Our first attempt to see the Natural Bridge was doomed by Google maps. You actually have to enter the trail through the Natural Bridge State Park building. The bulding itself is beautiful old brick building with a large gift shop inside.
The rangers were friendly and helpful. Once we paid out entry fee we exited out and down stair to the out doors and more stairs down. The stairs follow a lovely cascading creek down to the main trail.
The stairs also have interesting giant dead trees that are being held in place by cables. I am glad they are preserving theses unusual trees.
my first look at the Natural Bridge left me in complete awe. It is more gigantic than I could have ever imagined.
We had so much fun meeting other hikers in this trail.
George Washington wrote his initials here, as the story goes.
We soaked of the magnificence for a while and headed on up the trail to see what else we could find. It did not disappoint.
We discovers a cave just a short way up the trail. It had been a Salt Petre mine. Salt Petre had been used to make gun powder during the revolutionary War. This was a very strategic spot during that time.
A little further up the trail we could heat rushing water yet only a small trickle passed the across the trail. The sign explained that they people had heard the water and had blasted the mountain there and discovered a great underground river. Still the rushing River below the surface can be heard.
At the end of the trail we were rewarded with a nice big bench and a waterfall called, Lace waterfall. The biggest treat was meeting a man who was hiking the entire Appalacian Trail this summer. He took time out to talk with us.
We enjoyed the wildflowers on the way back down the out and back trail.
The rock formations are stunning. We encountered a wonderfully excited child who makes her own hats. Sophia was a delight to meet. She is a force of nature all her own.
I was truly stunned at the beauty of this place. Even the moss on the brick wall stopped me in my tracks.
We enjoyed aement of peace on the way back up the stairs with the cascades.
We loved Natural Bridge and all the amazing people that we met. Now on to Lexington, only 13 miles away, and dinner.
We went for Asian food. It was very good. Excellent service and had Thai, Chinese and Japanese selections. Everything was homemade. No frozen dumpings here. It was fantastic!
The perfect end to a perfect day!
