Discover America 2025

So the first day did not go great. I had hoped to get on the road by 9:00 so that I could drive a long stretch of Skyline Drive in Virginia and then head to the campground at New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia, and have time to explore the park. An early start was important because this was one of only two stops on my ten week journey where the national or state park did not accept reservations in advance; it was first come, first serve. Unfortunately, I had to finish a project for work the night before, but delays in the team’s work caused a very late night. So by the time I got a little rest and then finished loading the trailer, I was way behind schedule. I shortened the excursion on Skyline Drive, but still visited the Gift Shop and saw an interesting 3D map of the whole Shenandoah National Park, and saw a few tremendous overlooks. See the pictures. But traffic and heavy rain brought me to the West Virginia park too late to find an available campsite. Another hour of driving in the dark brought me to a local WalMart parking lot, where I am “camped” for the night as I type this. So it can only go up from here for the coming days!