April 2021
Luray Caves, Virginia
Visitors have been coming to Luray Caves since its discovery in 1878. The cavern system is filled to the brim with speleothems such as columns, mud flows, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, and mirrored pools. The caverns are perhaps best known for the Great Stalacpipe Organ, made from solenoid-fired strikers that tap stalactites of various sizes to produce various tones. The organ is in an area so large they once held ballroom dances, and today, if you choose you can be married in the room.
We recorded the organ, but the hum of a neon light in the cave overwhelmed our recording. It was fascinating to watch nonetheless.
A Smithsonian Institution report of July 13 and 14, 1880, said: “It is safe to say that there is probably no other cave in the world more completely and profusely decorated with stalactite and stalagmite ornamentation than that of Luray.”
If you look closely at the photo above you will notice that the floor is not stalagmites but a reflection of the ceiling in a pool of water
Through the years visitors have broken some of the stalactites, if you look at the center you can see the many layers of the crystal deposits.
The stalactites and stalagmites in the Luray Caves grow at a staggering slow rate of one cubic inch every 120 years.
Shenandoah National Park – Virginia
Shenandoah National Park covers 197,438 acres. The best way to enjoy this if you are not hiking is Skyline Drive. The park at its highest is 4,051 feet, so many of the trees have not yet leafed out, but you can see forever from many of the lookouts.
Visitors to Shenandoah owe a lot to the Civilian Conservation Corps. Over 1,000 men worked at ten camps in and around Shenandoah.
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28.
Much of the work done by the Civilian Conservation Corps was located in national, state, and local parks. In 9 years the CCC planted nearly 3 billion trees and developed more than 800 parks across the United States.
Historical Massanutten Lodge
Skyland Lodge is the heart of the Shenandoah National Park, it was a private resort prior to the area becoming a park. Built in 1911, it was the home of Addie Nairn Pollock, co-owner of Skyland Resort and wife of Skyland founder George Freeman Pollock. The lodge was designed by the Washington, DC architect Victor Mindeleff. The stone building is covered in tree bark.
New River Gorge National Park – West Virginia
The New River Gorge Bridge is a steel arch bridge 3030 feet long over the New River Gorge in the Appalachian Mountains. Built between June 1974, and October 22, 1977 the 1,700 feet long arch was the world’s longest single-span arch bridge for 26 years, it is now the fifth longest.
Visiting on April 21st it was snowing.
The New River Gorge
Great Smoky Mountains – Tennessee and North Carolina
Entering the Great Smoky Mountains
The Great Smoky Mountains rise along the Tennessee–North Carolina border. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province.
The flora of the region changes consistently, making multiple visits almost a must to appreciate the ever changing scenery. It was snowing in April, a rarity, and beautiful. Over ten million people visit the park yearly with another 11 million people simply passing through. Apparently during the summer the traffic is bumper to bumper, making us glad we had been there in April.
Snow dusting the trees at the higher elevations.
Elk on the valley floor
Red Bud in Bloom
The Red Bud was blooming along the sides of every highway and byway, it felt as though the roads had been splashed with a pink/purple paint everywhere we went.
The Dogwood Trees
Mother Nature was generous, where ever she did not toss a red bud, she tossed a white or pink dogwood tree, making every turn in the road a WOW moment.
Enjoy some of the sites…..
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Small mushrooms pushing their way into the world
Moss beginning to send up seed spores
