Last weekend we visited Grand Caverns, near Shenandoah Regional Airport (SHD). There’s much more to it than that, so here is a trip report.
The story began when I found some 1856 lithographs showing what appeared to be highly idealized views of something called Weyer’s Cave, in Virginia. Victorian tourists, decked out in top hats and hoop skirts, regarded the formations with utter fascination, viewing them with the aid of candles with tin reflectors.
I did a search on Weyer’s Cave, and quickly found SHD, because that’s the town where SHD is. Further research determined that 1) SHD has multiple courtesy cars, 2) Weyer’s Cave is now Grand Caverns, 3) the entrance to Grand Caverns is only a few miles from the airport, and 4) a forgotten writer-illustrator who called himself Porte Crayon visited the cave in 1853, wrote about it in Harper’s, and was the artist responsible for some of the pictures that has so captivated me. Antiquarians may enjoy his trip report from 1853 at:
http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/VoS/porte.crayon/porte.html. The Shenandoah Valley was a wild and mysterious place then. It still is, it turns out, but one has to know where to look.
The flight was mostly IMC at 6,000 feet. Routing from VKX was direct BRV direct, and about 50 minutes each way:
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N6309V/history/20111231/2000Z/KSHD/KVKX/tracklog We broke out over the Blue Ridge and proceeded to the airport. A Luscombe Silvaire landed just ahead of us, the pilot doing a great job with the 18 knot crosswind. We watched him land while we were on downwind, and he never wandered more than a foot from the centerline. SHD is what an airport should be, offering quick, no-hassle ground transportation. We were on the road minutes after we landed.
The cave is amazing! The lithographs are highly accurate depictions of the experience. It’s a classic case of a once-popular and famous destination bypassed by the Interstate and nearly forgotten. It’s the country’s oldest show (commercial) cave, as it opened in 1806, with an astounding nhistory that includes underground formal balls (with orchestra) and Civil War action. It’s very low-key – no rock pianos, minimal lighting, no hype. In other words, unlike most show caves, it’s a natural wonder, not a theme park. Best day trip ever. I’ve learned that Western Virginia is full of both history and forgotten natural wonders and we will visit more of them. I also want to support places like SHD that make general aviation convenient and useful. We put about $60 into the local economy, and it was a bargain for what we got. If you want to see the cave and flight, try:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=5141994070103%3A386704083 As a ”thank you” to our guide, Porte Crayon, also known as David Hunter Strother, I got him some national publicity:
http://blogs.archives.gov/prologue/?p=8144 Paul
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