It was a pretty nice day yesterday and chance had it that I had to do some work in Edinburg, VA. Things went very well and I wound up finishing my tasks about three hours before I thought I was going to so I suddenly had the whole afternoon to myself. So rather than head straight back to Richmond on I-81 I hung a left at New Market and took VA-211 through Luray and into Shenandoah National Park.

Now, for those of you who are not familiar with Shenandoah NP, I will tell you that it is one of the most beautiful national parks I have ever visited. It is located about 90 miles west of Washington, DC in the Blue Ridge mountains. Now aside from all the great hiking, camping, and sightseeing that can be done there one of the park's main attractions is Skyline Drive, which is 105 miles of twisty goodness that runs along the ridge line of the mountains. Breath taking views and a challenging road to drive on. What's not to like?

I paid my entrance fee ($10 gets you in for a whole week!) and headed out. Being that this is the off season, there was hardly anyone there and I saw maybe three other cars the entire afternoon. I had a wonderful time driving the road, and my Crossfire performed like a champ! I was easily able to take the corners at much higher than the recommended speeds (how much higher I'm not telling). There was still a lot of sand and gravel left on portions of the roadway from the recent snowstorm, and I broke the back end loose a couple of times when came into a corner a little too hot. The ESP kicked in exactly when it was supposed to and I felt the "Hand of God" reach down and nudge the car back on line. I felt the effects of the BAS as well when I had to slam on the binders to avoid turning a squirrel into road kill. The extra boost that the BAS provided kind of surprised me with how fast it was able to stop the car. I'm sure the squirrel was surprised too. Thanks to the nice fat torque curve of the motor, I pretty much just left it in 5th gear for the entire ride.

After over two hours of twisty fun I exited the park at the south end and made a leisurely 80-85 mph dash back to Richmond on I-64.

I believe I have found this car's true calling: Get it out on a back road and drive it at 7/10 or 8/10 and it is an absolute joy. When you're done, get back on the highway, jam it into 6th gear, crank up the stereo and you have a ground-bound cruise missile that has the ability to warp time and space. Personally, this car pushes my buttons in all the right ways. Bravo, DC!

Here are a couple of pictures of Skyline Drive. I didn't take these, but they will give you a good idea what it is like:





P.S. My receipt is good until Feb 23. If anyone in the Richmond, VA area wants to borrow it, PM me.

 

What a beautiful area. Makes me want to get out and drive!!! Well when spring comes and the roads are free of salt then I will get the Crossfire out and enjoy it. Anyway great story and you have given me the "bug"...

 

Bobs, thanks for reminding me of what a great road the Skyline Dr. is, I had completely forgotten about it. The last time I was there was 4th. of July weekend 1969 in my old Buick Skylark GS.(not exactly a sports car, but it still handled pretty good). The only problem was, it rained the whole time I was on the road, and there were alot of tourist (July 4th. go figure).
I think you may have touched on a good idea for another category for the forum. Like AeroBlue did when he traveled to the Dragons Tail a while back. Maybe there should be a special place called "Destinations" where members could go to see where fellow members post recommended highways that we could all enjoy.
Oh well, it was just a thought. Once again, thanks for the memories, and photos.

 

Bob,
Your a lucky b@st@rd! Good thing you thought of going. Sounds marvelous!
(guess the devil hits the loud pedal and "Hand of God" hits your as* back in line, hehe!)
Great story.

 

BOBS thanks for that skyline info... when we go down to DC next i will definitely spend a serene day driving skyline.

fireamx... yea good suggestion about destinations...

J.

 

I'm glad you all enjoyed my post! I also want to offer a word of advice to those of you who put their cars in storage over the winter. Springtime is almost here. . . NOW is the time to go visit your car while it is in storage, fire it up, and make sure everything still works. That way if you need to make repairs or order parts you have plenty of time to get it done before the nice weather hits.

I don't want to see any whiny-as* posts about how you wanted to go for a drive but couldn't because the dealership didn't have that tire/battery/thingy you need in stock or couldn't squeeze you into the service schedule on time.

You have been warned. . .