Field Trip to the Natural Bridge (Photo overload)

Yesterday we took a field trip to the Natural Bridge with our Home School Group.

I got up bright and early and drove almost 3 hours through the mountains with 3 kids in the back.  I was exhausted but it was worth it!  

The first thing on the itinerary was to visit The Caverns.  We started by walking down the man made entrance to descend into the caverns.  Here is the natural entrance.  If you look very closely you can see a small tunnel.  A 45 minute crawl would get you above ground!

Here are some of the rock formations inside the caverns.

We went down about 400 feet under ground.  There were about 50 stairs going down but they were so steep it felt like 150 coming back up.

After a quick lunch it was time to see the main attraction, The Natural Bridge.  I saw this tree on the hike down.

and this waterfall.

Then we made it to the main attraction!  It was so beautiful!  Pictures don't do it justice, but I will try.

Legend has it that George Washington climbed 25 feet up the side of the bridge to carve his initials.  Here they are, but I didn't have the right camera lens with me to get a good picture.  

There was also an inside butterfly exhibit.  

Anne