August 14, 2005 [LINK]
Festival at Luray Caverns
Ignoring all the dire warnings about the 100-degree heat forecasts, we drove up to Luray Caverns for the celebration of the 127th anniversary of its discovery this weekend. We had hoped to take a balloon ride, but we learned after we got there that the only real (untethered) rides were at dawn and late afternoon; it's hard to get lift from hot air when the surrounding air is so warm. With year-round temperatures of about 60 degrees, the caverns were the perfect escape. It's one of the biggest tourist attractions in Virginia, and the wide variety of rock formations provides plenty of stimulation for the mind and senses. The flashless digital photos we took below ground were grainy but at least adequate for Web site purposes. After the 1.25-mile "spelunking" trek, we emerged into the stultifying solar rays again. We walked through a very good antique carriage and car museum, and later enjoyed fine bluegrass music from a local group "Higher Ground" and a group called "Meridian" from Johnson City, Tennessee. Time well spent!