Lake Placid, NY – June 2011

LAKE PLACID:  Monday, 13 June 2011

Lake Placid was the home of two Winter Olympics (1932 and 1980).  I’d visited the Lake Placid area (including the Olympic venues) about a half-dozen times during the mid-1990’s, as it was a good location for weekend trips.  There had one or two visits which occurred on either side of that period, but never to the same extent.  Since I’d been re-visiting places I hadn’t been on a while on my recent trips back to New York, it seemed like a good place to go.  Being in Texas, one of the things I miss is the terrain of New York, the green forest-covered mountains.  The Texas hill country is very pretty, but the elevation is very low when compared to the peaks of the Adirondack Park.

I planned our route for the day to hit the most-furthest things out, so we could be on the southern section of the area when it was nearing time to come home.  Even though it’d been years I was here, I could still drive the area after dark.  Dad decided he would rather drive.  That was nice for me, as it allowed me to soak up the visuals.  Lake Placid has an elevation of over 1,800 feet, and there are a number of chasms and gorges in the area which were created by geologic action at the end of the last Ice Age.  I’d been to some of those natural features previously, but today I wanted to hit the specific Olympic venues.

The sky was nice and blue, with only a few clouds, as we left Argyle.  As we headed north, and went up in elevation, storm clouds rolled in.  While this was going to cut down on any visibility, it also rained briefly, making things damp.  Since I’d seen the vistas on a clear day, I wasn’t going to be too disappointed.  Still would’ve liked to capture how far one could see from the tops of these mountains in order to show people back in Texas.

Upon reaching the Lake Placid area, we hopped on Route 86 to bring us around the east side of the area towards Wilmington, where we could pick up the Veteran’s Memorial Highway.  That road is closed during the winter, and allows access to the backside of Whiteface Mountain.  Once we passed through the checkpoint, the road has a series of switchbacks as it snakes up the backside of the mountain.  Mum mentioned they’ve been up here a couple other times, and every time it ended up being a day with poor visibility.  Still, any of the areas where we could pull off so I could get some pictures still allowed nice photo opportunities.

Veteran’s Memorial Highway ends at Whiteface Castle.  Situated at just over 4,600 feet, Whiteface Castle has a small café which (when the weather cooperates) would allow you to have a snack while enjoying the views.  Besides the café and a small souvenir shop, there’s not much in the castle.  There’s also a parking area, so you can decide which of the two ways visitors can choose to reach the summit.

The castle has a sign which noted the elevation, so that was an appropriate “far away place” I could use to take a picture with my magazine.  As a longtime reader of Where When How (the magazine published by the Turks & Caicos Tourism Board), they have a photo feature section in each issue.  Readers have their picture taken with the magazine at an identifiable far away place, and the ones which get used earn the submitter a free year’s subscription.  I’d gotten one free subscription as the result of pictures taken in 2010, so it was unlikely I’d be able to get another.  I still wanted to take shots of me with the magazine in various places, and send them to Where When How on the idea that those pictures could be used in some other way.  Whether or not I’d get another subscription out of this was irrelevant, it was just fun doing it.

Due to the weather, the summit was closed today.  The wet conditions presented possible safety concerns, as there are no railings at the top, or anything else from keeping people from sliding off the top.  Near the parking area, there’s a short tunnel which leads to an elevator which will take visitors up the additional height to reach the 4,872 foot elevation.  For more adventurous people, there’s a long set of stone steps starting from the backside of the castle (where I’d just had my picture taken with the magazine) which would bring you up to the summit, next to where the elevator comes up.

After leaving the Veteran’s Memorial Highway and picking up Route 431 to bring us back to Wilmington, we passed the tourist trap of “Santa’s Workshop at North Pole, NY.”  Similar to what Storytown used to be (before it became The Great Escape), or Magic Forest (what we mocked as “Tragic Forest”) in Lake George, it was a place designed for saccharine-laden “storybook fun” designed to appeal to little kids, and drive most adults completely crazy.  Somehow I’ve avoided of ever having been to this place.  Dad was quite sure we’d been there, and Mum was quite sure we hadn’t.  It was an amusement moment of spousal bickering.

