Matt and Carol's Travels: Is It Natural or Imitation

We took our leave of absence from Powhatan and headed west to Natural Bridge, VA. Our next stop was a KOA in Natural Bridge, about four miles from the bridge.

Our site was at the front of the park, but in the next few years to come, it will be in the middle of the park. There is a large expansion happening toward the front of the property, adding about forty more sites.

This campground is near a lot of attractions, but we will probably visit a couple. You can tell when gold has been struck in a tourist location. One example was the Safari Park, just down the street a couple of miles; to get in the park it cost $26.00 per person, not car, per person. The one attraction I wanted to see was the Natural Bridge at Natural Bridge State Park.

From the Visitor Center there were about 134 steps to get to the other check-in/gift shop, if visitors survive the steps, the natural bridge is only another 200 yards. In our conversation with the counter worker we mentioned that Carol would not be able to make that decent and ascent, and I would be taking a lot of photos for her. Her response was that we could drive down to the lower check-in station, then Carol could enjoy the bridge and waterfall too. She let the people down below know that the "Blue Beast" was coming down.

A little background on the bridge, it stems back to Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was so impressed with the bridge in 1774, that he bought the bridge and 157 acres around it, for 20 schillings, or roughly $200.00 today. His desire was for the Natural Bridge to remain in a "public trust" as a park for all to enjoy. Unfortunately his debts did not allow for that dream to come to fruition, and in 1833 after his death his heirs were forced to sell the bridge.

Later in the 19th century the bridge did become an attraction, and a hotel was built to accommodate visitors. The current hotel was rebuilt in 1964 after a fire destroyed the original hotel.

Now we headed off to the natural bridge.

COMING LEAVING

PASSING UNDER BRIDGE

We were talking with the ranger on site, and he explained that SR-11 runs on the natural bridge.

What was cool was there was more to see than just the bridge. The bridge was created millions of years ago by water erosion from an underground river. Today Cedar Creek runs under the bridge.

TWO PEOPLE TRYING TO FIND THE BRIDGE

CEDAR CREEK

This was our first point of interest on the trail to the waterfall.

SALTPETER CAVE

Thomas Jefferson found nitrates in the cave and decided to lease it out for saltpeter production, a major ingredient in making gunpowder. Saltpeter from this cave was used during the War of 1812, and the Civil War.

From the Saltpeter Cave we left in search of the Lost River.

WHO KEEPS PHOTO-BOMBING MY PHOTOS

Here it is:

"THE LOST RIVER"

This "lost river" was found around 1812 after the workers in the saltpeter cave heard water behind a limestone formation. They blasted an opening in the rock with black power explosives. The workers created a piping system to supply water to the cave, helping the extraction process. Some of the pipes can still be seen on the walking path. The river was lost until 1990 when non-toxic dye was used to locate the river's source.

From here we continued up the creek "without a paddle", to the waterfall.

About a 3/10th of a mile up we arrived at the falls.

BLUE HERRON FISHING

THOMAS JEFFERSON'S PROPERTY LINE

After a few relaxing minutes at the waterfall we headed back down the trail to the gift shop.

NATURE AT ITS BEST

On the way back I appeared to have picked up a hitchhiker on the way down the trail.

SYCAMORE TUSSOCK MOTH CATAPILLAR

I didn't know what it was at first, then I asked the rangers at the Visitor Center, and they didn't know either, but found out for me. The one item they didn't know was that the hairs on this critter can cause skin irritation, or even a rash.

BACK AT THE BEGINNING

(I made this into a puzzle)

After we finished our 1.6 mile nature walk, we returned home to rest.

The next day I went for a tour of the Natural Bridge Cavern. Carol stayed home and enjoyed laundry... ha, ha.

Having completed the tour, Carol would have had some trouble because of slippery areas and major steps.

The cavern was discovered around 1880.

The desire was to make it a tourist attraction early on, but it was too difficult to get down to the cavern. The solution was to create an opening that provided easier access. This cave stays at a constant 54°, and the bats love it in the winter time, in the summer they hang out in the trees.