Fall 2020 Updates: Week 6 - Halloween Spooktacular!

It s Thursday at 2 PM, and you know what that means! It’s week six of our fall update videos. We are so excited to have you and to share all of these amazing pictures. Make sure you stay until the end of this video ‘cause we’re going to show our beautiful pictures that the photographer has taken around the Park. As well, we are still taking pictures with our Chronolog. It’s up here where we are at Pass Mountain, and we’re going to be showing you all of the pictures that have been taken from it on week eight.

Exactly, and we’re also going to share some 00:34 - of the pictures that our photographer has taken on our website and our social media pages, and we also want to see what you’re taking in the Park, so please continue to share those with us. Your pictures have been gorgeous. It is beautiful around there. Yeah, I know, right? It’s so much color around here. There’s still so much color you can see as you’re driving down Skyline Drive, if you pull over at an overlook, if you go on any kind of hike, there is color still in the Park. There has been a bit of a leaf drop in the higher elevations, but as far as we can see there’s still tons of oranges and yellows that are very apparent. We have noticed that the goldenrod here that we pointed out…I think that was week two, maybe….

that was really, really yellow behind us, 01:21 - that’s kind of gotten a little bare, but they’re just preparing for winter, so that’s usual. What else can we think of about the peak? I guess going into winter, I mean, it’s really beautiful. We don’t want to think…we don’t want you all to think of that as such an ugly period for the Park. It’s actually more expansive views, because you can see through all of the bare trees and limbs and wildlife. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, the wildlife is out and about. So, yeah, we’re just really excited to prepare for the winter. And so is the Park. For sure. And weather is definitely changing up.

As you can see today, it’s kind 02:00 - of a little overcast. We do have Hurricane Zeda coming in, and that’s going to come in… when is it…tomorrow? I think it starts tonight. Today is Wednesday. I know we’re airing this on Thursday, so it’s probably a very rainy day for you. But don’t worry that is forecasted to be gone by the weekend. It’s supposed to be nice, clear, sunny days. It is going to be chilly and you definitely want to keep that in mind that when you’re down in the Valley, it can often be 10 degrees cooler up here on the mountain.

So if it’s raining down there, for instance, it can be 02:30 - icy or snowy up here. And we’re going to be talking about what happens when it snows with Skyline Drive later on in the video. But just keep that in mind: wear your layers, in case it’s chilly and we want you to have a good, safe time. Remember, when the leaves are wet, they’re often slippery, whether you’re driving over them or you’re walking over them on a trail, you want to be careful, especially if you’re on a trail with the steps going down. That can be a dangerous part, so just come into the Park, have a great time and be safe. Enjoy the weather. Yes, that’s always our message.

Alright, so as you all know, 03:04 - Halloween is this weekend, and Ranger Elsie has a special video for us today. Absolutely. And fair warning: it’s pretty scary. [creepy music] [witch cackling] Hello, everyone. Welcome to our Shenandoah Halloween spectacular. My name is Ranger Elsie, and I am so excited to be talking to you about everything spooktacular today. So October is known as the spooky season. It’s when all of the creepy crawlies and scary things finally get their time to shine.

03:47 - Of course, all of this spookiness culminates in one night per year: Halloween. When else are you going to be able to see Sarah Jessica Parker sweating over a bubbling cauldron? Trick or treat? [spooky noises] Ah, man, I guess no one’s home. Halloween is full of traditions. Whether it be trick or treating, waiting for the giant pumpkin, or performing a séance. But how do the creatures of Shenandoah get into the holiday spirit? [piano music] People dress themselves up in costumes to disguise themselves and to pretend to be something they’re not. Well, animals and other natural things do this, too.

