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Skyline Caverns, is a series of geologic caves
and a tourist attraction located in Front Royal, Virginia. The caverns
were discovered on December 17, 1937 by Walter S. Amos, a retired
geologist and mineralogist from Winchester, Virginia. The Skyline
Caverns is open year-round, offering guided tours through the caverns.
In addition to the cavern tours, there is also a mirror maze.
 Walter
S. Amos was contracted by several private and government agencies
to search for caves and caverns to open in conjunction with Skyline
Drive. During his search, he came across the current parking lot of
the caverns, which he noticed was in the shape of a sinkhole. Normally
sinkholes are created by the collapsing of a cavern roof, which takes
the ground above with it. He noticed that there was no water in this
sinkhole, therefore he knew there had to be a drain nearby, most likely
a cavern.
Knowing this, Amos began to search the edges for some opening to
the possible cave system below. He found this opening on the lip of
the sinkhole by noticing a small colony of camel crickets (which only
live in damp, dark areas by nature) under a small ledge.
Upon digging out the first area of the caverns, he came into a large
system of connected rooms, most of which were navigable and cleared
from all obstructions. 90% of the caverns were naturally accessible
and other than the entrance area, only 10% needed to be dug out. The
use of scientific analysis makes the discovery of Skyline Caverns
extremely unique.
However, the cavern floor was lined with approximately 14 inches
of mud and clay, which had to be cleared before the caverns could
be opened to the public on April 13, 1939.
The caverns are estimated to be approximately 50 to 60 million years
old.
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Below: The Skyline Caverns sign in 2014 and in 2023
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The underground temperature
permanently hovered at 54 degrees. |
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In 2014, The
two RV Gypsies actually got a private tour of the Skyline Caverns because
it just happened that they were the only two people that signed up and
paid for the tour at this time. Lucky them! However, in 2023, there
were lots of people on the tour with them.
Tours normally depart every 15 to 20 minutes, lasting approximately
one hour and cover about a mile and one-eighth of walking. This covers
about twenty percent of the caverns. The remaining eighty percent is
inaccessible to tourists.
Each time, a knowledgeable guide led the two RV Gypsies 260-feet below
the Earth's surface. The cavern formations the two RV Gypsies saw on
the tour include stalactites, stalagmites, columns, "flow-stone", anthodites,
and aragonites.
Skyline Caverns also features five flowing streams, three of which
were visible on the tour. |
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Below:
The first two colorful photos Karen Duquette took in 2014 |
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Below: The same area as above, but in 2023 - slightly
different angle, and more colorful. Both times, Karen Duquette though
this looked like an ugly monster's face.
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All caverns are
naturally without light. At one point on every tour in every cavern,
the tour guide turns off all lights in the cave, and every time, the
two RV Gypsies could not even see their own hand in front of their face.
The beautiful colors shown in these photographs are due to artificial
lighting in the cave which makes tours possible.
A lot more colorful lights were added to the 2023 tour, than what
was in the 2014 tour - both sets of photos are included on this page. |
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Below: 2014 photo of Lee Duquette under a big formation
that could be a head-banger! |
a deep crevice |
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The Wishing Well in 2014 and in 2023 - different lighting
- visitors are allowed to throw coins here. |
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Below: Money in 2023 - dollars should not be thrown.
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Below: further on down in the cavern in 2023
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Below: 2014 photos
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Below: Two different areas (2014 photos) with pools
of water, only a few inches deep, yet it is impossible to know if the
water is deep or shallow, or to even realize that there is water there. |
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Below: 2023
photos - different angles of about the same areas as above. Again shallow
water. |
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Below: 2014 photos
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Below: This formation is called
The Shrine. It is a stalagmite that started forming some 45-million
years ago. Karen Duquette used flash in this photo before the the guide
shined colorful lights on the formation.
(2014 photo) |
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Below: But in 2023, Karen Duquette did NOT use flash
and got completely different photos of The Shrine while the
colorful lights were on. |
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Below: Muddy footprints where
people are not supposed to be walking. (Where was the guide when this
happened?) This is a 2014 photo, but was not taken while on this tour,
obviously. |
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Below: This is part of a stalactite
that broke off and was going to be brought out of the cave for people
to see, but it weighed too much, so it remains in the cave. (2014 photo
- followed by a 2023 photo) - different angles and different lighting.
It is the only piece in the cave that tourists are allowed to touch. |
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Below: Lee Duquette in 2014 |
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Below: Angel Wings - photos from 2014 |
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Below: 2014 photo and 2023 photo - different lighting
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Below: Angel wings in 2023 - photos taken
aiming straight up at the ceiling. |
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Below: 2014 photos
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Below: Nice reflections
in the water at Fairyland Lake! 2014 photos |
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Below: Beautiful reflections in the
water at Fairyland Lake! 2023 photos - Lots more colorful lights
added. |
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Below: Peeping into colorful crevices
in 2023 |
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Below: 2014 photos of the ceiling. |
During the clearing of mud
in the cave, Amos and his men discovered another area in the caverns
that had been blocked for many years by a large amount of mud. Upon
clearing the newly discovered area, the geologist discovered anthodites.
Anthodites are an unusual form of crystal, or perfect 6-sided crystalline
structures made of pure calcite. These crystals are protected by Virginia
State Law, and are kept behind closed doors that a tour guide must open
for the public to view them. In most areas, screening was placed under
the Anthodites so people on tours could not touch them. |
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Anthodites
are the reason that the two RV Gypsies toured this cave. Anthodites
are found in only a few locations on Earth. This gravity-defying mineral
grows only one-inch every 7,000 years. They are sometimes referred to
as Orchids of the Mineral Kingdom. Since their discovery in 1937, Skyline
Caverns has drawn geologists, specialists and visitors from around the
world. |
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 Below
left: formation in the ceiling that looks like sharks' mouth and teeth.
Below right: formation in the ceiling that looks like an uncooked
chicken.
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Below: The Anthodites on the ceiling in 2023 - covered with a net,
of course.
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Below: In 2023, the tour guide took everyone to a separate
area, not usually on the tour, where the stalactites are not covered
up by wire or string, |
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Then Lee and Karen Duquette walked across the parking lot to