Thursday, November 2, 2017

What if you and some friends decided to investigate a strange rock protuberance in a neighbor's yard, discovered a passageway emitting cold air, climbed inside and found a masterpiece of natural beauty?

That, in a nutshell, is the story of Luray Caverns. www.luraycaverns.com/

The discovery was made in 1878, and it did not take long for word to spread. By 1906 18,000 people visited the caverns. Last year about 500,000 came, and it's no wonder. Luray Caverns is an attraction (sorry for the clich) for all ages. It's a geological education, a feast for the eye, a pleasant stroll, and a diversion from the high-tech world outside.

It's cool. Yes it's a constant 55 degrees down there, but I also mean the other kind of cool.

This year the caverns started providing a self-guided audio tour, a huge improvement over trying to hear a guide speaking to your group of 20. The tour allows you to select a numerically coded message based on signs indicating the current point of interest, as you might find in an art museum. There are two versions of each commentary - adult and child. The adult narrator sounds like anNPRwww.npr.org/correspondentand is very informative and factual. The child commentator sounds a bit like an advetising pitch man for the Saturday morning cartoons. "Hey cave explorers! Bet you can't find five formations that look like animals!" That sort of thing. Hysterically, both commentaries impart basically the same information.

As in an art museum, the various highlights along your 1.25 mile underground stroll are accented with lighting. The passageways are airy, well-lit and have high head clearance. It must be emphasized, however, that the formations underground are shockingly beautiful and other-worldly. Many couples get married in the caverns, exchanging their wedding vows in the "stalacpipe" organ theater. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Stalacpipe_Organ Music is made by mechanically tapping stalactites of various sizes, producing a full musical range of notes. Selections are played periodically during the tours.

A wedding on Jupiter could not be much more exotic.

Free with your admission ($21 adult, $10 child), is a pass to the Car and Carriage Museum.www.naviquan.com/page/luray-caverns/2This is a wonderful, 140-piece collection that takes you from horse-and-buggy through about 1940. All of them look ready to drive out the door.

From I-81, take exit 264 onto Rt 211 East, about 10 miles. On the way take some time to explore downtown Luray.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luray,_VirginiaLots of cafes, antiques, and local flavor.


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