Past Wilmington, we picked up the route which would take us towards Placid, where we could reach the front side of Whiteface Mountain.  This is where the downhill ski competitions took place during the Olympics.  The driveway up to the lodge gives a great view of the ski trails.  The driveway is also lined with the flags of all the nations which have competed here in the past.

This ended up an “in-between” season, so there weren’t a lot of things going on right now.  During the winter, this region is filled with athletes practicing, and during the height of the summer with campers, hikers, and other tourists.  The lodge at the bottom of the trails had it’s café open, but the skylift (which normally gives rides over up the mountain) wasn’t operating.  We’d planned to have lunch in the Olympic Village, so we didn’t need to get anything.  And I was planning on buying stuff at the Olympic Museum stores, so I didn’t need to spend any money here.  I tried to take a shot with the lodge in the foreground to give a sense of how wide the ski trails behind it were.  The shots I took of the front of Whiteface make it look like the trails are very narrow, when they’re about hundred or so feet wide.

Since the weather was overcast, and sure looked like it wanted to rain again, we passed on stopping at High Falls Gorge.  While it would’ve only taken us about a half-hour to walk through, it wouldn’t have been enjoyable if it was wet.  Besides, we were hungry, and we wanted lunch.  Once we got into the village, we saw a sign for Lake Placid Pub & Brewery (which was a place Mum had a tip on being pretty decent).  It was easy to find, but it was currently closed for a private party.

One thing I did notice was some of the crappy-looking cement square pre-fabricated apartment complexes nearby, which looked like the best slum-level quality.  This is not to say Lake Placid has slums or “housing projects,” but these are the dormitory-like residences which were constructed for the athletes back before the 1980 games.  I’m sure no one ever thought they’d still be standing (or used in some capacity) over thirty years later.  From where we were, looking across the parking lot, I could see while these buildings had some “history” about them, there was no “historical value” of them in any way.  These were eye-sores which would better serve the village by being demolished and replaced with something more modern and tourist-friendly.

The other times I’d been to Placid, I’d had brunch at a place off the main drag called The Bear’s Den (not that far from the Olympic Center and Museum).  I thought that would be a nice place to return to, as I remember the food was both good and reasonable, like any good pub should be.  I remembered how the building set off in one little area, like it was put there as an afterthought, but that positioning gave it an excellent view of the lake.  The building still existed, but it was now some other store.  Don’t expect everything to stay the same after being away for over a decade.

We went up Main Street looking for the public parking, and I did notice many of the shops which sold Olympic paraphernalia were still present.  Some of the other shops I remember visiting, like a really nice old book story I remember going to (which had a cigar store above it).  Once parked, we went down the street a short distance checking out the menus posted in the window to see if a place had varied enough cuisine that wasn’t too expensive.  We ended up choosing a place called Players Sports Bar & Grille.  This was pretty much a standard “sports pub,” decorated with anything imaginable from all the previous Olympics.  The burgers we got there were tasty and filling, and that was really all we required.

While waiting for our food to come, one thing we did notice on the nearby docks were these strange paddle-boats.  Instead of the variety you sat in, these looked like they had a bicycle mounted on.  I would’ve liked to see someone drive one of these things around, because it seemed to be they’d unbalanced and would tip over.  The lake we got a view of, interestingly enough, was called Mirror Lake.  The actual Lake Placid was just a short distance (not more than a half-mile) north of the village.

We parked out in front of the Visitor’s Bureau, which was right next to the Olympic Center and Museum.  Dad asked if we should go into the Visitor’s Bureau.  I said that I saw no reason to, as what I wanted to see was right next to it.  Lake Placid High School sits on the other side of the Olympic Center, and contains “The Oval” (which was the speed skating track).  An interesting bit of trivia was during the 1980 games, the High School was closed during that period.  No sense of trying have class, as everyone in facility and student body would be completely distracted.  Due to it’s location, it made sense to use the school as a space for vendors catering to tourists, athletes, news people, and who ever else had descended here for that two-week period.  It remains to this day the only high school in America that was ever issued a license to sell beer on the premises.

The sky had cleared slightly as we headed towards the Olympic Center.  We noticed a couple of new model Camaros sitting out front, because Chevrolet was sponsoring some events designed to simulate the various experiences (like bobsledding, gondolas, and such).  I noticed a sign for it at the foot of Whiteface Mountain.  Even when I’m on holiday I can’t escape work.    Since the front of the Museum was a something which could be considered an “identifiable far away place,” I had Mum take my picture holding the Where When How magazine in front of it.

