The Natural(ish) Bridge
Summertime means adventure time for Crowley, me and my boyfriend, Bob. (By the way Bob is the best boyfriend I ever had: quiet, strong, great looking and carries the baby everywhere. I’ll admit he is a stroller, even so…he’s still the best.) Anyway, as I learn about Crowley’s busy little brain and how it works…I can tell he likes to keep moving. New environments seem to light a fire under the little man’s development. So, since we are working on the words for animals, I thought, let’s go see them. So off we went to The Natural Bridge Zoo.
Crowley making friends
It’s about 35 miles north of Roanoke in Rockbridge County. Privately owned, the zoo has everything from zebras, bears, tigers, monkeys, giraffes to elephants (Crowley said ‘elephant’ for the first time). His favorite animals, by far, were the baby goats.
Crowley's goats at The Natural Bridge Zoo
If you have kids and are in the vicinity, should you go? Why not? It’s $8 for an adult, Crowley was free. Is this how I would spend my free time if not teaching a child how to talk? No. This is a place with tremendous potential but they don’t put a lot of effort into the exhibits or even educating you about the animals. That said, I am glad we went and Crowley had an up close encounter with so many animals. Friendly to off-roading strollers like Bob. He’s so dependable.
After we toured the The Natural Bridge Zoo, we headed down to the The Natural Bridge.. which is an enormous rock formation, carved out by a river to form a… well… a natural bridge. Also privately owned, you’ll have to fork over a whopping $18 per adult to see the thing. It is handicapped accessible which means they load you into a rickety bus (think camp from your childhoods) and head down a bumpy, curvy road… bouncing all the way. Not a great idea to wear a low cut top, especially if you are still nursing. There will be a wardrobe failure.
The happy (and sad) part is, they have paved the whole path up to and under the Natural Bridge. This makes it a breeze for Bob but the pavement takes the nature right out of natural. But it is an awesome site. Absolutely enormous. And cool.
Crowley, Anna and Bob... Natural Bridge in the background...
The tree canopy and water made this spot about 10 degrees cooler than the 97 degrees in Roanoke… which was a huge relief. And while this great natural wonder loomed over our heads, Crowley was more interested in talking an elderly lady out of her walker because that walker looked like a really good time!
Crowley eyes a walker and makes a play for it!
Farther down the path is a historic recreation of a Monacan Native American Village. The path trades in the pavement for gravel which with a little elbow grease, Bob still handled well.
Crowley feeling at home in the wigwam
My feelings about the Monacan village? How can you disparage the very place where your son falls in love with a wigwam. And yet, I am going to. Again, major failure on the education front. Who were the Monacans? Where are they now? What happened to them? Etc.? I still have no idea the answers to those questions. There was a tool maker present and some college students dressed as Native Americans. So, it was fun to watch Crowley run around and explore, but would this village excite and adult brain? Sorry. Probably not.
We stopped at a little cafe at the foot of The Natural Bridge. And while the view was beautiful, better to bring your own food. I have never had a hot dog bun that was both chewy and wrinkled… until now.
I know this isn’t a glowing review. The truth is we had a wonderful time. We blocked out the onslaught of tourist chachka for sale and focused on all the natural we could find, having a good laugh along the way. Time well spent, another adventure in our catalog.
Crowley, Bob and I are home until the next trip… Anna
