"Blue Ridge" is not an overstatement; it is a fact!

I went out today to explore the Skyline Drive of Shenandohah National Park today.  Hoped to hike one of the many trails, but evidently the freeze and thaw of this past week made the road treacherous, so the Drive was closed. I spent a long time talking to a very nice person at the visitors center about alternative jaunts for my day. Part of the Blue Ridge Parkway (a bit to the south) was open so I headed off towards that area. Past a winery or three, a couple of cider works, a distillery and around about a million more curves, I found the entrance to the Blue Ridge. The roads are very slim and very curvy. It dawned on me that they don't need wide shoulders to hold the mounds of snow like we do in Wisconsin, but it sure makes it hard to pull over when you see a shot you want to take - and may explain the prevalence of 'God-fearing' people around here!

There were a few overviews to take advantage of though, and here are a couple of the many photos I took.
click on a photo to enlarge it.

From here I took a side road (even slimmer and even curvier!) to Crabtree Falls. I am not sure I have ever been to a waterfall in the winter before, but I am very sure I will go back! Not only was the falling water beautiful, but the ice formations were fantastic. The downside is that the trail was pretty treacherous, and without crampons for my boots or a walking stick, I couldn't go too far. However, that didn't stop me from taking lots of photographs. Again, click on any if you want to enlarge them.

The ice formations were like stalagmites and stalagmites in fast motion. the shapes and sizes were amazing in variation and beauty. 

I have to admit I have been missing the blue shadows of winter in Wisconsin, but this sure was a pretty good substitute... and warmer! And one last photo for my husband: