Natural Bridge, Virginia is, in my opinion, the ideal weekend road trip destination if you’re within a few hours driving distance. My visit this summer wasn’t my first, but was just as exciting (and focused on photography).
 
You’re probably familiar with the stunning 215 foot-tall rock formation that was carved out by Cedar Creek over a period of time unfathomable to us mortals. It’s the natural highlight of the region: once a sacred site of the Native American Monacan tribe, surveyed by George Washington in 1750, a major tourism attraction for Europeans during the 18th and 19th centuries who wanted to see the 'New World' and has been included in several “Seven Natural Wonders of the Worlds” lists. In summation, you should see it for yourself. Folks have been raving about it for hundreds of years!

As if seeing the archway during the day wasn’t magnificent enough, they also have a nocturnal light show. Fair warning, the audio accompaniment depicting the seven days of Creation as described in Genesis is dull as a dishwasher. The visuals are well worth the wait, however. Find you favorite album or playlist and don those earbuds. Enjoy the stars.

I bet you didn’t know Virginia is home to over 4,000 caves. This statistic blew my mind when I first heard. Most of them are not worth mentioning, but there IS one in Natural Bridge with some jaw-dropping formations and an original name to boot: The Caverns at Natural Bridge. (Not to be confused with the Natural Bridge Caverns in San Antonio.) It’s a great escape from the summer heat at a stable 54 degrees Fahrenheit and is a great sequel or prequel to your Natural Bridge geological lesson.

Slightly less geological, but still in the same realm is Mark Cline’s Foamhenge. This is a full size scale replica of Stonehenge made entirely of foam. It’s a heck of a roadside attraction even if it hasn’t stood up to Stonehenge's test of time. This is a MUST stop, even if it's only for a few minutes. And say "hello" to Merlin for me.

Additional suggestions: Grab dinner in nearby Lexington at The Red Hen (a farm-to-table daily menu that won’t disappoint) then catch one of the walking ghost tours. Stay the night at House Mountain Inn (below) and hike to their overlook on Big House Mountain with a bottle of wine. Or scramble up the Devil's Marbelyard. Bonus points: visit in autumn.

Easy accessibility and a 45-minute proximity makes these cascades the perfect weekend waterfall getaway. If you’ve got the resources, stay overnight at The Omni Homestead Resort and triple your aquatic adventure by taking a dip in their legendary Jefferson Pools (Virginia’s cream of the crop hot springs). They've drawn visitors from across the country for centuries, including Thomas Jefferson who sojourned to the pools in 1818 for three weeks of relaxation at the spa.

Falling Spring Falls is a drenching 80’ of “I don’t think we’re in Virginia anymore” located right on Route 220, five miles north of Covington. There’s a generous parking lot and a fenced-off viewing area along the highway, but to truly experience this natural beauty you have to scramble down the rocks to the base of the falls. You’ll be kicking yourself if you don’t. I promise.

You’ll find the beginnings of a well-worn trail where a taller portion of the parking lot fence meets a lower portion (go ahead and hop it, you rebel). Not only does this trail lead you to the top of the falls with hot springs large enough for swimming and a rope swing beckoning your call, but it’ll guide you down to the rock scramble and on into Ferngully. Tune into Batty's Rap or Hexxus' Toxic Love performance while marveling the tumbling tributary and you're golden.

An exotic dream, the payoff for this waterfall is huge for a relatively small amount of effort. The hardest part for most will be ignoring the no trespassing sign.

Roaring Run Falls is located in Eagle Rock, an easy half-mile hike from the parking area off Route 621. This trail is particularly fun because it follows the stream, crossing five scenic bridges before reaching the headlining waterfall. There are several smaller falls and a natural water slide along the way. Be forewarned that the water is mountain cold, at least in the spring, but it's worth freezing your feet for a few minutes. And the trail is dog friendly! Just be mindful of the seven Leave No Trace principles; keep it beautiful for the next traveler.

Finally, swing by the Roaring Run Furnace before packing back into your car.

Roadside Attraction: While in Covington, stop by the Humpback Bridge off Highway 60. It's one of the few remaining covered bridges in the US that was built higher in the middle than on either end, hence the name "humpback." It was built in 1857 and abandoned in 1929 until five acres surrounding the bridge were purchased in 1954, allowing public access. The inside is covered with graffiti, and it's hauntingly beautiful.

In January of 2014, I called the Steins Unlimited Museum in Pamplin, Virginia to arrange what I thought would be a simple tour of a stuffy exhibit room likely coated in a thin layer of dust due to frequent disuse. Please, no plexiglass, I remember thinking. There's just about nothing less exciting than photographing exhibits behind plexiglass. My hopes were high as I followed the route from Richmond towards Appomattox, the snowy landscape elevating my spirit. Google images and web searches had left me completely in the dark on this museum, and, even so, I was surprised when I pulled up to a ranch-style home a little less than an hour later. This just got interesting, I grinned.

George Adams led me out the back door to the storage shed where I learned he was born and raised in Germany. He began his compilation and a lifetime of beer knowledge at a young age and now has one of the largest collections of antique steins in the world along with one of the world's largest measuring in at 32 liters.

George also buys, sells, appraises and repairs pewter steins, so before leaving I made a purchase. I love bringing home memories from my travels, so I picked out a flagon picturing a fox on one side and a wild turkey on the other, adorned with an acorn pewter lid. It was the perfect find. To this day, however, I've only used it for drinking tea. Is this sacrilege?

I was blown away by his collection to say the least. Stand-alone tankards and sets lined the entrance room consisting of two rows of floor-to-ceiling shelves. The record-holder sat at the head of a row, hard to miss. He even had several regimental steins from WWII soldiers complete with names. (Did you know soldiers were issued steins?) Steins of all shapes, colors, sizes and pictorials could entertain me for hours, especially since he had stories for so many. I had to stop asking about each one, I realized, if I was going to get any work done.

In the end, I shook hands and departed one of the best-kept secrets in central Virginia.

P.S. Did I mention I wanted to be Indiana Jones when I grew up?