Last week while The Girl and I were in Virginia, we stopped by the Luray Caverns. IT.WAS.AWESOME.
The Luray cavers were discovered in 1878, by Andrew Campbell and a small group of his men. The land the caves were on was privately owned at the time. It was later put up for auction, due to debts the owner carried, and Andrew Campbell purchased the land, keeping the caves a secret until he had. After tons of changing hands and legal battles, it finally became a national commercial attraction.
The caves are amazing. They have lit portions of the caves so that you can tour them. It pretty much feels like Land of the Lost in there. I half expected a dinosaur to pop out and eat me.
Some of the formations are so unbelievable, you almost feel like you are looking at a painting and not real life.
In 1974, the caves became part of the National Natural Landmarks. Nearly 500,000 people visit the caves yearly and towards the end of the guided tour there is a wishing well {cavern style} where you can drop your loose change.
To date almost $900,000 has been collected and given away to charities.
How cool is that.
So if you are ever in the great state of Virginia, be sure and stop by.
~Mavis
Melissa says
My son took me there a couple years ago………….LOVED it, have tons of pictures of it………….they organ music was AWSOME.
Dustin says
If you’re in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area (or, especially, Southeastern Minnesota), I could help arrange an off-route tour of Mystery Cave if you’re interested. Alas, a year or two for the White Nose Syndrome concerns to calm down would be smart before taking me up on the offer–restrictions for now might limit when and where one may go. Many cool features to see there (although maybe not as many as Luray–great pictures!).