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Virginia: Luray Caverns – Again.
By Andrew Der with children.
 Our
children couldn’t care less where they are as long as they are
enjoying themselves with Mom and Dad. In my quest for low
maintenance weekend travel experiences (see my
previous story about “Reality Camping”), I am learning that
attractions and activities near where I live are no less rewarding
than in another continent.
I have also found these experiences to be profoundly
memorable when I visit an attraction from my childhood. Luray
Caverns in the renowned
Shenandoah Valley
of rural Virginia recently topped off my itinerary down memory
lane. My memories of Luray encompassed a time and social strata
when out-of-town travel was a luxury and an overnight weekend
jaunt was worthy of a Lowell Thomas travelogue – yet, in some
ways, the experience possessed a simplistic quality overshadowing
that of exotic lands. With the high degree of mobility today, I
wonder if, years from now, writers will describe nostalgic travel
memories of jetting to the Mediterranean with their parents?
Although Luray Caverns is easily experienced in a single
day and is only a couple of hours from Washington, DC, I recommend
exploring this childhood retreat in the Blue Ridge of the
Appalachian Mountains as a very relaxing weekend overnighter. The
best time to go for scenery is in fall so as to combine the jaunt
with the turning leaves but this also attracts a lot of city
traffic and the kids won’t care at all.
Discovered by accident in 1878 and studied by the
Smithsonian Institution, this natural marvel was designated a
Registered Natural Landmark by the National Park Service and the
Department of the Interior and is a staple of East Coast site
seeing. Isolated but not far away, the caverns are located in
Luray, a small town out of a Norman Rockwell painting. In fact
the only thing to do in the area is to see the local attractions.
Rich with scientific oddity and geologic riches, Luray
caverns will fascinate children of all ages. Although I had
visited the Caverns in the sixties as a child (quick, do the
math), I finally learned this time exactly how the caverns were
formed, that formations continue to form at a rate of one cubic
inch per 120 years and the differences between the formations (a
stalactite is from the ceiling and a stalagmite is from the
floor).The guided tour is very efficient and allows little
opportunity for monotony.
My favorite parts were the playing of the “stalacpipe
organ” and when all the interior lighting is briefly
extinguished. The organ is an amazing example of patient
tinkering and ingenuity. A musical piano-like keyboard is wired
to electro-magnetically propelled “hammers” fastened to
stalactites of exact pitch so when activated, the necessary note
is heard. The inventor, a scientist at the Pentagon, spent untold
hours in 1954 locating the formations with the exact pitch by
trial and error. Those were the days when people actually had
spare time. While still fascinating, the haunting door bell-like
notes seemed to be more rich and amazing from my childhood.
Having the tour group stand around while the lights are
turned off may seem mundane on the surface, but it is exciting and
a little scary to kids. The experience profoundly demonstrates the
amount of “light pollution” our eyes are accustomed to in the big
city. For many it is the very first time they experience true and
total darkness – a very strange and intriguing disruption to the
senses. One might compare it to a weightless sensation without
the weightless.
With the lights out it even seems colder so be sure to take
a sweater or jacket even in the summer – the temperature is in the
50s all year round. On the tour we learned that in 1901 the
Caverns were leased for a sanitarium. The place became the first
air-conditioned dwelling in America when a fan motor was installed
in the shaft that connected to a cavern chamber which was
connected to the house above.
 After
the tour, we let our kids run in the attraction’s one-acre
ornamental garden maze next door. We also enjoyed this clever
challenge of pathways with eight-foot tall evergreen walls leading
to four strategic checkpoints. I had trouble finding one of them
and wound up having a nice exercise experience keeping up with my
squealing children as they confronted the dead ends at full
running speed.
After the maze we stopped at Antique Car and Carriage
Caravan Museum next door. I expected to walk through fairly
quickly but found myself unexpectedly pausing more and more
wondering about those who rode and owned the impeccably preserved
horseless carriages. Some of the memorable highlights include a
1892 Benz still in operating condition, a Conestoga Wagon, a 1908
Baker Electric, a 1913 Stanley Steamer, Rudolph Valentino's 1925
Rolls Royce, Model Ts, motorcycles, farm machinery and gangster
getaway cars. I not only appreciated this virtual time machine as
a gear head but I also found the machinery as an effective venue
for American history appreciation.
The next day, on the way home, we followed the Shenandoah’s
famous Skyline Drive and hiked for a while in George Washington
National Forest. This scenic highway, nine miles from Luray and
part of the U. S. Park system, rides the crest of the Blue Ridge
Mountains for 105 miles interspersed with overlooks, hiking trails
and the largest concentration of North American black bear.
If the fall crowds are inhibiting, explore the George
Washington National Forest - the largest publicly owned land base
for recreation in the eastern United States. With more than 100
developed recreational sites including overlooks, streams and
pristine woodlands, exploration in a week is impossible. As we
drove home we began planning our next weekend adventure.
THE DETAILS
Luray Caverns, 970 U.S. Hwy. 211 West, PO Box 748, Luray,
Virginia 22835. 1(540) 743-6551OR
www.luraycaverns.com.
The excellent Website has all you need to know about hours of
operation, entrance fees, history, hotels, area attractions, car
museum and the maze. Don’t forget to print out the discount
coupons and use the reader friendly location map. For those of
you so inclined, check out the page for Caverns Country Club
Resort, which offers outstanding golf course, packages.
SLEEPING PLACES
Luray Caverns Motel East, 1(540) 743-4531or Luray Caverns
Motel West, 1(540) 743-4536
These motels can offer cozy, clean and economical family
accommodations within walking distance. Don’t forget the
complimentary continental breakfast next morning in the lobby.
 Yogi
Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp Resort, Highway 211 East, Luray, VA
22835
1(540) 743 - 4002 or Toll Free 1-800-420-6679,
yogi@campluray.com
Go to www.campluray.com
for everything you want to know about the most fun kids can have
camping while in the area – a weekend vacation unto itself.
EATING PLACES
In addition to the Luray Caverns snack bar, numerous eating
establishments, from fast food to family restaurants, are
available in Luray, Shenandoah National Park as well as on the way
there and back.
MORE RESOURCES
Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive
More features by Andrew Der:
Maryland: Reality Camping |