The Beauty Around Us

Easter Vacation – Day 3 of 5: Natural Bridge

By Linda G. on April 24, 2014

Bob and I spent three nights (April 17-20) in Waynesboro, Virginia.  Waynesboro is located near where the Skyline Drive ends and the Blue Ridge Parkway begins.  Our original plan was to stay in Waynesboro for four nights, but we departed a day early.  I will explain why we left Waynesboro a day early in a future blog post.

The highlights on Day 3 (April 19) of our Easter vacation included Natural Bridge, a swinging bridge in Buchanan and driving the Blue Ridge Parkway.  This blog post provides photographs and details about our visit to Natural Bridge.

We awakened a little after 5:00 on Saturday morning, after a good night’s sleep. I showered and dressed, after reading the newspaper and having a cup of tea. We went to breakfast a little after 6:30 am and were on the road headed to Natural Bridge by 7:00 am.  Natural Bridge is located just off Interstate 81 (exit 175) 15 miles south of  Lexington VA and only 15 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway milepost 62.   We traveled via Interstate 81 and arrived at Natural Bridge a few minutes before the 8:00 am opening time.

We walked under Natural Bridge to the Cedar Creek Nature Trail.

The Cedar Creek Nature Trail included the following points of interest: Monacan Indian Village, Saltpetre Mine, Lost River and Lace Waterfalls.  The trail ended at Lace Waterfalls, which was a distance of 1,300 yards from where the trail began.

The perimeter around the Monacan Indian Village is called a palisade.  This fence is designed to protect the inhabitants from wild animals and territorial infringements.  The Indian village was closed except for scheduled school tours.

About 1812, workmen from the Saltpetre Mine heard the waters of the Lost River and blasted the opening to it.  Legend has it that, in later years, several attempts were made to locate the underground channels of the Lost River.  All attempts failed to determine source and final destination of this mysterious subterranean river.

 

Although shuttle service was available, we opted to use the stairway from the gift shop/ticket counter down to Natural Bridge, as well as climb the stairway back to the gift shop.  I didn’t take any photographs on our way down the stairway, as we wanted to reach Natural Bridge before anyone else.  When we reached Natural Bridge, we were surprised to find two other couples had arrived there before we did. These two other couples bypassed the ticket counter, reaching Natural Bridge another way.  I did take photographs, as we climbed the stairway to the gift shop.

From Natural Bridge we drove to Buchanan VA, the subject of my next blog post.