A recommended high point of any trip to Lake Placid is the Olympic Center and Museum.  Not only does this have the history of the two sets of games played here, but you can see the actual ice rinks which these events took place on.  These rinks, and the Center in general, have been kept up, as to be used as a training facility.  Before the Salt Lake City games, Lake Placid was a premier location that athletes came from around the world to.

Upon entering the Museum, there was a full-sized stuff version of “Roni,” the raccoon who was the mascot for the 1980 games.  Why not, it’s another photo opportunity with the magazine.  Besides, how many other opportunities does one get to have their picture taken with a five-foot tall stuffed cartoon animal (besides anyone who’s a plushie).  The main objective of my camera here would be to take shots of things that meant something to me, whether of historical nature or something just plain interesting.  And as this time I was visiting the Museum without any time constraints, we could take as long as necessary to enjoy it.

While the Olympic Museum focuses mainly on the games held here, there were other exhibits which changed and moved to Olympic Museums in other cities.  Some objects were things which were gathered by the Olympic Committee, or donated by private individuals.  At the start of the Museum here, it gives a brief overview of the modern winter games, and as you deeper to come to more recent events.  One of the notable items were a poster and a banner from the 1936 Berlin games….

…Items of the 1988 first appearance of the Jamaican Bobsledders (who were the subject of the Disney movie Cool Runnings)…

…And perhaps the most poignant being a poster from the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Games.  I remember during the Sarajevo games how the commentators reported that many “different cultures existed together peacefully” in Yugoslavia.  How interesting those phrases become in light of what happened when Yugoslavia fragmented into many smaller countries.

One of the exhibits was some of the torches which were used in various games.  As there was a theme to each of the games, the torches were designed to compliment those themes.  Looking at the earlier ones when compared to the newer ones, of course the designs became more “modern looking.”  That’s why some of the earlier ones look like actual medieval-style torches, and the later ones look like fashionable light-sabers.

Along one large section of the wall has all the hockey gear dedicated to the 1980 men’s ice hockey game, which was one of the most memorable moments of the entire games (not to mention sports history in general).  Jersey’s, sticks, photos, and other items from the Soviet, American, and Finish teams commemorate the games.

Coming out of the actual Museum portion, we went into Olympic Center portion.  One thing I noticed was there were newer signs around saying what things were, and the flags which were draped in the hall outside of the Herb Brooks Arena (the “1980 Rink”).  The last time I was here (circa 1999), I was able to watch a game played by the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team as part of a regional tournament, which helps in the qualifying process for the then-upcoming SLC games.  This time, it was just free skating going on.

If you want to describe an “important place” in the history of our country (which occurred during peace-time), this is one.  In 1980, when the U.S. team (made up of mostly amateurs and college kids) made it to playoffs against the Soviet team (filled with professionals), that was a big deal in itself.  But when the U.S. won (and thus earned the gold medal), pandemonium didn’t even begin to describe the reaction of the crowd.  There’s a reason why this was referred to as “The Miracle on Ice.”  Just being in that arena (to me) felt like entering a sacred space.

My suggestion to any visitors is to make sure they watch all the short films in the Museum before going into the Herb Brooks Arena, as that will give a better appreciation of the significance of the event.

We then worked around to the older portions of the building to where the 1932 rink was.  Soon after the events of those games, this arena was re-named the Jack Shea Arena after the Lake Placid native who earned two gold medals in speed skating.  The Jack Shea Rink used during the 1980 games for figure skating and other smaller-scale events, and is still utilized today (as it’s “regulation hockey sized”).

The 1932 Olympics was the third winter event of the modern games, and the 1980 games were the thirteenth.  At that time, only two other cities had hosted two Winter Olympics (those being Innsbruck and St. Moritz).  Even back at my last visit (circa 1999), there was some talk of looking to see if Lake Placid could set a record and host the games a third time.  Even then, I didn’t think it could happen because of how massive (and commercial) everything has become.  And that’s even before the security measures which have become a common factor in the recent decades.

