This morning we drove about 25 miles north to Natural Bridge Caverns and went on the Discovery Tour. Interesting story about this cavern, It was discovered in March of 1960 by four college students from St. Mary's University in San Antonio. They obtained permission to explore the area and discovered large underground caverns under an amazing 60-foot limestone bridge.
The Natural Bridge Caverns are the largest commercial caverns in Texas. The name is derived from the 60-foot natural limestone slab bridge that spans the amphitheater setting of the cavern's entrance. The span was left suspended when a sinkhole collapsed below it.
We arrived at the Natural Bridge Caverns facility and it is obvious they are geared up for massive tourist crowds. The parking lot would hold literally thousands of vehicles, and we were nearly the only ones here. OK, we were early but not that early! So we parked and made our way into the entrance. We had bought our tickets in advance so we checked-in and they issued our wrist bands.
Then they directed us to a waiting area outside under a covered area. Again, you can tell they are ready for huge crowds.
In addition to the cavern exploration, they offer several other "surface attractions" such as a twisted trail and ropes course, gem mining, etc.
A bigger crowd finally started to gather under the shelter and soon it was our time to depart. We were briefed by our tour guide and then we headed down a path to the cavern entrance. We paused at the cavern entrance for more information from our guide and a photo op at the Limestone natural bridge. The area under the bridge is actually a sink hole and the location of the original opening discovered by the students.
Soon we headed down a pathway and stone stairs into the cavern. They have done a nice job of treating the pathway surface with an anti-slip compound as the entire cavern walk is wet. They warned us the constant temperature is 70 degrees F and relative humidity is 99%! Doreen had a light jacket and I wore a sweatshirt, and at least initially we are glad we had them on. It was cool compared to the outside temp on the way down, but our "furnaces" kicked on especially with the high humidity during the climb out and everyone shed their coats before immerging!
Our tour guide did a great job explaining everything and his sound system was effective. There were a couple elderly ladies with walkers that made it part way in and then turned around and exited. This lengthy walk with stairs, ramps, large inclines, etc is difficult for someone with no physical challenges, let alone someone with a walker. Good on them for making the attempt.
We saw massive stalactites (from the ceiling down) and stalagmites (from the floor up) formed by calcium and water over thousands of years. Our guide said they grown about the size of an ice cube every one hundred years!! Some more pictures, which really don't capture the beauty of what we saw:
The limestone "rooms" in the pictures were all naturally formed. The lighting they have really helped emphasize the beauty of the formations. Pictured above are a couple water fountains that dispense cavern water. They assured us it was safe and tasty, which is was.
Everyone seemed a bit tired, hot and sweaty as we exited the cavern. That 180 ft descent has to be followed by a 180 ft ascent out of there! A cold drink was very welcome at the end of the exploration!
I am, again, very proud of Doreen as she has never, ever been a "cave person". Confined spaces would spook her and that was the end of the game. Not unlike our 150 ft descent down the salt mine last summer, she suggested we do this cavern tour and she never hesitated throughout the 75 minute trek! Nicely done Nana!
Tomorrow (Wednesday we are meeting our friend Frank Leota at a local barbecue restaurant for lunch, and then Thursday we are meeting at the Rebecca Creek Distillery for a whiskey tasting. Frank gave me a couple bottles of Rebecca Creek last year when we were here, and it is really good! Friday we pull chocks and head down to Mercedes TX to camp at my sister's RV resort for a few nights.
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