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10 facts about Shenandoah National Park

11/20/2014

 
10 facts about Shenandoah National Park
1. The park was authorized by President Calvin Coolidge and Congress on May 22, 1926, established on December 26, 1935, and on July 3, 1936 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dedicated its’ opening to the public

2. In 1929 President Herbert Hoover established his summer retreat in what is now Rapidan Camp. The camp consisted of 13 rustic cabins located where two streams merge to form the Rapidan River

3. The size of the park is 197,438 acres, with 79,579 acres of protected wilderness, and spans across 7 Virginian counties

4. There are 236 miles of roads, including the 105.5 mile historic Skyline Drive which runs along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, from Front Royal, VA to Rockfish Gap near Afton, VA

5. There are 516 miles of hiking trails in the park, including 101 miles of the famed Appalachian Trail which runs from Katahdin, Maine to Springer Mountain, Georgia

6. The park is home to over 200 species of resident and transient birds including Wild Turkey and Peregrine Falcons, and 53 species of mammals including White-Tailed Deer, Black Bear and Bobcats

7. The park has over 60 peaks with elevations over 3,000 ft including the highest peak at Hawksbill Mountain (4,051 ft.) The lowest level of elevation is at the North Entrance (561 ft.)

8. The park is comprised primarily of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are part of the Appalachian Mountain Range, one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world formed over 300 to 500 million years ago

9. The three primary bedrock types are Granitic, Siliciclastic, and Basaltic

10. The Blue Ridge Mountains got their name from the bluish color they display when seen from a distance

White Crow now a licensed DC Tour Guide

11/10/2014

 
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The White Crow is now a licensed Washington, D.C. Tour Guide! Even though this will now enable me to offer tours of our Nation's Capitol, my main focus will continue to be on the beauty of Shenandoah National Park, the history of Manassas National Battlefield Park, and the mysteries of Luray Caverns. 

Near Seasons end, a White Crow Reminiscing 

8/26/2014

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View from Overall Falls Lookout
Overall Falls Run Hiking Trails
It's been an exciting season so far, and as expected, much has changed since I first conjured up the idea to start my own tour company. I have settled on three different tours for the remainder of my season: a Hiking Tour, a History Tour, and a Luray Caverns Tour. Tours still leave from the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metro Station, but now only on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

The folks who have venture out with the White Crow this summer have all been wonderful people. I don't know if it's the name, the destinations, or perhaps my smiling face, but I seem to get the best people on my tours. Everyone has been open to adventure, and willing to embrace the small group concept. Even in the smallest of groups, two to three people, memories have been created and friendships have been forged.

I love taking pictures each time I'm out with a group, no matter how often I've been to the destination that we find ourselves at. I always consider that I might capture a more perfect image of why I love these places, and why I love guiding people to them. In reality, there is always a new picture to take of the same place, because each visit is new experience.


If you have any questions, comments or whatever, I'd love to hear from you. Emails can be sent to whitecrowtours@gmail.com

Travel Far...

Tino Fierro
Owner & Operator
White Crow Adventure Tours, LLC
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The Legend of Shenandoah, Beautiful Daughter of the Stars

6/4/2014

 
It has been said, that after the Great Spirit had made the world, the morning stars came together on the shores of a quiet silver lake; bordered with blue mountains. It was the most beautiful place they could see.

Hovering above the quiet waters, and lighting the mountain tops with their robes of fire, the stars sang their songs of joy, and pledged to gather there every thousand years.

One time, when the stars were singing, they heard a mighty crash. A great rock in the mountain wall had fallen to pieces, and through the deep opening, the waters of the lake began to pour out and rush to the sea.

As time passed, the morning stars looked over the earth for another place to meet. They finally agreed upon a lovely valley through which a winding river ran.

Suddenly, the stars realized, this was the valley that had been the bed of their beautiful lake, and the blue mountains around it were the same ones upon which they had cast their robes of fire in ages past.

