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These caverns used to be a coal mine. There is
a cable car at the entrance. The cable car rails only extend about 20 feet
or so into the cave, and the ride takes about 2 minutes -- rather short,
really. The cave is not very big (compared with Natural Bridge Caverns)
but it does have some very interesting formations. The most interesting
of all is the straw like formations on the ceilings of the cave -- these
are long, thin tubes that are actually hollow inside (see pictures below).
There is also a big formation on the ground called "two warriors" which
is probably most commercially famous. The cave is privately owned. The
lighting leaves much to be desired, and they don't allow tripods, making
it rather difficult for picture taking. But the tour guides are not strict
on touching the formations -- people routinely touch the rocks and the
tour guides just ignore this behavior. This is very disconcerting to me
because I have been told repeatedly in other caves that grease from human
hands will contaminate the surface of the rocks and hinder the accumulation
of minerals, thus corrupting the formation of these natural wonders. At
the end of the cave there is a concrete wall, and they painted prehistoric
animals such as ancestors of deer, horses and armadillos on the wall, which
I think is rather cheesy. There is also a display of animal bones found
in the cave. And toward the end of the tour the tour guide will turn off
the lights and let you experience the total darkness inside the cave, in
the meantime they will use a speaker to play recorded bible reading (the
very beginning of Genesis), which again I think is quite cheesy. Overall
this cavern is still a very fun place with some quite unique and interesting
formations.
Most of the following pictures were taken with a Canon Rebel G, a Canon EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 "IS" USM lens and Fuji Superia 400 film pushed one stop rated at ISO 640. Pictures with an asterisk were taken with a Canon A2, a Canon 50mm F/1.8 lens and Fuji Sensia II 400 film rated at ISO 320.
Cable car rails at the entrance/exit*
A connected column
An "Alien" lookalike?*
A panoramic view
(You can see the "straw" formations on the ceiling.)
A closer look*
(You can also see the "straw" formations in this one.)
Close-up of a "seashell" formation
(I used flash for this shot, you can see the real color of these rocks.)
Snowflakes in Texas?!
(Not exactly. I used a flash for this shot, which reveals the real
color of these rocks)
Scenes like this are commonplace in the caverns.*
Still all by itself after millions of years ...
The "Two Warriors" formation
A closer look*
Some are broken, wasting millions of years of effort.
The "Straw" formations
Carrots or Ginshen? You decide.
(Notice the formations at the center?
In another million years or so they will be connected, just like
the one in the next picture.)
A suckling dolphin?*
(Use your own imaginations here!)
Some lonely souls in the corners.*
Timeless pieces of Nature's wonder
(...and they are still forming. Let's not disturb them!)