After visiting Salt Lake City around 2004, and seeing how much the infrastructure had be improved (and built) to handle the volume, there’s no way Lake Placid could reasonable host another games without building a bunch of stuff which would take away from the natural views of the Adirondack Park.  There was some discussion about Albany trying to host a Winter Olympics with the specific intention of having some of the events up in Placid.  I didn’t see much feasibility in that, considering it’d still be at least a two hour drive to get to the venues (and the logistics would make sense to keep everything as close together as possible).  No, as kewl as it would be, Lake Placid being a host city for a third time is not a realistic possibility.

We left the village and headed towards to where the ski jumps were, the aptly named Olympic Jumping Complex.  Mum & Dad had been here within the last year or so, and they’d been able to go up to the top of these towers (which are equal to a twenty-six story building).  When we pulled up to the parking lot, the gates were closed, so we couldn’t get in there.  This was something we could’ve hit on the way in, but my main objective for the day was the Museum, and the morning weather didn’t look the best.

I pointed across the road to the Lake Placid Equestrian Stadium, which is where the Torch was.  Mum commented that was something they’d somehow missed on their last jaunt up here.  After an opening speech by Vice-President Walter Mondale, the Torch was lit during the opening ceremonies with the “sacred flame” which was brought from Olympia, Greece.  All the times when you see the people “running the torch” in the weeks before the games, now you have some idea of the significance of it.

Since we knew it was late, we didn’t think any of the other venues were open.  We headed towards the Olympic Sports Complex, which was where the bobsled track was, as well as the trails used in the biathlon.  I’d been here in the winter time once to see bobsled training competitions, and one other time in the fall when I was able to actually walk the track.  As we’d guessed, it had closed for the day.  I didn’t see everything I wanted to see in Lake Placid, but since my primary objectives were hit, I was satisfied.

More information can be found on the places we visited at:

Lake Placid:  www.lakeplacid.com

Whiteface Castle:  http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM9MBK_Whiteface_Mountain_Castle_4610_ft_Wilmington_NY

Santa’s Workshop:  www.northpoleny.com

Whiteface Mountain:  www.whiteface.com

High Falls Gorge:  www.highfallsgorge.com

Olympic Center and Museum:  http://www.lakeplacid.com/do/family-fun/olympic-center-and-lake-placid-olympic-museum

Herb Brooks Arena:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herb_Brooks_Arena

Olympic Jumping Complex:  http://www.lakeplacid.com/do/family-fun/olympic-jumping-complex

Lake Placid Equestrian Stadium:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Placid_Equestrian_Stadium

Olympic Sports Complex:  http://www.lakeplacid.com/do/family-fun/olympic-sports-complex

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Mansfield Dam & Round Rock -- Mum & Dad Visit Texas – March & April 2011 (Part Three)

DAY FOUR:  Friday, 1 April 2011

As we’d gone “south and west” yesterday, we went pretty much due west today to revisit Mansfield Dam, which is set close to the village of Lakeway, one of the more affluent section of the northwest Austin and Cedar Park area.  As we turn off Route 620, it goes into a small parking area where we could get a decent view of the dam itself.  A side road goes down to the actual state parkland (with picnic area).

The parking area has a grassy section which can give visitors a little bit of elevation of the Dam, although access to the top of the structure is restricted.  I wonder if at one point if traffic drove across the top of the Dam, and then had the road diverted around towards the front of it at some later point.  Something to research for another day.

From where we were, I pointed out a building back across in the direction we’d come.  There’s a restaurant at the top of a hill known as Steiner Ranch Steakhouse.  It’s something which is normally out of my price range, so the only time I’d ever been there was when the Austin Planetarium had one of our monthly fund-raiser meetings there.  Since I’d learned it had a great view of Lake Travis (the water behind Mansfield Dam) we went up for a visit.

Steiner Ranch Steakhouse wasn’t actually open for business, as they’re a “dinner only” establishment.  I didn’t realize that when I was there.  Still, they were nice enough to let us wander out on the back deck in order to do some sight-seeing.  One of the things I did point out to Mum & Dad was how much the water level had gone down.  Austin news stations always let us know what the lake levels are during the year, and we knew it’d been going down.  The bare pieces of land in the middle of the lake was really hit that home.  The lighter-colored edges of the shore also were sections which had been exposed by the lower water levels.  Mum commented that she remembered how full the lake was, and would have to compare the pictures she took today with the ones she had back home (taken back in 2003 on their first visit).

