More Brambles and Frozen Waterfalls

In my last post, I wrote about unsuccessfully going out to find the grave of my ancestor who was buried in what is now Shenandoah National Park. We went out again last weekend and, with a bit more (only a bit) information and some luck, we found it!* Now I have to say, I find it all sort of remarkable. I only live out here by chance. I grew up in rural Missouri, where most of my family still lives. I moved out here, by way of Oregon and a number of other places, for a job after graduate school. Other than my cousin, who I mentioned in my last post, I don't really have any family out here. Michael and I spend a lot of time in Shenandoah National Park, both volunteering and for fun, so it is pretty amazing to me that I have this kind of tie to the land in the park.

After my last post, a few people asked me about the history of the park and why there are cemeteries, many unmaintained there. The National Park Service has a bit of the history of the park here (link). Basically, the area was settled for well over 100 years before it became a national park. Also, the excellent podcast, Backstory, did a bit on the history of the park a few years ago (link) that I would highly recommend. It is only a few minutes.

Aaaanyway, after successfully finding the grave, we hiked up the Overall Run Trail, eventually to Overall Run Falls, but we also bushwhacked to another frozen waterfall. The weather was amazing - probably 60 degrees and sunny, which is more than you can ask for in early February. It was one of my more amazing days of hiking.

*Unfortunately, due to the threat of vandalism and theft, I am not posting any pictures of the grave nor the location. If anyone in our family wants more information, I'm happy to talk offline.

 Overall Run. By the afternoon, most of the snow was melted.

 Two cones of ice on the bank of Overall Run.

 Winter Orchid leaves. Likely a Putty Root Orchid. The leaves will die off in the spring and it will send up a stalk of flowers in the summer.

 An interesting fungus on a log.

 A frozen waterfall on a branch above Overall Run. It was hard to get in and get a good picture because the banks were so steep.

Overall Run Falls.