Some organisms have an adaptation 04:42 - called mimicry, where they design themselves to look like something that’s maybe more scary and more dangerous than they really are. Like, I bet all of you thought that I’m dressed up like a monarch butterfly. That was a trick. I’m actually a viceroy butterfly. Now, viceroys have mimicry down to a “T”. In fact, there’s only one visible difference between a viceroy butterfly and a monarch butterfly, and that is a thick band right along the bottom of it’s wings. Now, a monarch butterfly is called that, right? It’s placing it in the category butterflies as the ruler! A monarch is a king! And a viceroy, its name also places it in the hierarchy of butterflies. A viceroy is basically a proxy king. They rule a territory. They are the hands, and eyes of a king in a kingdom far away.

05:45 - So, other than placing it in that category, and trying to steal the crown from the monarch, why does a viceroy look like one? Well, there isn’t a kind of epic Game of Thrones happening between these butterflies competing for one crown. There aren’t any dragons, butterflies can already fly, so what’s the big deal? Well, viceroys look like monarchs because of the poison coursing through their veins. So like I said, no epic battle for a crown, but poison has been used to kill many a king. And so, predators, when they eat a butterfly and it, maybe, is a monarch, they quickly realize that…eww. Not like the candied apple they thought it was. It’s more like a poison apple a la Snow White.

06:34 - So, a viceroy looking like a monarch, it’s tricking predators into thinking that it is too poisonous, and so then they can fly around without fear. So maybe this year, be like a viceroy and dress up like the most toxic person you know. Now, viceroys are another great Halloween critter because of the colors they are, right? Black and orange. Everything Halloween is black and orange, and those colors have been associated with All Hallows Eve for hundreds of years. Black signifies everything scary and spooky, and the winter to come, While orange represents the harvest season that might have just passed, the changing of the leaves, and, of course, what are we harvesting during Halloween? No, not organs: pumpkins! So, while in Shenandoah we might not have any pumpkins to carve, we do have a very special Jack-o’-lantern that you might be lucky enough to see here.

07:33 - Wander around at night and you might be lucky enough to see a Jack-o’-lantern mushroom, called that because it’s also orange and it also glows in the dark, but not with Ecto plasm. No need to call in the Ghostbusters. Jack-o’-lantern mushrooms naturally create their own bioluminescence, or glow, just like fireflies. Unlike fireflies, though, they’re not glowing to attract mates. But, the reason that they do glow does have to do with reproduction. So, mushrooms, reproduce by spreading their spores around a forest to start new colonies.

They are at a disadvantage though, because 08:15 - mushrooms can’t move, so they have to call in their own scary godmothers to help them out a little bit: creepy crawlies. That glow entices insects and bugs to come and nibble on the Jack-o’-lantern mushroom, and then they spread those spores throughout the woods with just an easy, “bippity boppity boo.” One of those critters helping out our Jack-o’-lantern mushroom are spiders. Now, spiders have their own special place in Halloween history. Perhaps the interior decorators that we need to round out this holiday party. They are haunted house chic….never go out of style. Cobwebs is what we need.

Now, is 09:00 - there a difference between spider webs and cobwebs? Well, do you want a live spider as an added fear factor to your haunted house? Or maybe, I don’t know, you’re spooky spirits might have been scary enough to send your spiders far away. So cobwebs are abandoned spider webs, usually due to damage or age, or, maybe, those spooky spirits. Spider webs do have a live spider, and the Greeks a long time ago thought that these webs were so incredibly beautiful that there must be something more to it. They thought that all spiders are descendants of Arachne, who was a beautiful, young, masterful loom weaver. Now, she was so good, the goddess Athena got jealous and challenged her to a weaving contest.

Now, at the end, Arachne ended up winning and 10:06 - Athena ended up transforming her, and all of her descendants, into spiders. So, moral of the story is: unless you want to grow a few extra legs, maybe let a Greek god win when they challenge you to any sort of contest. Turns out, they’re very sore losers. Now, looking at these webs, it’s easy to see why the Greeks thought that they were masterful tapestries. They’re beautiful. Those concentric circles, and those spiraling out with those spokes. Any self-respecting Halloween store is going to have beautiful webs, and most of them are, or I guess the idea of the traditional spider web we think of, is the orb weaver web, the true masters in the spider world.