Per normal, we tend to do spontaneous weird shit when we can.  It’s a way to have fun and enjoy ourselves.  That can range from taking pictures of each other taking pictures, lazing around in odd ways enjoying the sun, making funky hand gestures, or using things where we’re visiting as props.  Since there was a shoe-shine stool at the steakhouse, Dad decided to squeeze me for some money.

Once we grabbed some much needed lunch, we shot back over to Round Rock to the Chisholm Trail Park.  I’d taken Mum & Dad there back in the 2007 visit to see the statues of the 1880s pioneers and cattle, the wagon tracks in the river bed, and the actual “round rock” the city is named after.  When we were there, it had been after some heavy rains, and a portion of the road was closed due to high water.  The “round rock” was a island with the water level nearly up to the edge of the circular table-like portion of the rock.  This time, due to the drought, the water level was much lower, so I could climb out to stand on the rock.  Remember, I said we like to do odd things.

We spent a bit more time wandering around the park before heading back to my place.  Since it wasn’t quite dinner time yet, we had an opportunity to walk around the neighborhood park also.  Mum commented that she hadn’t any good brisket this trip yet.  That meant one place we should visit for dinner, as it was a local Austin chain:  Rudy’s “Country Store” & Bar-B-Q.

For those who have never been to Rudy’s before, it is kind of “fast food.”  You want in line until the next available register opens up, and you let them know what you want.  The menu is designed so the patron gets as much as they want (half-pound of moist brisket, quarter-pound of turkey), and the meat is cut to order.  The seating area is filled with long tables with checker-board table clothes, so it’s like you’re at a huge picnic with a bunch of other people.

After eating, when we were heading down Interstate 35 to get the exit which would bring us to my place, we saw a strange dark cloud in the sky.  The sun was getting low, but it wasn’t close to twilight yet.  Holding our hands out at arm’s length against the sky, the cloud was just slightly larger than our palms.  At first we thought it was a huge mass of mosquitoes (as you know, everything’s bigger in Texas).  A few moments later, we realized it was a huge bat colony (as opposed to a colony of huge bats).  These were the Brazilian Free-Tailed bats which come up from Mexico during the spring, and only head back south during the coldest months.

It’s these species of bats Austin has its love affair with, as the original hockey team had been named the “Ice Bats,” and the Congress Ave bridge downtown was designed to be a bat roost.  It was a spectacular sight for my parents to see on their last night here before getting them on their plane for Dunnellon, Florida (roughly equal distance between Gainesville and Tampa) so they could continue their vacation.

More information can be found on the places we visited at:

            Mansfield Dam:  http://www.lcra.org/water/dams/mansfield.html

Steiner Ranch Steakhouse:  www.steinersteakhouse.com

Chisholm Trail Park:  http://www.roundrocktexas.gov/home/index.asp?page=1529

Rudy’s:  http://www.rudys.com/page/location/name/bbq-round%20rock

Brazilian Free-Tailed Bats:  http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/brazilfreetailbat/

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Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg (Mum & Dad Visit Texas – March & April 2011 (Part Two)

Mum & Dad Visit Texas – March & April 2011 (Part Two)

DAY THREE:  Thursday, 31 March 2011

We got started nice and early so we could get ahead of the morning rush hour traffic.  Considering we were going to be heading “west and south,” the easiest path when taking the highway would also be where the congestion would be.  Instead of eating in the morning, and since we were heading out past Fredericksburg, we figured we’d just breakfast along the way.  Mum had a specific place in mind to go.  So, near Johnson City, we stopped at the Hill Country Cupboard, for the “world’s best chicken-fried steak.”  Strange hadn’t changed from the “nearly three dozen sold” which it said when we first ate there in 2003, and passed by there in 2007.

Southwest of Fredericksburg was the city of Kerrville.  Mum wanted to check the area out specifically, because she heard good things about “potential retirement communities” there.  While she wasn’t really thinking seriously about getting property there (because she wouldn’t want to be that far from the grandchildren), Mum still wanted to see what was out here.  Other than looking at the nice little park next to the Guadalupe River, there really wasn’t much to see in Kerrville.

