Eighteen years ago we took our six month old son to Shenandoah Valley National Park and began a tradition that has almost never skipped a year since. This particular hike is my favorite. I beg to save it for the later part of the day or right before we leave when my body is tired from seriously hard hikes. This is what I imagine Africa to look like... but it's Virginia and transcends the mountains surrounding it- because you really can't even see them when you are in this stretch of flat, beautiful land. These trees rise up like a shady oasis in the middle, and deer paths stretch jagged in every direction.