Grarled Old Tree

As I was walking down the 152 steps to the Natural Bridge in Va. I came upon this wonderful ancient Tree, I just had to take a few photographs to share with you, showing the twists and turns this old man tree had gone through to adapt to ancient winds and weather.

This photograph is of the base of the tree (click on to enlarge and see better the twists and torturous turns) with two other shots to show in detail the many ancient fingerprints of time and weather.

Another photograph higher up showing a mass of twisted limbs

What great Texture , knots and turns

Natural Bridge/George Washington

Natural Bridge showing trail going under it on the right side

On the left side of the Bridge high up above the water there are some names carved into the rock there , one is outlined with white paint, supposedly George Washington's initials. I know George slept everywhere in Va. but seems he didn't sleep here..just left his Mark....lol..that man sure did get around.

As usual..click on the image to get a better view...here you will also see some other initials and my interpretation is as follows;( J. V. Getz Oct. 14, 1883)..this was put there long after old George was there for as near as I know George was long gone by then. So...did George really put his initials up there?

Farther up the trail from the Bridge I ran into this sign(click on it to enlarge to read it) it tells of a reproduction of a Monacan Indian Village which is a little farther up the trail.

A shot from a distance on the approach to the Village showing the Palisades surrounding the Village.

A Hanging Gourd...used to store water for cooking or drinking when the water supply could be a bit muddy from Cedar Creek after a major rain.

Natural Bridge/Waterfall

After going down the 152 steps from the building/museum to the Natural Bridge, I saw a sign saying what was beyond the Bridge, so I asked the man there how far it was to the waterfalls that was up the trail...well he said "Only about 3/4 of a mile"...so I proceeded on up the trail checking out the different things to see and taking pictures all along the way...now let me tell you something here...it is quite obvious that the man at the foot of the steps by the bridge has Never walked up this trail...because it turned out to be more like 2 miles up the trail..and I mean mostly UP, even though most of the trail was covered with a small type of gravel it was still rough going for an old man who has had 19 heart attacks as well as other health related problems..but all in all...it was worth it.

Here are a few photographs that show some of the beauty of the Falls at the end of the trail and I will post some more photographs of other things I saw on the way at a later time.

Twin Waterfalls from a distance

Waterfalls shown close up..notice a gush of water coming in from the right into the main upper falls bottom..so is actually 3 falls in one.



Some of the water at the foot of the last falls starting to tumble down the rocky river, creating a very peaceful, tranquil setting.

Pink Cadillac Memorys

Pink Cadillac Diner

Memory's of the 50's and 60's....We had gotten off the I-81 in Natural Bride Va. for gas when we saw this sign that said "Pink Cadillac Diner" so being curious we just had to drive by and see it...lol...and there it was..big as Life...a Pink building with a Pink Cadillac sitting next to it.

Another of the "off the main road" sights to see and have a good chuckle to ease the strain of travel.