Natural Bridge, Virginia

Peg and I stopped at the Natural Stone Bridge in Virginia on our way down to the Cumberland Gap. My parents made this journey many years ago and I remember pictures of the Natural Bridge. Peg and I hiked down the 134 steps to the base of the hill where the walkway started towards the bridge. It is quite impressive! Even George Washington visited the bridge and climbed up 20 foot on the side of the rock to carve his initials into the stone for all to see! See picture on left.

Above the Natural Stone Bridge is part of the main highway to route 81 and we were joking about taking the RV over it to see if we end up in the river below. Wouldn't you know it, we actually did go over that road and there was no collapse from the weight of the RV!

In the river below the bridge, we found large trout swimming and having a great time playing in the water. There were rainbow trout and an albino looking fish that we assumed was also part of the trout family. They would get in the shallow part of the stream and scratch themselves on the rocks. Pretty cool to see! Can you see all the fish in the picture to the right?

We walked over to a replica of an Indian Village bordering the river that carved out the Natural Bridge. They had some folks there who told us a little about the village and the Indians who lived there. Since we wanted to get to the Cumberland Gap area before dark, we cut our exploration short and, after a quick lunch in the RV (which was in the parking lot), we headed down the road...