We made our way back to Fredericksburg, because we heard the Museum of the Pacific War had been completed, so we figured we check that out (and if there was time, we’d finally finish the Nimitz-specific gallery).  This ended up being the highlight of the day.

The way the museum was laid out, it flowed from one section to another logically, without any “rat in a maze” feel.  The opening portion gives a brief overview of the geo-political situation of the events in the prior decades which lead up to World War II (like the Russo-Japanese War, and the Rape of Nanking).  The next section focuses on the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Doolittle Raid.  These had short films and some computer simulation to help show how specific events unfolded.

The sections after that took us through each step of the Pacific campaign, from the island hopping which began with Guadalcanal, and ended with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.  Every inch of the available space was filled, but it didn’t feel crowded at all.  And there were a lot of places to sit down as the short films were being played.  For someone interested in the historical nature of this, it was fabulous.  I tried to note some specific items that interested me as I went along.  I liked the piece of coral and container of beach sand from the island of Tarawa, as it reminded me of the coral and sand I brought back with me from Turks & Caicos.  The Battle of Tarawa took place in November 1943, when it took over 35,000 U.S. Marines about four days to achieve victory over 4,000 Japanese troops dishing out heavy resistance.

In addition to the Japanese mini-sub at the beginning of the museum, there were a few tanks, jeeps, planes, and other large items spread out among the exhibits, in addition to smaller items (like weapons and gear).  We began to realize how massive the building was, in addition to everything there was to see.  Sometimes we had to look above us to see the actual item the informational cards were describing.

Working for General Motors, I get amused when I encounter stuff makes me remember that during the war period, GM didn’t make too many actual cars.  The “GM Special” plane I stumbled upon in Valle, AZ (at the Planes of Fame Air Museum) was one such example.  The wartime advertisement of a tank built by Buick was another.  Little things like that, items the everyday person would see, were constant reminders of the conflict which raged around the world.

There was so much information to absorb, and it was worth the entire time we spent here.  This was one place I’d want to go back to again, and take the entire day to go through this.  The museum was designed to allow visitors to step out for brief periods (either to the restroom or a place for lunch), and return back to the portion you’d left.

On the outskirts of Fredericksburg, we nibbled on some ice cream at a Dairy Queen.  Being in Texas, I never thought much about them, but as there hasn’t been a DQ in New York in about thirty years, this is a treat for Mum & Dad.  That was a lot of walking which tuckered my parents out, so they then took a trip to the comfy couch to end out the day.

More information can be found on the places we visited at:

            Hill Country Cupboard:  hillcountrycupboard.com

            Kerrville:  www.riversidenaturecenter.org

            Museum of the Pacific War:  www.pacificwarmuseum.org

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Bob Bullock Museum -- Mum & Dad Visit Texas – March & April 2011 (Part One)

DAY ONE:  Tuesday, 29 March 2011

When Mum let me know their flight arrangements, that they’d be coming in Tuesday morning, I thought it worked out pretty well.  Mum said it’s cheaper to have a flight on Tuesday, as opposed to Saturday.  That actually gave me some time to get stuff done around the house, run a few errands, have the regular maintenance done on the car, and not miss my monthly class with Cat Dancing (which only happens on the fourth Monday).  Mum & Dad decided they were going to split up their “southern visit” like they did the past two years, half the time in Austin, and the other part of the time in Florida with Aunt Dayle.

After picking them up at the airport, and getting these hungry travelers something to eat, we just hung at the place I was living now so we could spend some quality time together.  Their visit was to see me first, and other stuff secondary, but there was some stuff my parents wanted to see again.  Since this was going to be sort of a “re-experience” of the 2003 trip, I thought it would be interesting for them to see how different (or similar) things looked after nearly a decade.  I made sure to drive by the Spring Hill Suites where they stayed on their first two visits, as well as the Sam’s Boat pub which was next door.  It was pretty much a leisurely day, so the jet-lagged visitors could relax.

