See the Stunning Autumn Views (from 2,190 Feet Above Sea Level) at Virginia's Skyline Drive

I recently took my kids (Charlie, 8 and Brandon, 14) on a weekend trip to historic Staunton, Virginia.

Along the way, we broke up the road trip with a number of visually-stunning pit stops.

One such detour was Shenandoah National Park, which at the time of our visit, was stunningly overloaded with breathtaking autumn visuals of the Shenandoah Valley as far as the eye could see.

Majestic autumn tree along Skyline Drive

As we rolled past the park's entrance, the kids and I were quickly schooled about Skyline Drive's magnificently expansive nature.

This education was immediately grasped once the kids and I unfolded the park's map, which indicated the park stretches across 150 miles and gets as high as 3,680 feet.

Pretty cool.

Our scenic detour into Shenandoah National Park had been more of a spontaneous decision, so we knew we'd only be seeing a mere fraction of all the park had to offer.

After putting away the park's map, the kids and I decided to see what we could see within a two-hour window --- a mere drop in the bucket but still ample time to see some amazing autumn sights.

Nonstop treetops along a Shenandoah mountainside

Lucky for us, each overlook we stopped at visually over-delivered with picturesque mountain tops and lush valley lands.

Vista along one of Skyline Drive's many designated overlooks

At some of the stops, the clouds seemed so close that we could almost reach out and touch their billowy-ness with our fingertips.

Charlie posing against a beautiful mountain backdrop

The highest point the kids and I reached was 2,190 feet but I can't remember the overlook's name.

At that height, and even at lower levels, our ears had been popping and popping.

Most notably, Charlie complained about her ear-popping drama the most, letting her brother and I know that the "ear thing" was getting on her nerves. Sigh. So much for enjoying nature ;)

We eventually left the park and went on our way but later, while alone in my own thoughts, I wondered about how would life be if we had to live it 2,000 - 3,000 feet above sea level.

Days later

I was sharing our Virginia Skyline Drive travels with my aesthetician friend, who comes from Bolivia, a few days later and she happened to share an interesting nugget about her own travel experiences back home.

"Mayra," she explained, "that's why when I fly back to Bolivia, I prefer landing at ANY airport other than the airport at La Paz (the Bolivian capital)."

"Why?" I asked with growing curiosity.

"Because," my friend replied, "La Paz is about 14,000 feet above sea level so when we land there, I always have a very hard time breathing and my head is spinning."

I had no idea.

I was so intrigued to have learned that La Paz-themed travel story and wondered how people lived there, given that my kids and I were struggling with ear-popping drama at 2,190 feet. I couldn't even imagine life at 14,000+ feet, I shared with my friend.

But my friend said people there just get used to it.

I'm sure that's true but several weeks since having that conversation, I've been thinking about this and wondering if I'd ever find myself that type of situation where I'd have to get accustomed to living thousands of feet above sea level. I actually hope not ... but I guess one never knows.

Luckily for me, and so far in my life, I've not yet had to work through such a challenge.

Since these experiences and conversations, I've been feeling pretty fortunate to live where I currently live, which for now is Hamilton, Virginia. Hamilton, I've learned, is only 509 feet above sea level (according to this elevation tool I found online).

At 509 feet above sea level, my ears feel wonderfully fine :) and I can breathe the air just great and there's zero head spinning. I'll gladly take 509 feet of elevation any day over life at 14,000+ square feet!

At any rate, overall my scenic detour to Skyline Drive with the kids was visually amazing and proved to be a wonderful time. I'm so glad we got to see the many mountaintops and valleys that dotted our route and that we, as a family, could spend our trio time together.

In case you're interested, the entrance fee for Shenandoah National Park is $30 (at the time of this writing) and is good for up to seven days. FYI only.