca Loomis TX-PA Road Trip, Virginia Rebecca Loomis

Sweet Briar College

Sweet Briar College is a private women's college in Sweet Briar, Virginia. It was established in 1901 by Indiana Fletcher Williams in memory of her deceased daughter, Daisy. The college formally opened its doors in 1906 and granted the B.A. degree for the first time in 1910.

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Blue Ridge Parkway
TX-PA Road Trip, Virginia Rebecca Loomis TX-PA Road Trip, Virginia Rebecca Loomis

Blue Ridge Parkway

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for 469 miles through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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