I live along the California coast where the weather is unusually mild. We broil when the temperature reaches 80 degrees, a rarity, and we drag out the woolies in the low fifties. Therefore, witnessing the change of seasons is always a true treat. A year ago, my husband and I took a historical tour of the East Coast at the perfect time: the leaves were turning.

Perhaps the most dramatic experience of visual delight came in the Shenandoah Valley, named for the river that lines much of its length. The valley consists of nine counties in Virginia and two in West Virginia. Famed for autumn displays like the picture below, (courtesy of Dreamstime), our group looked forward to our stay at Big Meadows Lodge, located in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, at 3,510 feet above sea level. Every balcony of the original building overlooks the valley.

The historic lodge was built in the late 1930’s with stones cut from Massanutten Mountain, which bisects the valley. Sadly, rain and fog obscured much of our views, but we still managed to enjoy plenty of local and fall color. The following pictures are mine.

The Shenandoah Valley is gorgeous any time, bordered on the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, to the north by the Potomac River and south by the James River. Kind of the confluence of many of the places and rivers we’d visited.

Many legends abound as to how the valley got its name. The one I like best comes from the Iroquois, one of my favorite tribes. It is said Chief Sherando (also the name of his people) fought against the ruler of the Powhatan Confederacy–the Algonquian chief Opechancanough, (1618-1644), and was driven back to his original territory at the Great Lakes by Opechancanough’s son, Sheeva-a-nee, whose descendants became the Shawnee. I like how several tribes kind of mashed together in this account.

After this, colonial settlement of the farm-rich valley was delayed by the barrier of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 1671, they were finally crossed by explorer John Lederer at Manassas Gap, and Cadwallader Jones in 1682.

The first permanent white settler in the valley was Adam Miller, or Mueller, who staked out a claim in 1727 on the south fork of the river near today’s division of Rockingham and Page Counties. A Native road through common tribal hunting grounds soon became the Great Wagon Road. This road, later called the Valley Turnpike, soon brought more settlers in from Pennsylvania and northern Virginia, including Quakers and Mennonites who apparently were fairly well received by the natives. The German settlers became known as “Shenandoah Deitsch” and may Scots-Irish immigrated into the valley via the Potomac River.

During the Civil War, the valley was known as the “breadbasket of the Confederacy” and became a back door for Confederate raids on Maryland, Washington, and Pennsylvania. In the 20th century, the valley’s vineyards reached maturity and the new industry of viticulture began.

Whenever you get there, the Shenandoah Valley is a terrific place to visit.

As John Denver (one of my favorites)sings:

Almost heaven, West Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains
Shenandoah River

SOUL FOOD available now. ANGEL CHILD early 2013

My new book Dawn Comes Early takes place in Arizona Territory.  When Kate Tenney first arrives she hates the dry, barren land, but nothing is what it seems at first glance. Beauty—whether we’re talking about the desert or people—often reveals itself slowly and only when we look for it.   Today, I want to take you on a desert tour through Kate’s eyes.

Arizona State Flower: Saguaro

The tallest cactus  in the world, the saguaro can grow to almost seventy feet.  It also has a long life and doesn’t sprout arms until seventy-five years or older.  Night blooming white and yellow flowers appear April through June. Pollinated by bats, the blossoms have a waxy feel, fragrant aroma and are sturdy enough to hold a bat’s weight.  The flowers will turn into ruby fruit by summer.

If you fall in a cactus patch, you kin expect

 to pick stickers.

Prickly Pear

This cactus grows red, yellow or purple flowers.  The plant spreads along the ground and ranchers often used them as living fences.  The plant kept man and livestock from crossing over.

Ranchers also burned off the spines during droughts and fed the water-filled pads to livestock. Flowers bloom April through June and produce edible fruit.

Fishhook Barrel Cactus

The last cactus to bloom in the calendar year, orange, red or yellow-green flowers appear in July or August.  Indians used the spines as fishhooks .  

It’s commonly believed that the Barrel Cactus holds water and can save stranded travelers from dying of thirst. This is a myth.  It actually contains alkaline  juice; drinking it could give you the trots and possibly hypothermia.

 Surprise is a near-sighted porcupine

fallin’ in love with a cactus.

Ocotillo

This spiny plant grows red tubular flowers  and its honey-scented nectar attracts hummingbirds.  The plant sheds leaves during dry spells to preserve water and grows leaves during rain.

This cactus was also used as living fences by ranchers to keep out man and beast.

Century Plant (agave)

Consider yourself lucky if you come across one of these in bloom.  So called because they bloom “once a century” the plant actually lives for about twenty-five years. 

It blooms only once but the flowering spike grows so large and so fast it saps the energy from the plant, which then dies. 

In the book Kate has an unfortunate run-in with cactus.  Anyone have a cactus tale to share?

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