The stars were so joyous, that they placed the brightest jewels from their crowns into the river;  where they still lie today, and sparkle. 

Ever since that day, the river and its valley have been called:



Shenandoah, Beautiful Daughter of the Stars.
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Rain Dance

5/13/2014

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I just came in from outside where I was sitting underneath the awning listening to the rain, watching the clouds roll in, and keeping an eye out for streaks of lightning and an ear tuned to the clap of thunder. It all amazes me. Nature. Weather. Sky. God, bowling a strike; The Duke of Thunder.

I remember one trip to Great Smokey Mountain National Park. The weather did not cooperate. A fog laid heavy on each summit we reached. As a tour leader, you need to make the best of things when Mother Nature doesn't open herself up. I guided my group along the trails, embraced the hidden landscape before us, and kept the group together in a tight formation as if they were a precious cloud making it's way through the haze and obscurity. I bellowed playful howls from my belly, and made the group chuckle at my attempts to summon the spirit of the forest. Spirit of the forest? Yes, because one must conjure up whatever might work to keep the group from sulking with the weather.

When we finally arrived back at our campground for the night, Mother of Rain decided to slap us in the face. We had all been good little minions in her army of outdoor enthusiasts, never grumbling as we hiked along damp trails and took pictures of foggy mountaintops.  No, we keep a optimistic groove in our step and waited for the weather to turn in our favor. No chance. Down came the rain. Pouring. Dumping. Water falling into every bowl and around every bend before us. Not the best weather for camping. No fires would be burned and no marshmallows roasted. The group sulked. They grimaced. They were on the verge of mutiny. 

I looked behind my drivers seat of the Ford Econoline, scanned the eyes of each member of the group, and decided what had to be done. I turned back around, opened my door, and stepped out of the van one foot after the other into the pouring rain. I went to the back of the van, climbed the ladder in my soaking flip-flops and got up onto the roof.

Then I danced.

I rain danced.

It was raining and I danced.

I slipped once in my flip-flops, but then went barefoot, and kept on dancing.

I danced until everyone came out of the van.

They thought I was crazy as they laughed at my dancing, 

but they were out of the van, and they were laughing...

It was a good night...
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The night I fell in love with the outdoors

5/5/2014

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I remember one night while camping in the Colorado mountains. It was a calm starry night, with a cool mountain air settling all around. I did not want to sleep in a tent that night.  I had conjured up images of cowboys gathered around a prairie campfire, settling down after a long day on a dusty trail, rucksacks tugged underneath their heads, and sleeping under the stars. I wanted to sleep under the stars. I wanted to commune with the great outdoors' night, and all that it promised in my boyish imagination.

I grabbed my sleeping bag from the tent, and found myself a spot of smooth earth next to the campfire. I laid out my bed for the night, snuggled into its warmth and comfort, and gazed in wonder at the spectacular stars that filled the night sky. Darkness settled in ever so subtle, and camp noise and chatter fell by the wayside. My senses tuned into every crackle of the fire, each shuffling of the leaves, the twinkle of all the stars, and the smell of pine trees standing bold and true. My eyes adapted to the night, but just as they did, my eyelids slowly closed with a hush, and I fell into a deep sleep...

How much time had passed? Had I been asleep for a minute, an hour, several hours? My eyelids slowly raised. I was awake. Everything had changed, but somehow it felt like home. I didn't know what time it was. I could only assume that I was the only one around not sleeping. I sensed that I had drifted into a sacred place that was always in existence, but just beneath my awareness. I felt perfect.

I gazed back up towards the night sky, and I was enchanted by a barrage of falling stars. It was amazing. It was awesome. I was in love... 
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White Crow Adventure Tours LLC is a Tour Company in the Washington, D.C. area USA
Guided Hiking Tours in Virginia, Tours in Shenandoah National Park, Tours of Washington, D.C.
Licensed, Experienced Tour Guide available for Day Trips
All Individuals and Small Groups are welcomed
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