Shadow Mountain Escape
ROAD TRIP
is for Lovers
T
his month’s Road Trip took us across Skyline Drive to Shadow Mountain Escape (SME), the dream and brainchild of owners Karen and Ralph Riddle. As stated on their website, SME is “An all season Romantic Couple’s Escape in authentic timber frame cabins located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia bordering the Shenandoah National Park.” You will find Shadow Mountain about two miles on the Luray side of the Thornton Gap entrance to Skyline Drive on Jewell Hollow Road. The name “Shadow Mountain Escape” comes from the name of the tracts (Shadow Mountain tracts) of land that were originally subdivided within Jewell Hollow from large parcels that once belonged to several of the pioneering families of the county (the Jewell and Sours family among them). The Riddles added the term “Escape” to invoke a sense of the underlying purpose behind their effort. In an attempt to provide an environment conducive to happiness and
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fulfillment, they focused on exposing the beauty and spirit of the natural landscape and the remarkable life that flourishes there. The use of *Timber Frame construction in all of the buildings adds to that theme. Ralph wanted to create the “Old World” charm that comes from his German heritage so, after retiring from the Army, the couple spent several years living and discovering the wonders of the “Old World”. Many thousands of dollars were spent sourcing and importing authentic furnishings from family members and shops while on their trek. All of the SME structures and landscapes were designed by Ralph who has a passion for design and history. He holds a degree from Virginia Tech in Landscape Architecture. The couple began their project in 1994 and first opened in 2002. The history of the project is fascinating and worth hearing but would take up too much room here. Be sure to ask him about the stone work and most importantly the “Gothic Tower” and Max and Moritz. He constructed
BOB TAGERT
WHAT IS TIMBER FRAMING? Timber framing is a distinctive style of building construction in which heavy timbers frame the structure instead of more slender dimensional lumber (for example, 2 x 6 in.). Timber framing was a building practice used throughout the world until roughly 1900 when the demand for cheap, fast housing brought dimensional lumber to the construction forefront. In the 1970’s, craftsmen revived the timber framing tradition in the United States and have ushered the design style into the modern era. * Timber Framers Guild
it himself with stones from the property. It is impressive. There are four cabins located on the fifteen acre property. In celebration of the abundant wild life, all of the cabins were given indigenous “bug names”. The SME Bear Dance Lodge was the first rental built on the property and the two cabins were named the Dragon Fly and Bumble Bee. The Butterfly loft was opened in 2003 and the final rental, the Ladybug, was completed in 2011. For added adventure the couple incorporated “La Cantina” in the basement of the Bear Dance Lodge which was inspired by their many visits to Europe. Their intent was to capture the special atmosphere for their guests that they found only in the authentic settings of a German “Stube” or a Tuscan “Cantina”! Guests receive a private entry code upon check in. Conversely, the “Timber Frame Tower” tops off ROAD TRIP > PAGE 27
Old Town Crier
