Natural Bridge

After saying our good-byes to Tafanie, Cory and Isabella on Wednesday evening, we began heading south on Thursday morning.  As we began heading south, we decided to stop at Natural Bridge, Virginia, for one night.  We had wanted to go to Natural Bridge when we were in Lynchburg back in May but it was a little too far for a day trip.

We got reservations at Yogi Bear Jellystone Natural Bridge for one night.  It was an o.k. campground but very pricey.  We were only staying one night and it was convenient to Natural Bridge.  It’s great for families because they have a water park, swimming pool and a lot of other activities for kids. 

As soon as we were all set up, I bought our tickets online because we got an $8 discount off the bridge and caverns tour by buying them online.  As soon as I got the tickets printed off, we headed for the Caverns first. 

At the beginning of the Caverns tour, you walk through this long entrance to the cave…

…and then you start the trip down, down, down……

 …into the cavern.  The Caverns are 34 stories deep.  In some places, the cavern ceilings were low and you had to duck your head a little bit to walk through.

We came to this room where there was the huge cascade formation.

The cascades looked like frozen waterfalls.

The green on the walls was caused by the lights in the caves. 

We continued heading further down into the cave until we came to Mirror Lake:

There were stalactite and stalagmite formations throughout the cave.

This was an unusual looking formation.

And then we headed further down…

…until we came to another big room with a small pond.

This was the view looking straight up.

On the way, to the last big room, we saw this large rock lodged between the walls above us.  (Hope it stays there!)

When we stopped in this last big room, the guide told us about how years ago, the cave tours were given with kerosene lanterns.

And then he showed us what happened when the lights went out.

O.K.  That’s enough.  Let’s get those lights back on.

This room was very tall also.

We had reached the end of the tour and turned around and head back up, up, up the 34 stories out of the cave. 

After leaving the Caverns, we headed over to the main building entrance for Natural Bridge.  Before leaving the building, we visited the live indoor butterfly garden on the bottom floor. 

When I first read there was an butterfly garden at Natural Bridge, I was kind of like “yeah…ok” really not thinking it was that big of a deal.  But like so many of our adventures this year, we were pleasantly surprised. 

Inside this room, they have lots of plants where the butterflies can fly, feed and rest in simulated daylight. 

The butterflies were just flying around here and there and landing here and there….sometimes on you!

Isn’t God’s artistry amazing?

After leaving the butterfly garden, we walked outside and headed down the trail to Natural Bridge. 

Two of America’s founding fathers are a part of the history of Natural Bridge.  According to legend, George Washington surveyed the Natural Bridge site for Lord Fairfax and he carved his initials on the wall of the bridge.  And in 1774, Thomas Jefferson purchased 157 acres including the Natural Bridge from King George III of England for 20 shillings or about $2.40.  I would say Mr. Jefferson got a bargain!

The beginning of the trail consists of a lot of steps going down to the bridge.

After showing our tickets to the park attendant at the base of the steps, we walked just a few steps to the right and there was Natural Bridge. 

It was a lot bigger than we imagined it would be.

And it really is a bridge! 

Highway 11 goes across the top of the bridge.

After going under the bridge, we began walking down Cedar Creek Trail...

…which took us by a replica of a Monacan Indian village.  Inside the village, were replicas of huts, bows and arrows, the cooking area, how pelts were dried out, and several things related to the life inside the Monacan Indian community.

After leaving the Monacan village, we continued walking to the end of the trail where Lace Falls was located.  The map had indicated that Lace Falls was about 1,600 yards from the bridge.  And the trail was (or should have been) easy because it was wide, gravel, and relatively flat.  But after taking down at Bull Run, being on the road for 4 hours, setting up at Jellystone campground, walking to the center of the earth (I’m exaggerating now), getting a cone of ice cream, investigating the intricacies of butterflies, walking down a thousand steps, photographing the Natural Bridge, and studying the history of the Monacan Indians, I was pooped!  I thought we would never reach the end of the trail where we could see Lace Falls.  Finally, off in the distance, there it was….

Lace Falls!

Admittedly, we were a little disappointed.  I mean, it was pretty, but I guess after having been to Great Falls in Maryland we were expecting something a little more.  I did get a nice picture of a crane that was cooling his feet in the creek.

And actually, the creek bed itself was more interesting to me than the falls.

Notice the layers of rock than run diagonally into the creek bed.

After sitting on the rock wall to rest for a few minutes, we walked back down the trail to Natural Bridge. 

The benches in the below picture is where you sit for the Drama of Creation show at night and that we were coming back to see at 9 pm.

We walked back up all those steps to the entrance but were too late to go to the wax museum that closed at 6.  After we got back in the car, we drove down Highway 11 a short distance so we could drive across the top of Natural Bridge.

We drove back to the motorhome, had supper and rested for a couple of hours before heading back for the Drama of Creation.  The Drama of Creation is a night illumination of Natural Bridge with a narration of the Seven Days of Creation accompanied by music and lighting effects.  The show gives you a different perspective of the bridge at night as well as the opportunity to listen to the creation story. 

We thoroughly enjoyed the Drama of Creation and also enjoyed the shuttle ride back up to the entrance after the show!