DAY TWO:  Wednesday, 30 March 2011

Today Mum & Dad wanted to head over to the Bob Bullock Museum.  When I visited Austin the first time (back in March 2002), I only got to see the first floor of the museum, because I wasn’t allowed time to fully explore it.  And when my parents came down in March 2003 to visit me the first time (with Bruce, Sue, Earl, and Mary in tow), we went there again.  I got to see the floors, but as everyone had scattered off in different directions, I ended up running around like a sheep dog keeping tabs on where everyone was.  In the effort to keep the group from getting too separated, I really didn’t get a chance to enjoy the exhibits.  Because of that, I thought it’d be nice to re-visit the museum.

Mum wanted to come back her specifically to giver her some new historical context.  She commented when she was down here the first time, she enjoyed reading all the notes about the specific locations where events in the road to Texas Independence (and eventual state-hood) took place, but ultimately it was just a museum exhibit.  Mum said now that she had the opportunity to visit some of these places, the information she’s read about them now has more meaning.

We took full advantage of visiting the museum in the middle of the day, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves all day.

More information can be found on the places we visited at:

            Bob Bullock Museum:  www.thestoryoftexas.com

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InnerSpace Caverns (Georgetown, TX) – August 2010

5 August 2010

A BETTER DESCENT INTO THE DEPTHS OF THE EARTH … UM, TEXAS

After the so-so experience I had at Longhorn Caverns, I really wanted to get a good feeling from the day (and I hadn’t gotten it there).  There was still enough time left in the day, so I drove across to Georgetown to where I knew there was an awesome set of caves, because I’d been there twice.  Inner Space Caverns.

I’ve visited twice before.  Once was in March 2003 when my parents came to visit me in Austin the first time (so all got to explore it’s newness together), and second was about six months later or so when I took Brian there so he could experience the Underdark personally.

Inner Space is located off of Interstate 35, right in the southern most section of the city of Georgetown.  For miles on either side of it, the highway has the road signs to lead you right too it.  Once you take the exit for it, you’re only about five-thousand feet from the entrance to the parking lot.  Yes, it’s that close.  I knew the reason why, but you’ll learn as you read along.

It now was in the high 90s this afternoon, so going into a cave that would be a constant 72 degrees was going to be an awesome treat.  I paid my admission fee, and learned a group was just minutes from getting ready to depart.  Since it was just me, it was easy to squeeze one more in.  And there was just time enough to use the facilities.

THE THIRD TRIP:  NOTHING NEW, BUT JUST AS GOOD

At the beginning of the tours, the guide always asks if any one has been there before.  It’s a good way to know who the repeat customers are.  The guides here have always been college students, doing this as a summer and/or weekend job.  If you don’t mind saying the same stuff over again every hour, it can be a pretty fun thing to do.  I envisioned myself as a retiree doing this not because I needed the income, because I liked it, and it was a good way to escape the heat.

One of the reasons why this cave is special was the story of its discovery.  I’d heard it before, but during the tour the tale is told in chunks so visitors get specific visuals to go along with it.  Other caves were discovered because someone noticed cool air coming from some location, and worked their way into a smaller known cave only to find a larger hidden area.  Inner Space beats them all with its discovery.  Here’s the basic skinny.

Back in the early 1960s, Texas decided to build an overpass to make travelling around Interstate 35 much easier.  As the workers drilled holes in order to be able to set the support structures for this bridge, they kept losing drill bits down this particular hole.  The newest member of the crew, who was also the skinniest, got the job to stand on the drill and get lowered into the hole to see what the issue was.  I’m sure he didn’t willing volunteer.  The man knew he’d been lowered into some hole (as that was usually the cause of the loss of drill bits).  He turned on his flashlight, and was greeted with the sight of a huge cavern that was actually large enough to place regulation American football in.

The work crew realized the importance of their find, and notified the appropriate officials.  Construction paused as the cave was explored.  The caves stretched perpendicular to the highway for a great distance on either side; and that was just they could reach.  The plans for the overpass were modified slightly so it be at the narrowest point of the cave in order to minimize any environmental impact.

Part of what is known as the Balcones Fault (which runs under a large portion of Interstate 35 as it passes through central Texas), the cave was made from limestone which had been carved by water.  Its age was estimated at being 100 million years old.  Geologic investigations showed the cave had been open to the outside at least 20,000-40,000 years before plate shifting sealed it up.  Bones of some Ice Age critters were discovered inside.

