This past weekend I had my annual belated Christmas gathering with my girlfriends from college. With all of the holiday festivities, it’s simply always been easier to get together in January.

On Friday night we discussed what to do with ourselves during the weekend and realized that the two of us that don’t live in Southwest Virginia had never visited a nearby landmark, although we had attended college just 30 minutes away. Natural Bridge is a just what it sounds like: a bridge created by nature, a rock formation spanning two cliff faces. Typically admission is $16, which is kinda pricey, but luckily our host had coupons for free admission.

The story of Natural Bridge is pretty cool. It was owned by Thomas Jefferson who bought it from King George III. During colonial times, Natural Bridge and Niagara Falls were the two most visited attractions in the US.

Every year I manage to forget the temperature difference between my mild North Carolina coastal plains and the mountains of Virginia so I was ill prepared to be out in 35 degree weather, but flipped up my collar and charged on anyway! A small mountain stream, called Cascade Creek, accompanied us to the bottom of the bridge. Since the temps were so frigid, we actually weren’t allowed to walk under the bridge as there were icicles hanging…and consequently falling as the day warmed slightly. I got a lot of amusement watching the icicles plummet, some of them hitting the pathway under the bridge. We took a few photos, admired the scenery, and then headed back to get warmed up.

It’s something I’ve talked about before: making a point to visit the places in your own backyard. I attended college in the area for 4 years and have visited at least once a year for the last 10 years and had always made excuses not to visit Natural Bridge. I’m glad I finally made the visit.

Where have you been meaning to visit that’s in your backyard?