Blogs from Luray, Virginia, United States, North America

Today is cave day! We're staying in Luray, so naturally we will be visiting Luray Caverns. There are a couple of other caves in the area, so today will be the day of caves. Since Luray Caverns is our first stop and is only about a mile up the road and doesn't open until 9:00, we were able to take our time about breakfast. Last night we walked into town and picked up a box from the post office, so this morning when the post office opened at 8:30, we walked into town again with what we hope to be the last box of t-shirts to send home. Then we hopped on the bike and headed over to Luray Caverns. Luray Caverns has expanded over the years from just a show cave, to a complex. It ... read more

Today we decided to sleep in and get a late start. We have heard about the Luray Caverns, which is about 30-45 minutes away from our cabin. And leave it to me to realize that I forgot my DSLR. I know the photographer in the family for the camera. Good thing I have a decent camera phone (still doesn't compare though). This place was a little tricky for us to find. We followed google maps directions and got to the location BUT, thinking its caverns, it would be in the middle of nowhere, right? Turns out it is in the middle of a shopping center. We just drove past it thinking the maps were wrong. We went in and got our ticket and had time to go around and walk the center. There are many things ... read more

Today we’re going to go for a float on the river. We’ve brought two kayaks and two inner tubes. The lady at the front desk told me yesterday that the river was “very, very low” and there was only one 3-mile section of the river (#16-#19) that was “even runnable”. She warned, “you wouldn’t even want to attempt to do any of the other parts”. Coincidentally (or not) this also just happened to be the section they were offering transportation to that weekend. For $60.00 they would drop us off and pick us up. Sixty bucks? We didn’t even need our boats transferred. All we needed was a ride from the end back to the start. We saw numerous people on the river yesterday. It couldn’t possibly be as bad as she described. After yesterday’s experiences ... read more

Only one more weekend before school starts. What a bummer. I can already feel the hot weather starting to ease up. There are lots of things I like about the fall, but summer is without a doubt my favorite time of the year. Oh well, there’s still time for one more giant fun-filled weekend! The destination is the Shenandoah River Outfitters Campground near Luray, VA. We had been there two years ago with Paul and Elaine and absolutely fell in love with the place. The campground sits about halfway down a 20 mile road that parallels a lazy section of the Shenandoah River and provides easy access to the water. It’s a river-rat’s dream. We only began planning this trip about two weeks ago; somewhat spur-of-the-moment for us. We’ve decided to take two days off and ... read more

On my way out of the Shenandoah Valley, I stopped by the Luray Caverns. Billed as the largest caverns on the east coast, I decided to stop by and take a look. Found in 1878 in the area limestone. We were assigned to a tour guide and the tour takes about an hour or so. You end up walking just over a mile. It is a US Natural Landmark. Although the caverns are a constant mid 50 degrees, it can be a bit humid. Nature is still at work forming the caverns so water is ever present. The caverns are some 4,000,000 years in the making. Huge, tall cathedral like areas within the cavern. Just amazing. Formations of all kinds are there to see including those that look like anacondas, hanging fish, bacon, draperies and fried ... read more