In order to make this a commercial cave, an artificial entrance was constructed on the far western side.  A small tram is used to take the visitors down at a steep angle to a point slightly lower in elevation than the cave, and then you get to follow a short path which goes up twenty or thirty feet.  This is designed to see the natural cooler air in the cave, as the rising warmer Texas air won’t reach down here.  Keeps the cave ventilated, too.  It also does allow a small amount of bugs or bats to now find their way into the cave, but Inner Space can close the entrance at night to minimize that.

This is what is called a “living” cave.  That means the as the water seeps into the caverns, it brings in minerals which form stalactites, and other interesting formations.  This process can take hundreds or thousands of years, but when you look at the rock, it looks like it’s bubbly or soft.  A federal law has been passed to make it a fineable offense to be caught touching living rock formations, because of how it can damage the geologic action.  The oils which are naturally secreted by mammals will halt this natural process.  One person touching a rock won’t do it, but many people repeatedly doing it will.

Inner Space has one nasty-looking black rock, probably about the size of an adult’s forearm, located near the entrance to show you what will happen after repeated touching.  They encourage you to touch it to feel what the rock is like, and to get any “touchy” feelings out of your system.

They also mention it’s good luck if you received what’s called a “cave kiss.”  That’s a fancy name for feeling some limestone-filled water to drip on you.  It’s fun also to add these anthropomorphic qualities to inanimate objects.

After a small cave section past the entrance, the tour brings you to the “discovery cave.”  This is the football field-sized room which was the first one ever viewed by modern humans.  There are some lights spaced out here and there to allow ease of walking, but it’s purposely kept darker (better for the formations that way).  The guide points out the circular holes in the ceiling created by the very first drilling, and you could see they weren’t too big around.  These holes were later filled in once the artificial entrance was created.  After the tour group is given the background information of the cave’s discovery, the guide turns out all the lights so you can get a sense of how dark this is, and how little a single flashlight illuminates it all.

As we go deeper into the cave, the various formations are pointed out by the guide using her flashlight.  These formations are named for what someone thought they looked like.  Just like images in the clouds, some imagination may be required to see why something is called what it is, but others are pretty apparent.  One, for example, is called “Lake of the Moon,” because someone thought this was what the surface of the Moon would look like.  Although this was a far cry from the grey powered Lunar surface we’ve come to know, at the time Moon’s surface _was_ still a mystery.

The cave then opens up into another room, this one with a noticeable difference.  The trail curves around to the right, and a hand-rail separates the public from the sunken floor about ten or so feet below.  That is where during the initial exploration, partially-fossilized mammoth bones were discovered.  Because the bones are in the transitional stage, they can’t be removed from the area without destroying them.

At a section not too far past this was a display built which shows some of the bones they were able to extract, and there’s paintings which show the critters which they’ve found here.  The paintings are done in the style of “cavemen art” found in other caves, but the ones here are strictly a modern creation.  And no human bones have been found in the caves.

The tour takes us past what you first think is just another formless rock formation, until the guide points out this was the section which was formerly opened to the outside (some 10,000 years ago).  The geologists who inspected it reported that it must’ve been a large hole in the ground at first, where many animals fell into during the time it was opened.  Due to the movements of the tectonic plates, some of the edges of the hole collapsed, and other sections tumbled over to seal it up.  So it ends up that what the guide was showing us was what had been a cave-in.  Only a narrow portion was cleared in order to allow groups through to further sections of the cave.

The tour takes out as far as the cave’s explored and opened up for the casual visitor, at which point you back-track to the artificial opening.  There is second section of the cave system which goes in another direction completely.  That section is for the more experienced caver, and requires helmets, lights, and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty.  The caves are much bigger than two portions.  Through small holes off the main section can be felt breezes or heard the sound of running water.  The portions of the caverns which haven’t been opened up (which no natural entrance has been found) are marked with coloured lights which mark the furthest a human can reach.

As you can see from the two shots above, depending on the light present in the cave (or the power of your flash), you can either see the light as a beacon in the murky dark, or brighter illumination allows the texture of the formations to be captured clearly.

I had another good experience at Inner Space, so it made a nice closure to the day.  Okay, the ice cream I bought on site also helped.  Of all the caves in central Texas I’ve been in, this was the one I liked the best, and would come back to again.

More information could be found at:  www.myinnerspacecavern.com

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