Zentropolis

When you first get to the Luray Caverns you see this low, lodge-type building that looks like it was build in the early 60s. Its filled with aged wood paneling, ticket booths and the obligatory gift shop selling products from Korea. The place definitely seemed dated, like arriving in one of those old U.S travel brochures where dad is wearing the hat and driving the huge red car with tail fins. A “family” attraction from the past. There were two types of staff that worked their: the college-aged ones who handled all the ticket sales and tours of the cavern, and the kindly little old ladies manning the gift shops.

You enter the caverns themselves thru a unremarkable stairwell that almost looks like its heading into someone’s unfinished basement. The first thing I noticed as we entered was the humidity. It was much moister and warmer than I had expected. I don’t know why my mind had imagined a cool dry environment, but it had. The guide later explained that about half of the cave’s formations are still active, hence the humidity.

The tour was nice and long, a mile and a quarter, but was a little more polished that I might have liked. Everything is meticulously lighted with concealed fixtures and the path thru the cave is floored with brick and fitted with hand railings where needed. The distraction of these amenities quickly fades, however, as the spectacle of the caverns itself takes over.

“This is one hell of a cave” remarked Will, and he was quite right. Everywhere you turn, every corner you take, there are remarkable formations and fascinating views. Stone flows and drips into countless interesting forms and colors. Some harsh and jagged and red. Other are milky and translucent, as if they were made of ice. The size of the cavern’s shifts from low-ceiling passages barely 6ft high to huge vaults with shadowy roofs and thick reverb. The stalacpipe organ sits in one of the biggest of these chambers and many weddings have apparently been held there.

I really enjoyed Luray Caverns and would highly recommend it. Its one of those placed I’d just love to have to myself for a week to roam about and explore. Sit alone in one of those large chambers absorbing the sounds and atmosphere. It’d be a hoot to get the band in there and see what sort of recordings you could make with the natural acoustics. That’s why I was so surprised at the last thing the tour guide said to me.

As we were walking out I turned to her 21-ish face and said: “It must be great to be able to wander thru these caves when all the tourist are gone”. She responded in a bored, nonplussed tone: “Oh, I don’t really come down here unless its for work.”. Hmm, strange…

With the purchase of you ticket to the caverns, you also get admission to the antique car exhibit next door. Its an nice collection of vintage cars, even including one owned by Rudolph Valentino. Also at the site is a maze garden you can visit. It looked interesting from the outside, but was closed the day we went.

All in all, for under $20 per person plus travel time, its a hell of a great way to spend an afternoon

Fitz

Notable features

• Pluto’s Ghost – a giant translucent pillar.
• Stalacpipe Organ – the only one in the world. It makes sound by activating small hammers on stalactites.
• Dream Lake – a small lake that reflects the stalactites above it, creating an interesting mirror effect.
• Broken Stalactites – it used to be customary to allow visitors to break off a stalactite and keep it as a souvenir (shudder). Evidence of this abuse can be seen throughout the caverns.
• Wishing Well – change for charities.
• Petrified Eggs – the broken bases of stalactites that resemble, well, petrified eggs.

Pictures

Fitz in the Caverns	Stalactites	Dream Lake
Caverns I	Caverns II	Mike in the Caves
Formations	Mike, Scott, and Will	Caverns III
Caverns IV	Petrified Eggs	Pluto’s Ghost
Broken Stalactites	Stalagmites	The Wishing Well
Formations II	Stalacpipe Organ	Caverns V

Desktop Pictures (Wallpaper)

These two images make great desktop pictures (wallpaper) so I put them up at a much higher resolution (1600 x 1200)

Into the Caves

Giant Pillar

Slide show

For a more elegant way to see most of the pictures, here’s a QuickTime slide show with music from the Stalacpipe organ.

Luray Caverns Slide show – 1.4megs

Stalacpipe Organ Music

At the gift shop they sold a CD of the Stalacpipe organ being played: Monte Maxwell’s Midnight in the Caverns. Its quite good. The gentle mallets of the organ blending with all the dripping and ambience of the caverns. Sadly I couldn’t find any other way to buy the CD except at the gift shop. Its not available online or at the Caverns Official site, and that’s a shame. Its a nice, unique collection. Below is a short sample of one of the songs.

• Red River Valley Sample.mp3 – 30 seconds, 572k

Other Exhibits at the Caverns

Right at the cavern’s site is also a large bell tower, hedge garden maze (which was closed) and a nice exhibit of antique cars. The auto exhibit is free with admission to the caverns, the maze is extra.

An old Cadillac

The Bell Tower

Location and Such

Admission: $16 per person when we went.

Handicap accessible.