Page 93 - USA ROAD TRIP SUMMER of 2000

We snuck up to the entrance station of the Park to find we

th
wouldn’t have to pay to get in. It is the 84 Anniversary of the
National Park Service so they were letting everyone into the Park

System freebies this day. We drove to the welcome center at mile

4.6 and waited for the fog to clear. At 10:30 we thought it had
began to lift. We were wrong. The valley and mountain views were

nonexistent. Lois read another book aloud, we got out the tree
identification book and had our hand at those in the parking lot,

and we waited. At noon, the fog got worse by blowing up the
ridges onto the highway. We had lunch in the car and waited.

By 12:30 we had been in the Park for over four hours and had

traveled 4.6 miles on the Skyline Drive. We gave up the idea of

seeing views and decided to try to learn something about the Park
itself and the surrounding lands. To do so, we bought an

audiotape that gave information linked to the mile markers along
the Drive. This got us on our way.

By Mid-afternoon, the fog had lifted so we were able to take a

hike. It promised great views. We enjoyed the uphill climb to two
small rock outcroppings that did allow a view into the valleys

below. However, we still couldn’t see very well due to haze, which

I think is a euphemism for smog.

We looked into this phenomenon further and found that the
industries in West Virginia and the Ohio River Valley are primarily

responsible for the particulate matter that produces air quality for
which the National Park feels obliged to apologize. It is truly a

shame.

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