Visiting Blacksburg for a funeral, we had some extra time so we took a ride through the Virginia Tech campus.Lane Stadium.Statue of former football coach Frank Beamer.April 16 Memorial.32 Virginia Tech students and faculty members were murdered on campus on April 16, 2007. This memorial honors those who were killed.Miller’s Cabin at Historic Springfield, built around 1850. Private residence not open for tours.“The Merry Oak”. This tree was already present when the Preston family built Smithfield Plantation in 1774. It is probably more than 500 years old.The Smithfield Plantation house was built 1772-1773 for Colonel William Preston, and was the home of three governors of Virginia, James Patton Preston, John Floyd Jr. and John Buchanan Ford.Blacksmith shop.Slave cabin, circa 1820.Cross section of the trunk of a walnut tree that was planted here in 1852. The rings track to the history of Virginia Tech.
Luray Caverns is the largest cavern in the Eastern US. It was discovered by Andrew Campbell in 1878. Its most famous features are the stalactites and stalagmites. Definitely worth a visit. We visited on Thanksgiving Day.X marks the spot of the original discovery of the caverns. So many different formations throughout the caverns. It is amazing.Stalactites hang from the ceiling.The famous stalacpipe organ.Stalagmites grow up on the bottom of a cavern from the same drip-water source, the mineral from which is deposited after the water droplet falls across the open space in the rock.Underwater lake reflects like a mirror the stalactites.Another reflective lake. Pretty cool.
After seeing all the cherry trees for the Cherry Blossom Festival, we had time to walk over to the FDR Memorial.FDR and his dog Fala.FDR was paralyzed by Polio.First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.Soup lines during the Great DepressionGreat DepressionListening to FDR’s “Fireside Chats”.FDR Funeral
