Not seeing the Natural Bridge

I'm including this post mostly as a warning to other travellers. The Natural Bridge in western Virginia was purchased by Thomas Jefferson in 1774 from King George III of England. Since then, it's been quite an attaction visited by Americans and Europeans. According to Wikipedia, Herman Melville alluded to the bridge in describing Moby-Dick:

But soon the fore part of him slowly rose from the water; for an instant his whole marbleized body formed a high arch, like Virginia's Natural Bridge...

Now, in my opinion, it's a tourist trap. All sorts of classic little tourism businesses have sprung up to capitalize on the attraction. I wasn't inclined to pay the $24 they required for Linda and me to see the sight.