 During the previously reported busy, holiday weekend, Mercedes and I had the opportunity to visit the Luray Caverns, in Luray, Virginia. We also spent a few days cruising Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, hiking White Oak Canyon and Cedar Run.(more on this later, RE: bears!).
IMO, Luray itself has very little going for it, and I suspect that if it were not for the tourism generated by the caverns the whole town would just fall into an even greater state of disrepair and collapse. While the caverns themselves are indeed remarkably beautiful and ethereal to most, and intellectually captivating to the armchair geologists out there, they have clearly fallen victim to commercialism and exploitation by the local population.
There was one gem of a shop in Luray, however. A Moment To Remember was definitley an oasis in a Pizza Hut kind of town. The cafe showed great care in the smallest of details and knick knacks, and it easily falls right on par with the most comfortable of coffee shops in Cambridge and Davis Square. Highly recommended both for the homemade pies as well as the sawdust, bar room atmosphere.
For now, though, here are some photos of the cavern and a few of the waterfalls in White Oak Canyon in the National Park. Remember, stalactites hang tight to the ceiling and stalacmites might... oh, whatever...
UPDATE 7/30: Recently added some small video clips from our tour of Luray Caverns. Each is about 15 seconds to a minute.
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Stan
This is what I wrote:
This is the first cavern that I ever visited. I was 10 or 11 y.o. and I still remember the earthy smell, the cool moist air, the echoing sounds, the lake of glass-smooth water, the broken stalagmite that looked like fried eggs, and the indescribably beautiful music of organ made by tapping stalactites with rubber mallets!