Basecamp 103 – November 2023
Natural Bridge Virginia is a sign I have seen on I – 81 interstate highway for years
en route from our old home in North Carolina to the Berkshires. It was always too soon
for a stop and too near home for a stop. Today it is perfect.
We pull in by 3:15. Park the Basecamp at the campground, detach the car for the
five-mile drive to the historic State Park https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/natural-bridge.
The first comment on any webpage about the park is to beware that access: 137
steps. We expect to pay an entrance fee, but there isn’t a park ranger station until we
go DOWN the advertised steps. I ask the ranger, will you lock the gates after 5 pm
closing time? ”Aw don’t worry about it” the young man in uniform quips. I can only
hope he will be right. It is nearly 4 pm.
The bridge is a deep blue limestone arch that crosses a canyon like a wall. It is as
high as the Statue of Liberty at 215 Ft. Cedar Creek created this place, cutting through
the karst terrain that now grow thick woods on steep hillsides. The trail is well
groomed and lined with stone walls crafted generations ago. Thomas Jefferson lived
and farmed nearby: Monticello. He would visit to admire the natural feature at every
opportunity, especially on trips home from Washington DC. At the end of his life, it
was a regret that he was not able to preserve it. As a result, some commercial interests
have grown and some are still in operation. A large hotel is perched at the edge of the
ravine, and several campgrounds and cabins are privately run.
It is a cold midweek late afternoon visit, but we still pass a handful of visitors
equally in awe of the quiet, ever changing monolith. The sunset rays reflect the last
light of the day. Downstream from the natural bridge along the creek is site of a saltpeter cave where patriots in support of the Revolution found potassium nitrate. This was fermented then brewed into aconcoction that became gunpowder. (Saltpeter is a lengthy and complicated process. France provided much of the gunpowder needed
by the colonies as they waged war against the British.)
It is a beautiful walk along the creek. We feel cheered up after the stresses of leaving home and the hum of the engine all day on the road. Bear, who rules the whole backseat in his taco dog bed, has decided that gas stations and most rest stops aren’t worth it. Ahh, but he notices the difference from the paved parking lot that this stop means a good walk. He jumps right out, tail up, nose alert, a little dance at the end of the extension leash. He is thrilled to drink from the rocky shallows of the creek. The
gentle park trail is only a couple of hours up and back.
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