10:54 - Now, unfortunately, spider web weaving is a full-time job and these spiders aren’t commissioned by Spirit Halloween. They have to spin their webs because it acts kind of like a direct deposit for their dinner. Spiders actually can’t see very well. Even though they have eight eyes, they rely on the vibrations in their webs to be able to sense when dinner has come to them. They’re so in tune, they can tell the difference in vibrations between when a honeybee, or when a fly lands in that web. So, the next time you’re walking through the woods, yes, it’s very annoying to get spider webs right in your face.

Take a second and appreciate how 11:34 - beautiful they are. Luckily, we don’t have to worry about giant spiders or becoming a tasty spider snack. Shelob the giant spider, is going to be staying in Middle Earth, so when you’re out in the woods, take a second and appreciate the beautiful, gossamer intricacies of these amazing web weaving spiders. So maybe you can’t be in Shenandoah this Halloween. And, don’t fear, but maybe you should, because you can actually experience any one of these things in our Park any day. No, that’s not a trick.

12:11 - It’s always a wonderful treat to be able to see a Jack-o’-lantern mushroom, a viceroy, or even an orb weaver. But, be careful while exploring our Park, ‘cause you never know what might shock you. [electricity and thunder] Oh my gosh! That was terrifying. Wow! Thanks to Ranger Else, my blood pressure, I tell ya! [laughing] We’re alright. We made it. We’re here. So, thank you, Ranger Elsie, for telling us all about the creepy crawlies around Shenandoah. So. Get it together. I got it.

We’re still experiencing a lot of 12:56 - crowds here in the Park, so we still want to encourage you to come in through the south. It’s going to be a much smoother experience. Our entrance stations, like Rockfish Gap or Swift Run Gap, those are going to have fewer crowds than, say, up in Front Royal. Yeah, Front Royal. We have some perfect footage of what Front Royal looked like at the entrance station. That just kind of emphasizes the long wait that we want you all to expect if you do go through Front Royal.

So, 13:23 - that’s why we really urge you to use those southern entrance stations. Alright, so what else can people do when they’re entering the Park? That’s a fantastic question. The best thing that you can do is still to go to recreation.gov and you can get your pass online, and then when you’re coming into those entrance stations, you can just go right into the passholders lane and you can skip some of the long lines. Another thing, you can go during the week instead of the weekend.

And, if 13:45 - you are going to come on the weekend, it’s probably better to get there a little early to avoid some of the larger crowds. So, as our fall season is winding down, that means that we are closing some of our facilities, and that includes campgrounds and camp stores. So, on Sunday, November 1st , all campgrounds will be closed, with the exception of Big Meadows Campground. And Loft Mountain Camp Store will also be closing Sunday, November 1st. And, then we also have some other closure updates that will continue through November, and we’ll keep you updated with those in our social media pages. And you can check him out on our website. Definitely.

You can find all the information about closures 14:25 - throughout November, and in the future, right there on our website: nps.gov/shen. You know the website. Just click on planyourvisit/hours and you can find all of that information there. And then, with fall going into winter. That means colder temperatures, and that means some winter weather. So, in the event that there is some winter weather that occurs on the Drive, we will close the Drive, but we will let you know by also updating our social media pages and our website, and you can call our Park number. That’s right, and it’s 540-999-3500, option one, option one. Thank you, Ranger Scott.

15:09 - So that’s all that we have for you all this week. Next week, we are going to be talking to Dave Robinson, and he’s the Fire Management Officer, and he will be discussing the fall fire season. Awesome. I’m Ranger Scott, and I’m Ranger Allysah, and we will see you next week. Be sure to stay tuned for these amazing pictures that have been taken around the Park this week And Happy Halloween! Bye! [energetic music] .