8-11-04
Morning lows were about 68 degrees. Today's highs were about 84
degrees or so. We are currently sitting in another Wal Mart
parking lot in Staunton, Virginia. (You know, there's nothing
like having your own grocery store in your front yard). We
traveled down I 77 to Wytheville, Virginia, and then picked up I 81
north for a few miles until we saw an exit for route 11. We took
that instead of using I 81. Had to go over a couple of mountains
today - none were too challenging - at least not compared to some of
the ones we have been on the last few weeks. Plan on heading for
Harrisonburg tomorrow. On the way here, we stopped at Natural
Bridge, Va. I'll tell ya what - it was worth more than the $10.00
admission charge. Yes, that is per person. One of the most
impressive sights we saw on this trip was this bridge. I've seen
pictures of this thing before, but as usual, seeing it in person just
changes your perception completely. This thing is huge. If
you've never seen this before and have the opportunity - don't miss
it. While you are at it - continue on the path past the
bridge. There are a couple of interesting things beyond the
bridge. One is a re-creation of an Indian village. They
have a house there, that must have taken many hours to build - cause
most of it is made of cattails. There is a kind of a fence there
made of tree branches set into the ground, with smaller branches woven
in between the ones that are standing. I have a couple of pics
posted. There was a garden there that was also fenced in
using the same kind of fencing. Talk about using what you have at
hand. Further along the trail was a cave - there is a description
of it in the pictures I posted today. After reading the
description, we went inside. Although the cave was probably only
40 feet or less from front to back, it was very impressive. At
the entrance to the cave, the temperature was close to 85
degrees. At the back of the cave, it was a comfortable 60 or
so. We're only talking about 40 feet from the front
entrance. The temperature change was just amazing. Now I
understand why some people would actually choose to live
in a cave, instead of build a house. Air conditioning would not
be necessary, and a small amount of heat probably would keep a person
warm in the winter. All that and there were no construction
costs. And we think that we are so advanced in our
civilization. Right. Anyhow, after looking at the cave we
headed up the path to the waterfalls. That was the end of the
trail and after taking a few pictures, we headed back down the
trail. As I said earlier, if you have the chance to see this hunk
of rock - do so, it's worth the trip. We left there and continued
north on route 11 until we got to Staunton, and decided to call it
quits for the day. I think that is about it for tonight. I
am uploading pictures even as I type this. Will try to finish
them before I go to bed. Later....
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