Category Archives: Caves

Wind Cave vs. Jewel Cave in South Dakota

  By placeswithkids | January 17, 2012 - 9:21 am | , , , , , , ,
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Wind Cave Tour

Touring Wind Cave

One of the many decisions I made when planning our family’s western US trip this past summer was whether to visit Wind Cave National Park or Jewel Cave National Monument. In the end, convenience and size won out and we visited Wind Cave National Park located a few miles from Custer State Park and the first cave to be designated a national park.

With Wind Cave only accessible via a ranger-led tour, we took the popular Natural Entrance Cave Tour, a 1 1/4-hour tour with moderate walking (and only a few instances of being completely in the dark) Tip: We used a flashlight app on our our iPhones to help light the way through some of the darker parts!

We saw the only natural entrance to one of the world’s longest caves (5th in the world)

Natural entrance to Wind Cave

Natural Entrance to Wind Cave

and the park ranger demonstrated why it was called Wind Cave.

Why Wind Cave

Why it's called Wind Cave

According to reports by its discoverers, Jesse and Tom Bingham, they were first attracted to the cave because of a whistling noise. They found the cave entrance and the wind blew so hard out, it knocked off Tom’s hat. Days later when they returned, the wind had switched directions and the hat was sucked into the cave. (It’s now known that the “wind” is related to a difference in atmospheric pressure – how boring).

Once we entered, we were treated to a lack of typical cave formations . . . no stalagmites or stalactites because Wind Cave is considered a “dry” cave. Instead, we saw numerous examples of a cave formation that makes Wind Cave so special – boxwork.

Boxwork in Wind Cave

Boxwork in Wind Cave

Made of calcite ridges that stick out of the ceiling and walls, the ridges form a box-like pattern, hence the name. And while boxwork is not unique to Wind Cave, the cave does have the most and best-formed boxwork examples in the world.

Boxwork in Wind Cave

Anne’s special note: A brief apology for my lack of posting – I tore my ACL while skiing on vacation and am recovering from surgery. I’m also following Mara’s example on The Mother of All Trips and trying to blog “like no one is reading” – focusing on content and my personal “voice” rather than site hits.

Cenote X’keken – Only in the Yucatan

  By Anne Patrone | March 28, 2011 - 10:17 am | , , , , , ,
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Cenote X’keken

Cenotes, a geological found-only-in-the-Yucatan tourist attraction, are a HUGE “must-see” in the Yucatan (as well as located in every village) and I knew that at some point in our Mexican vacation, we would visit one.

What exactly are cenotes?

In simplest terms, they are underground caves filled with crystal clear water.  How they were formed is the more interesting part.

The Yucatan Peninsula is composed of limestone, a porous material.  When the huge meteor hit the earth about 65 million years ago forming the Gulf of Mexico and wiping out the dinosaurs, the limestone cracked.   A lot.

Caves and pockets formed underneath the ground and when it rained (which it does a lot in a jungle), the rainwater seeped through the stone, purifying and collecting in a cenote.  The ancient Mayans always built their cities and villages near these cenotes because they were a source of fresh water.

Now they’re a cool tourist attraction.

After getting all sweaty at Ek Balam, I felt certain my guys would welcome a dip in Cenote X’keken (pronounced Esh-ke-ken) a short distance outside Valladolid.  They refused to swim, but were curious about this underground phenomenon.

Entering Cenote X’keken

We managed to arrive as a tour bus was leaving (Cenote X’keken is one of the most famous and most photographed of the Yucatan cenotes) and paid a nominal fee to enter.

People swimming in Cenote X’keken

Artificial blue lights lit up the cenote and a few people were swimming.  The water was unbelievably crystal clear, but alas, my boys still didn’t want to take a dip.  I managed a few good photos (make sure to turn off your flash) and then the humidity of the cave did us in.  We exited just as another tour bus entered having enjoyed Cenote X’keken (its partner, Cenote Dzitnup is across the street) without a throng of people to mar our visit.

Thurston Lava Tube – Away from the Crowds

  By Anne Patrone | June 28, 2010 - 9:02 am | , , , , , , ,
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Thurston Lava Tube Hawaii Volcano National Park

Inside Thurston Lava Tube

Tours are good.  They give you information and details you might not know.  Tours are great.  They take you into spots and areas not always seen by the ordinary visitor.

