Luray Caverns

I wasn't feeling very well yesterday, as you know from my shameless plea for sympathy in yesterday morning's post, but we do have houseguests who have come all the way from Germany to see America. Although all the great Smithsonian museums and national parks are closed as a result of the manufactured government crisis, there are still a lot of things to do here in the general area ... most of which we only do when someone visits and we need to do the tour guide thing. And so it was that I rose from my deathbed yesterday morning and we took Bernadette and Richard to visit Luray Caverns, about an hour and 45 minutes from here in the lovely Shenandoah Valley. Of course there are pictures ...

The caverns were discovered in 1878 by a pair of fellows (whose names I can't remember) who were searching for caves rumored to be located near the town of Luray, Virginia. The modern-day entrance to the caverns is located at the point of discovery. One enters via a normal-sized door and walking down a long flight of steps to the start of the tour route, which covers about a mile and a half. Our guide was a young lady who was very knowledgeable, but very difficult to understand because of the poor acoustics and the fact that she was obviously running through a standard script. Here are some pictures, along with my commentary based on my own observations and what I was able to gather of the guide's remarks ...

One of the most amazing things about the caverns was the glorious spectrum of colors of the various formations, caused by the chemical composition of the stone and the working of the water that shaped the structures ...

This section of stalactites was known as "The Fish Market" because of its resemblance to rows of fish on display for sale ...

This was an especially amazing site on the tour ... it's a absolutely still lake deep underground, which perfectly reflects the stalactite formations hanging from the ceiling. If you look closely, you can see that the midline of the picture shows the line of reflection ...

Over millions of years, the action of water on stone and the slow deposit and buildup of minerals has created some fantastic shapes and structures. This picture shows beautiful, curved sheets of delicate stone like layered curtains ...

This formation is called "The Fried Eggs" ... years ago, several stalagmites were knocked over by careless workers, and in their place are now developing white and yellow mineral deposits that look exactly like the eggs you may have had for breakfast ...

The full tour of the caverns lasted about an hour, and was completely fascinating. Should you decide to visit, here are two pointers: first, the caverns aren't cold, but they are very humid ... we were sweating like mad by the time we came out; second, if you have a good camera, you'll often get better pictures without using a flash, because the underground lighting system is very good.

The Luray Caverns complex also contains several other museums and things to do, most of which were included in the cost ($24.00 each) of our general adult admission tickets. One was the Car and Carriage Caravan Museum, which has a very large display of beautifully restored historic cars, bicycles, carriages, and wheeled vehicles of all sorts (also a gorgeous, seven-passenger sleigh). Here are just two of the many cars on display ... 

There is also the Luray Valley Museum, which has lots of very interesting displays tracing the history of the settlement and development of the local area. One thing we found interesting was the large number of books on display that were printed in German.

For those who prefer a more hands-on approach to their visit, the museum gift shop sells bags of ... well ... dirt in three sizes which are guaranteed to contain various raw semiprecious stones and minerals. You buy the bag, take it out behind the museum, and use screened trays and running water to pan for your own gold (or whatever). Agnes and Bernadette both decided to try it out ...

 And this was what Agnes ended up with ...

There were other things we didn't have the time or desire to see on this trip: a garden maze, a rope trail through the forest (more for active children than geezers-in-training), and some live displays (such as a blacksmith hammering industriously away on things).

The scenery around the caverns complex was beautiful, and it was a very photogenic day ...

And after an exhausting visit and tour on a very warm day, some ice cream was in order before the drive back home ...

That was our visit to Luray Caverns. If you are in the DC/Northern Virginia area, it's worth the drive out to visit. Wear comfortable shoes and bring money. You won't be disappointed.

And that's it for today. I am still operating only at about 65% or less with this $@%! cold, and am really* looking forward to going back to work today ... but at least I'm still working, so I guess I really can't complain.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* Not.