The Coleman Pop-Up Trailer stopped at Natural Bridge KOA Campground at 3PM, giving us time to set up camp and visit the nearby attractions.  First we visited Natural Bridge Caverns, a nice but typical commercial caverns.  If you are an old retired spelunker like me, you love every opportunity to visit a limestone cave.

Next stop, the Natural Bridge itself.  A remarkable stone structure with US Route 11 passing over top.  The view is from below, along a lovely trail.  Some of our finest revolutionary heroes / presidents had visited it according to the flyers. 

Ann chose to sit on a bench under Natural Bridge while Brennan and Bob hiked past (and under) Natural Bridge to explore a feature they call “Lost River”.  There is a two foot diameter cave entrance in the side of a small rock face.  As you approach, sounds of running water broadcast out the opening.  If you bend down and crawl in a foot or so, you can see the water flowing rapidly down from the left, across the floor, and disappear into the right side of the cave wall. There is enough water to keep a fire hydrant flowing.  The information plaque says that they have tried to find the source or the exit of the water to the surface without success.

After the hike was ate a light dinner at their café before returning to camp.  Brennan took a swim in the pool before exploring their playground.  We all visited the camp store for Ice cream.  Ann spotted a couple boxes of Dove Bar Bite Size Bits and selected three bits.  Bob and Brennan went for Klondike Bars.  At the register, the lady said, “Oh!  Those Dove Bar Bits weren’t for sale.  Some campers gave them to me because they had no way to keep them.  So I don’t know how much to charge you for them.”

That was her concession speech, admitting that we could have them.  Then we began the negotiations over how much to pay her.  When I was in Turkey, I learned how to survive in a haggle economy.  Nothing in Turkey had a fixed price.  The prospective seller would quote a ridiculously high price, and the prospective buyer would counter with a ridiculously low offer.  Then the two would gradually agree to a price both could live with.  The entire process was an important thread in the fabric of social life in Turkey.  Here we are now in the heart of Virginia countryside.  I suggested that the three bite size bits were about the same value as a Klondike Bar.  The lady said, “Not that much!”  So, with inverse haggling we agreed on a price below what we first offered.

As is typical of many of our camping trips, we finished the evening in the pop-up trailer with a few games of Skip-bo and a few giggle fits.   

-           Bob Kuhns