So yesterday morning, we sent back Wynn to UVA. She didn't want to come with us. She wanted to stay with David, who has been there for a while now and they miss each other. She's gonna be working on campus this summer so she went back. But anyway, and Lynn has left for California on Friday morning so it was just my parents, Aye and I who went down to the Natural Bridge. The day was hot and humid again cuz of all the thunderstorms that we have been having this whole week. But we were glad that it wasn't raining. So we left Charlottesville and went down to Lexington.
The ride was enjoyable. The traffic was a little heavy but no jams. And Aye and I were singing songs...BSB, Celine, Westlife and some other random songs. And before we knew it, we were there. It was 2 o'clock so the sun was still pretty hot. We went into the big store that would lead us to the entrance to the bridge. We stayed there for a while buying some postcards and gifts and what-nots and then bought our tickets and started on the Cedar Creek Trail...
First, there were stairs, maybe 5 stories high? But it wasn't that bad cuz there was a waterfall right next to it and we were amazed by its beauty. We took photos all along the stairs and at the bottom. It was so relaxing. And then we walked further down the trail about 50 yrds from the bottom and then bam! The bridge was right in front of us. It was BEAUTIFUL! We were marveled by its beauty and its exotic features. We took numerous pictures and we just couldn't take in the beauty. We walked under it and little droplets of water were dripping down. We walked a little bit further down to the other side and took some more pix. Haha. Us and pictures! :P But from the other side, the whole rock surface underneath the bridge (the two rock cliffs that were holding the bridge) looked as if it was one-dimensional even though it's 3-D. It was at an angle and so we couldn't see the opening underneath the bridge. And because the sun was reflecting from the pool below, the whole rock surface was shimmering and it was AMAZING. I was just in awe of the marvel. We stayed there a while before continuing down the trail. We passed thru the Monacan Indian Village and then crossed a little bridge over the stream. And we got to the Salt Peter Cave. It was so cool in the cave and was totally different from the heat just a few feet outside of it. We cooled down in there for a while. And a little humor for you guys. I was standing there looking around and Aye asked me to stand still. I got scared. She took my blouse collar and shook furiously. I had no idea what was happening. Then she told me there was a green crawly creature. I shrieked and jump around a bit. I ran outside the cave,still scared. I looked up at the cave ceiling but there was nothing but dripping water. The creature was probably a caterpillar of some sort from the trees outside. So I went back into the cave but it was still scary for me for a while. Haha. :D
We walked about 30 or 40 yrds more before we came to a place where there was a clearing and there were rocks and the stream was flowing right next to them. We stopped and took some pix on the dry rocks. And then Aye suggested we took our shoes off and go into the water. The water was only about 7 or 8 inches deep because of the rocks. The water was rapidly flowing downhill but it wasn't too bad. So we got our sandals off and slowly started down the rocks into the water. There weren't any algae on the rocks that were submerged in the water because of the rapid flow of the water. So we could walk on them safely. And the water was so cool. Our mom and dad did the same thing and we were just having fun. We stayed there for about half an hour, just playing with the water and taking pictures and enjoying the cool water that our feet were enjoying. Another family came by and saw what we were doing. The little kids wanted to go into the water as well and they started to do the same thing. So we decided to give them some fun and we dried our feet and move to another spot. There was a tree that has fallen but it was still 2 or 3 feet above the water. we climbed onto it and walked a little bit and sat down. I was at the farthest and my feet barely touched the water. Then there was Aye beside me and then our mom. I asked our dad to take a pic of us. He was recording us with the video camera at first. So I was sitting on the log and I had a short jean skirt on and my legs were rubbing against the rought bark. It was getting uncomfortable and he was still with the video camera. Grr...but it wasn't that bad. We climbed back down and continued on our uphill journey.
We came across the Lost River. It was flowing right across on our trail and down the waterfall on the side of the cliff that we were on. It was flowing out from a small cave. We read some of the info about it. It said that no one could find where the river starts and where it ends. They've tried dyeing methods and floating devices but nothing works. No one could find out. Aye and I were talking about how in the movies, James Bond or some other hero would be coming out of the cave in the water, trying to escape from the enemy or some kind of bomb. Haha...wild imagination! *wink* Too many movies! ANYWAY, we had to jump across the 2-feet-wide flow of water and continued up the hill. There weren't many people left at where we were. We wanted to see the Lace Falls at the end of the trail. The waterfall is about 1300 ft down and we wanted to see that. So we continued on the trail. The trail was now wet and muddy and maybe that was why not many people came down that way. But we were determined to finish the trail so we walked on. It took us a while, maybe because of the uneasy task of walking in the mud, but we got to the end. The trail ends about 200 ft. away from the fall and we were disappointed about that. But we still could see the fall. We took some more pictures. But we had to hurry a bit cuz the storm was coming and it was getting a bit dark even at 5pm. Aye and I were taking each other's pictures and asked our parents to go ahead without us and that we would catch up with them. They were a little bit away from us when our dad said that there was a snake. We didn't believe him, of course, cuz he always jokes around about that kind of stuff. Grr...But then our mom freaked cuz she's scared of snakes and she asked us to come quickly. We quickly finished up taking the pictures and came back down the trail. And where our dad was standing, 2 feet away from where he was was a greyish-brown snake on the rock railing that was along most of the trail. I freaked! I sprinted down as fast as I could. Only when I was far away from the snake, did I stop. It started to rain a bit and we hurried to the shop. We got there just in time before it started to rain more heavily. We refreshed ourselves and looked around the store a bit more before we headed to the car. By that time, the rain has stopped so we were glad.
We drove back and after about an hour and a half, that was when the storm hit us. It rained so heavily that we couldn't see 2 feet in front of us and 2 feet behind us. We put our blinkers on and took a right into a street and stayed there for while for the storm to pass us. The rain was raining in a 50 degrees angle right onto our windsheild so it wasn't so bad when we stopped. But it was scary. Luckily we didn't have any cars behind us and there was only a car about 40 ft. in front of us. Whew! Both the wind and the rain were strong and the whole sky was dark, dark grey. But we drove through the storm and later saw a huge rainbow. Aye and I were excited. It was incredible. We've never seen such a huge arc. It was more than half a circle. We recorded it and had a fun time trying to look for it between the fast-moving rainclouds and the trees that covered the sky.
We finally got back around 10. The day was absolutely AMAZING and being with the nature was INCREDIBLE!!! We had a blast and I'll never forget this day. And the rain storm even made it more interesting cuz the rain/storm always seems to follow us on our unforgettable and happy days. It was yet another journey that won't be forgotten.
Well...that was an enjoyable reading, I hope! I had fun writing all about it. I recommend everyone who loves nature to explore into the wonders of the Natural Bridge and the Cedar Creek Trail. I'm sure you'll have a blast cuz I did! But now, I must go. World Literature paper and review for Math final await. So sad to leave but I'll talk to you later again. Just ONE MORE WEEK! *wink* :D
~ Ei Ei
You find it in the deepest friendships,
The kind you cherished all your life.
You know how much that means,
When you've found that special thing,
You're flying without wings. *wink* ~ Westlife "Flying Without Wings"
