Oh, Shenandoah

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Tonight as I sit peacefully at the Warrior Path State Park in Tennessee, I'm thinking of the last few days of sightseeing. For me, the highlight was the Luray Caverns in Luray, VA. One of the rangers in Pennsylvania told me to be sure to stop there and I am so glad we did.

After the Civil War three friends set out there in Virginia in search of caves. They knew there were some in the vicinity and they were also sure that it would help the wartorn economy and bring travelers into their city. We'll these men set out and searched and one day they discovered a place on the side of a hill where cool air was flowing out. They struck paydirt and there below them and for 167 more feet were georgeous cavern rooms formed by water flowing through the solid rock and carving out spaces beneath the ground. Then all the minerals from the water helped form the stalactites and stalagmites, columns and cave formations that we saw yesterday. The best part was near the end of the tour. At the turn of the century, the 19th century, that is, parties were held inside the cave, musicians came in and wooden floors were installed for large galas held beneath the ground where everyone was safe from rain and the weather was always a temperate 54 degrees. One enterprising musician decided to find just the right formations to be the pipes for a pipe organ installed inside the cave. He found the correct sounds over a 3 acre expanse of caves and attached a hammer to each and then worked out an amplification system and then played the pipe organ at functions there. We heard a replication of the actual organ on our tour, but did see B flat being hammered 7 times during a "Mighty Fortress is our God".

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I can now hear the rain falling quietly outside. There has been high winds for a few days and the wish for rain as it is very dry in this part of the country now. If this rain is sufficient many will be happy here.

Last night we spend in the Shenandoah National Park. The Park consists of 105 miles of Skyline Drive. We entered the park halfway down and spent the night at Big Meadows and walked into the meadow after dinner, watching a peregrine falcon and 3 crows chasing each other in and about a stand of spindly trees there. Everyone won that match and falcon went on to search for smaller and slower critters below him on the ground. We also saw 3 deer bucks and many does and fawn right inside the campsite. They were so lovely and graceful and hardly knew it was hunting season, as they are protected in the park. I watched occasionally during the night for bears, but was told I would most likely see skunk.

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Today, we got off the highway for lunch at a Cracker Barrell. I had turnip greens and ham and pinto beans for the first time, very delicious. On the offramp there was a sign for Virginia Tech. Well, my cousin who I haven't seen since I was 10 works there as a coach, so I could not pass by without attempting to meet him and say Hi, Cuz. Well, he was available and Bill and I had a really fun 20 minutes discussing our families before he had to get back to practice with his team