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Subtitle:  I went camping with friends in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, May 4-6, 2012.  Did mostly day-hikes to overlooks, waterfalls, and the like, and took a bunch of photographs.  Here are some highlights.<br/><br/>Click on the images to get to larger versions.  Hover over images to get the full captions, for the ones that are abbreviated.
DSC_1061:  The Shenandoah river winding through the valley.
DSC_1062:  The valley looking west from an overlook in Shenandoah National Park.
DSC_1070:  The overlook at Shenandoah National Park.
DSC_1071:  Wild flowers by the overlook at SNP.
DSC_1083:  The tent we stayed in.
DSC_1085:  Some macro shots of flowers by the camp site.  There's an insect on the flower.
DSC_1087:  More macro shots. 
DSC_1088:  Flower macros with a diopter filter. 
DSC_1089:  The sign for Big Meadows.  Big Meadows itself is the big field to the right of the sign.
DSC_1098:  Ominous trees in Big Meadow.
DSC_1105:  We went to Blackrock Point for sunset.
DSC_1107:  The hillside by Blackrock Point at the end of the day.  
DSC_1113:  The Massanutten Mountains from Blackrock Point at sunset.
DSC_1114:  More Massanutten Mountains.
DSC_1115:  Blackrock Point illuminated by the sun at the end of the day.
DSC_1117:  More end fo the day light at Blackrock Point. 
DSC_1119:  Massanutten Mountains at sunset.
DSC_1121:  Deepak at Blackrock Point.
DSC_1124:  Sunset at Blackrock Point.  We were expecting a colorful sunset, but instead it just got darker and darker and that was about it.  Never got stunning colors even though there were clouds around.
DSC_1129:  Saturday morning sunrise by Spitler Knoll Overlook. 
DSC_1135:  Valley fog around sunrise looking to the west. 
DSC_1136:  Valley fog with the Massanutten Mountains in the distance, westward.
DSC_1139:  I set my tripod down by Rose River Falls and a moth landed on it.
DSC_1140:  Rose River waterfalls.
DSC_1142:  Rose River waterfalls. 
DSC_1143:  Rose River waterfalls. 
DSC_1145:  Looking downstream after Rose River waterfalls.
DSC_1147:  Green trees above Rose River waterfall.
DSC_1153:  Unnamed waterfalls on the way.
DSC_1156:  Unnamed waterfalls on the way. 
DSC_1162:  Very low shot of the stream and small waterfall.
DSC_1164:  Another low show tof the stream and waterfall.
DSC_1166:  Another waterfall.
DSC_1169:  A lot of green by the waterfall.
DSC_1187:  The trail at the top of Lewis Falls didn't have a great view, and fog was coming in, enveloping the trees.  It was actually kind of neat.
DSC_1192:  Deepak at the Lewis Falls overlook.  It was really foggy as we set things up and it was impossible to see the falls or anything more than 30 feet away.  Note that there's a pretty big puddle right where the tripod is sitting.
DSC_1197:  Frank at the Lewis Falls overlook in the fog.
DSC_1202:  Lewis Falls
DSC_1206:  Lewis Falls 
DSC_1207:  Deepak setting up the camera a bit more.  This was taken about 20 minutes after the picture 4 before this one.  It was mostly clear at that time.  A little later, the fog came back and everything was obscurred again.
DSC_1208:  A bright orange salamander.  It looked unreal, almost plastic, until it moved.  Correction: turns out it's a red eft, also known as an eastern newt, or red-spotted newt.
DSC_1212:  Chase decides he WILL get a fire going.  Oh yes, he will.
DSC_1214:  Our camp site in the fog, with my car on the left and our tent on the right, and little beyond that.
DSC_1215:  Greg arrives from a warm, sunny day fly fishing and is baffled at the weather.
DSC_1218:  A modest fire.  Actually just the fire-starter log, as all the wood was drenched by the various rains.  We put the wood on the top grate to dry.
DSC_1220:  The fire finally gets going.
DSC_1221:  Deepak draws energy from the fire.
DSC_1222:  Tending the mighty fire.
DSC_1227:  I wonder what happens if I throw that alien technology crystal in the fire.
DSC_1239:  The intrepid group (Frank, Greg, Deepak, Chase)
DSC_1243:  Frank, lost in a fog (taking a picture of Deepak taking a picture of Frank).
DSC_1249:  The view of the park from the outside, on the Stonewall Jackson Highway.
DSC_1251:  Yup, lots of clouds.
big-meadow-panorama-2: Yup, Big Meadow definitely lives up to its name.  This is a panoramic shot of Big Meadow.  The stitching isn't perfect, but it's not bad for a handheld shot.