But tours are not perfect.  Nor are they always needed.  Especially when you are herded in and out of a sight like cattle through a meat market.

As we finished off our hike of the Kilauea Iki Crater at Hawaii National Park, we ended up near the Thurston Lava Tube (another one of the “must-sees” on my list).

We sauntered down through the parking lot toward the entrance to the tube and whoa . . .

Tons and tons of people were streaming in and out like a revolving door, exiting large tour buses, disappearing for a few minutes, then reappearing to reboard the buses.

We were already pooped from our hike so it didn’t take much for us to hang back, drink some water from a nearby fountain and wait for the crowd to thin to a handful of people.

Holy cow, what was all that?

A tour bus from a nearby cruise ship.  One of those famous “excursions” people pay extra for, but are never really worth it.

Why?

Because you’re herded in and out like cattle.

Without the crowds, the boys were able to feel the spookiness of the Thurston Lava Tube.  Without people pushing past us, we were able to read the marker and explain to the boys how this very unique tube formed.

In a nutshell, when the erupting lava travels to the sea, a thin layer of rock forms around it as it passes underground.  This basically insulates the lava allowing it to pass freely.

Once the volcano is done erupting and the lava stops, the resulting layer of rock hardens into a tube-like cave.

Inside Thurston Lava Tube Hawaii Volcano National Park

Thurston Lava Tube

The resulting darkness is eerie and quite spooky when there are only a few people in the tube.  With a few hundred, I would imagine it loses a bit of its haunting quality.

So while some tours are good, pick and chose the ones you take carefully – especially when kids are involved.  There’s no point in taking them to see something if they don’t get the full effect of what you’re trying to show them.

It’s a waste of time and money.

Howe Caverns: Retro Caverns in NY

  By Anne Patrone | January 28, 2010 - 10:00 am | , , , , , ,
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The main thing I remember about our trip to Howe Caverns in upstate NY over Labor Day weekend, 2006, is that we almost turned around half-way up I-87.

I’m not sure how other kids behave during car trips, but mine have a spotty record.  That’s why we bought a portable DVD player – to eliminate fights, arguments, and general mayhem in the back seat.

But for some reason, the DVD player was forgotten on this trip and M quickly realized he got carsick if he read.  I’ll let you figure out how two boys entertain themselves in the back seat during a rather boring ride on the interstate.

It wasn’t pretty.

By the third (or perhaps fourth?) time I screeched for them to be quiet, my hubby’s patience had worn thin. Very thin.

I’m sure in every family there is the screamer/yeller parent (me) and the quiet, unruffled parent who never raises his voice (hubby).  But on this day, he exploded.  And yelled.  And uttered the famous line – “If you two don’t cut it out right now, I’m turning this car around . . . and I MEAN IT!”

Ah . . . peace.

Because my kids know if Dad yells and threatens, he means it.

By the time we got to Howe Caverns, a funky attraction with a fifties retro vibe, we were all smiles.  There was a surprisingly long line to go on the eighty-minute guided tour, so we chilled by eating at the snack bar.

As attractions go, Howe Caverns was a nice side trip on our way to Cooperstown, but I wouldn’t make it the sole reason for one’s visit to the area.  As for kids, the darkness and spookiness level is pretty tame (or at least it was for my guys) and the paths are easy to navigate.  The coolest part for my boys was trying to “see” the names of the stalagmite/stalactite formations.  (See if you can find Godzilla in the picture above).

The only complaint I had is common to most caverns.  Once you reached the end of the path (and took a short boat ride on Venus Lake) you had to retrace your steps to get out, seeing the same stuff and working your way past other groups.  Otherwise, the caverns were an enjoyable diversion.

Last, but not least . . .

Be very cautious about speed traps on the way to Cooperstown.  We got caught by a state trooper just before the turn-off to Cooperstown.  Thank heavens the trooper asked where we were going in such a hurry, took one look in the backseat at my somber boys decked out in baseball hats after we told him Cooperstown, and let us off with a warning!

Whew!

Nine places visited, 491 to go.

For more information, visit http://www.howecaverns.com

Next:  Every Slugger’s Dream:  #452 Baseball Hall of Fame