Our first stop was near Glasgow, VA to see Natural Bridge and Natural Bridge Caverns.
The Natural Bridge area has been a tourist destination since the the 1700's and was first owned by Thomas Jefferson, and surveyed by George Washington. The limestone arch was created by the erosion of the underlying rock leaving a massive rock bridge:
US Highway 11 crosses the gorge on top of the rock bridge.
Nearby is the deepest cavern on the US East Coast. The caverns have been open to visitors since the late 1880's. The 45 minute guided tour of the caverns was well run and the caverns are definitely worth visiting.
Later in the fall the caverns are home to three species of Bats. We did see one small Tri-Color Bat on the ceiling of the cave:
Jim