As the rest of the northeast flocked to D.C. for the peak of the cherry blossom festival this weekend, I opted for a more… well, underground experience. My co-workers here at these apartments told me I had to see Luray Caverns to the south of us, and the pictures on the internet were unlike anything I’d ever seen. I drove off yesterday under a brilliant blue sky.
Highway 81 took me ever southward to the fertile Shenandoah Valley. The mountains were only starting to bud green but the grass was long, lush, untamed. I followed the huge green signs to the caverns.
On such a beautiful Saturday, the population was out in force, but the line moved quickly and soon I was going down the dark stone stairs. The heavy smell of wet rock and underground surrounded me. “Ohhh… It’s like a cave down here!” said an excited little voice behind me somewhere. I chuckled. Then we were in the caverns, an alien, spectacular landscape, a wonder lurking just under the crust of the earth.
The pictures will never do justice to the caverns’ magnificence. Huge, grand, sweeping, oddly accessible with rolling floors and high ceilings.
Some formations were dry, dark clusters. Some were wet, twisting, tentacle-shaped, gleaming in the man-made lamplight. Without the lights, I realized, this wonder would be completely dark, and go back to silently forming in the blackness.
From among the excited voices around me I heard a youngster ask, “Who made this?” His mother answered, “No one made this. It’s nature!” Another kid remarked, “This is a great place for animals to live. If I was an animal, I would just rush down here and live.” From my pocket, Rodger grumbled that he would starve down here, with nothing growing.
One of our last stops was the wishing well, a deep, clear pool of water glowing blue in the dark. Coins showed copper and silver from the bottom.
When the kids were starting to wonder if the tour would ever end, we came to a big open space and there was, of all things, an organ. Years ago, someone had made thousands of trips down to attach tiny hammers to stone formations, and now they play music. It’s a charming, ethereal sound.
I stepped back up into the blinding sunlight, into the fresh chilly breeze. What a wonder, Luray Caverns. So many times, I only notice the surface of our world and myself on it. Going inside the cave, the magnificence underground struck me. Quiet pools of clean clear water. Echoing chambers and dark tunnels. Vast stone shapes gracefully formed over ages that, if you listen, release music.
The earth sings. And there’s stunning beauty even in the deep dark underground places of the world.
-The Dauntless Princess-
My favorite: this water looks deep, but it’s only because of the perfect reflection.
An Insane Overlook.
The wishing well.
The organ underground. 