The Bends from the Air
June 7th, 2008
The Shenandoah Valley is known for her winding rivers.
In Shenandoah County, the North Fork of the Shenandoah River is famous for its seven bends which can be seen clearly from the Woodstock Fire Tower just east of the town of Woodstock.
But the best way to take a look at those bends is from the air.
I am not an experienced flyer. Most of my travel is done on the ground and I am fine with that. For a birthday present several years ago, my husband came up with this great idea. This guy that he umpires with owns a small plane which he houses at Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport in Weyers Cave.
I have to admit, I was not thrilled with the idea. I have more than a little acrophobia and I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to fly in a plane so small.
The reality was much more terrifying than my imagination. To paint the picture for you, imagine that you stuck wings on a 1974 VW Beetle, took the tail pipes off and inserted a much more elaborate dashboard.
We took Olivia, Kenny’s daughter, with us. She got to sit up front with the pilot while we squeezed into the back seat which was so tight the only way we could sit comfortably was with Kenny’s arm around me (which, considering the situation, was not a bad idea.)
Once we took off, everything was out of my control, so I chose to lock my fear in the back of my brain and enjoy the ride.
To help orient you, in case you are unfamiliar with the area, the airport is south of Bridgewater. So the plan was to fly up the Valley to Woodstock and return to the airport.
The view from the sky was amazing. I felt like the first person who had ever flown - no description I had ever read came close to doing it justice. Yes, the fields looked like patchwork quilts - some with crops, some with hay, some with pastures and little dots of livestock.
To say it was breath-taking even seems like a cheap comparison. I felt like I understood the Valley better - like I was seeing her for the first time. Tall mountains - North Mountain (the first range of the Allegheny Mountains) on the northwest and the Blue Ridge on the southeast - stood like stalwart protectors on either side of the verdant valley.
I could see farms and silos, evens abandoned rock quarries with water as blue as the sky.
Landmarks looked like game pieces on a Monopoly board. Schools, factories, JMU. Interstate 81 was a grey zipper that joined the sides of the Valley in the middle. The exit and entrance ramps looked like loops of ribbon.
Route 11 was visible too, connecting the Valley towns like a spidery vein. The Valley Turnpike (or Valley Pike) is one of the oldest, most historic transportation routes in the United States. Before the time of settlers, Indians followed buffalo herds along that route. It was one of the first early roads to be macadamized.
We passed over Stonewall High School and as we approached Central, where my husband teaches, I saw the beginning of the famous seven bends.
From the tower, the bends are much closer and look wider. From the air, the bends are tight. I read once that geographers refer to the bends as incised meanders.
As we made a wide, swooping turn over Woodstock to head back down the Valley to return to the airport, the plane dipped a little and shuddered. Air currents rippling off the mountain nudged the plane with the ease of a ripple pushing a leaf downstream.
When we were back on the ground, I felt amazed and humbled at the same time. (And more than a little grateful to be back in my natural grounded state).
This birthday trip, however, fundamentally changed the way I think of the place where I choose to live and I feel closer to understanding very nature of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley.