THE CAVE WAS AMAZING! It was dark, dank, and deep! Over 157 miles of the cave has been charted, and it was theorized that we have only charted 5%! We went down and around to several rooms, about 150-175 feet down into the cave from the opening. Many of the spaces were quite small, but we made it. I had to duck walk to get through one passage. I am not sure what David did since I couldn't see him, but I am sure it was difficult. In the 1930's, as part of Roosevelt's New Deal, the Conservation Corps installed walkways, handrails, and "stadders"-stair-ladders with planks about 6 inches wide. They were very much like the ladder to a loft, only hundreds of them turning and with variable ceiling heights. It was actually pretty scary. At one point on the way down, the kid behind me slipped down a few steps and I heard him and could only brace myself lest he take me out and everyone in front of me for 20 feet down. He caught himself before contact, but the stress added to the muscle fatigue was exhausting. We were all carrying lanterns for light, as well. The guide actually encouraged us to touch cave walls as part of the rule of threes: three points of contact with the cave. David didn't take a light and opted for four points of contact! Inside the cave we saw a couple bats, but mostly they hibernate in the cave and have summer homes nearer to food supplies. The 'Jewel' part of the name refers to the Calcite crystals lining much of the interior of the cave. We also saw a couple shell fossils in the cave wall. The cave was chilly, about 49 degrees, and it was a breathing cave which means the air inside the cave tries to equalize with atmospheric air pressure.
We have reached the half-way point of our trip and have returned our direction westward. While driving across Wyoming, we actually drove through a town with a population of four! David is using the time with his captive audience to teach Vivy Algebra. Ahhhh- the life of a teacher's kid. She secretly loves it!
I have discovered that my family loves instant mashed potatoes! My mom gave us a box of dehydrated refried beans and several types of instant mashed potatoes and Vivy, especially, loves them! Great camp food, too! LOL! I have to say that they are much better than the slop I remember from school lunches when I was a kid.
Whew! I am sore from the water slide yesterday! My abs are especially sore from holding my shoulders off the slide to go faster! ;)
We just saw our first drop of rain since leaving Kodiak. It was literally one drop. We are still hoping for a thunderstorm, but no luck yet, and it is sunny again.
Off to a park in Rawlins, WY near the Platt River. The kids are excited because the park has 18 holes of miniature golf!
That really looks cool, I dont think I could get MariAnn to get in that cave though.
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