I’d driven down from northern part
of Austin to San Marcos in order to meet a lady I’d been
talking to over an internet dating site.
There had been enough intelligent conversation going on, so neither one of
us appeared to be a psycho to the other.
After meeting at Bobcat Stadium (on the campus of Southwest Texas
State
The cave system is known as Wonder World
Park , which was the first commercial
cave opened in Texas
back in 1903. Unlike InnerSpace, Wonder
World was formed by an earthquake at some point in the past. The Balcones Fault Line pretty much runs
right under Interstate 35, and is still occasionally active today (although
there aren’t any signs of “building pressure” like the New Madrid or San Andreas
faults). The draw for this was to see
how two radically different-looking tectonic plates come together here.
We descended into the cave by a
series of stone steps. I noticed it was
very dry in here. Our guide informed us
this was not a “living cave” (like InnerSpace), so there weren’t any rules
against touching things. This cave had
been opened to the outside for so long, that any natural formations stopped
growing long before the first white settlers came here. Because of the coolness that comes from being
underground, this was a place where natives went to escape the heat. The guide pointed out some black soot marks
along the walls as the result of the cave being used as a speakeasy during Prohibition.
One of the first chambers we went
into also had some fallen stone blocks in it.
That was the result of the earthquake that created the cave, and those
blocks were so wedged in, they weren’t going anywhere. Since this area has such sparse geologic
activity, there’s only the smallest chance these will move if there happens to
be another tremor.
The guide mentioned there was some
natural phosphoresces in this section, and that’s why there’s a door to shut
this off from the rest of the caves. He
said this dust gets on everything in minute quantities. Once he turned out the light, we were
instructed to wave our hands in front of our faces, and we’d be able to see
that. The lights went out, and I started
doing it, because I wanted to see this natural occurrence. There wasn’t much of a glow, but something
ever so slightly. Given time to allow
our eyes to adjust to the darkness, we might be able to see it better.
Unfortunately the lights came back
on about a minute later, and the guide commented that he always catches at least
one person doing that. (I was the only
adult doing it, but a couple of the pre-teens present had done as
instructed.) I mentioned I could see
something faint. The guide then said
there’s really nothing in the cave which would do that. But a two other women commented they were
able to see my hand starting to glow, so there must be something. I didn’t know them, and the guide didn’t seem
happy when that fact was pointed out.
Perhaps there is some natural phosphoresces in here after all.
We went further into the caves, and
followed the steps which had been built into the area. This gave a nice
view of the size of the interior. Even though this had been open to the
outside, it was still much cooler here than the inside. Wonder Cave
One area the guide brought us into
had a well in it, as this collected the water which seeped into the cave (and
continued down to the Edwards Aquifer). We were told this was a wishing
cave, which people tossed coins into. The guide also wanted us to each
look down the well and guess how deep it was. To me, it sounded like we
were going to be shown some sort of optical illusion, thus a chance to learn
something. Each visitor in turned looked down this well, and I’d positioned
myself to be the last.
Looking down the well, there was no
real frame of reference to judge depth. The sides were wet, and the water
so clear and still, you couldn’t tell where the surface was. There was a light overhead which illuminated
to the bottom, and I could see the change which had been tossed in by others.
The reason I’d gone last was a chance to prepare what I was going to do,
which was something I learned from playing table-top role-playing games.
I flicked a penny into the well,
and once it hit the surface (thereby creating some ripples), I had a point of
reference. From how long it took the coin to hit the water, and then
subsequently sink the bottom, I was able to approximate the depth. I told
the guide the water level was about ten feet down, and the bottom of the well about
thirty feet below that.
The guide appeared rather shocked
at what I’d done. If there hadn’t been any coins down there, I wouldn’t
have thrown one in to begin with. He said the well depth was thirty-eight
feet, and the water level started eight feet down. The other visitors
thought that was a pretty clever idea. The guide asked if I’d been here
before, because of the trick I used. I said it’s the same idea as
checking a chasm depth by throwing a torch down to watch the light disappear,
or a stone down to listen for the sound of it hitting. I just applied the
same logic to the problem. Louise was mildly amused, but I think it was
more at the guide being unimpressed at what I did, than what I actually did.
We continued to work our way
through the cave, going down a few steps here and there. It was so subtle
that we’d been descending; there was no way to know how far deep we were.
We were about to find out. The guide mentioned there was one final
chamber to come into, and it was the lowest point of the area. He added
it rather visually striking because of the fossils it contained. He’d
said we’d be able to get an idea of how far underground we were too. As
we filed into the chamber, the guide looked at me and said “Okay, smart-guy,
give someone else a chance this time.” Whatever, dude. Everyone has had their chance.
The cavern we entered into was
roughly sixty feet in diameter, and had a height of about forty feet.
This was the largest area we’d been in the entire tour, and certainly the
most impressive. I noticed a few people looking to the side in an effort
to spot fossils, but the majority had seen them when they looked up at the
ceiling. Saying the area was crammed with fossils would be too
conservative of an estimate.
We were asked what type of creature
did we think we were looking at, and how would fossils get into the ceiling.
My camera didn’t have a zoom, so the above shot is exactly what I saw.
I waited a few moments as the other visitors attempted to answer. A
few had said trilobites, which was a good guess, but didn’t match the shape.
Finally the guide looked at me and
asked what I thought they were. I said they were shrimp. The guide
seemed to get a little flustered and said (in a rather accusatory tone) that I
had been here before, as I was correct. I replied again that I hadn’t,
and these critters on the ceiling look really no different than the appetizer
my house-mate orders from Red Lobster.
When asked how they got there, I
said the logical reason was there had been a layer the shrimp had been set down
in, which has since eroded away. The guide appeared rather unhappy that I
knew this, and then went on to explain that in greater detail. Hey, I’ve
studied the geology of the area and learned something, so sue me.
The last leg of the tour was that
we wouldn’t be coming back the way we came.
We were herded into an elevator which would do more than just bring us back
to the surface. Within moments the door opened, and we filed out into the
Texas Observation Tower
Snide comments aside, I thought the
tour guide did a pretty good job, and thanked him. I didn’t the warmest
reply back. Passing on the petting zoo, Louise and I went on to the last
portion of the area, known as the Anti-Gravity House. This was made at various angles, and
contributed to a lot of optical illusions. Water seemed to flow uphill,
and marbles rolled against gravity, due to the way this was designed. The
structure wasn’t very big, but enough to give you idea (and to give others
behind us some vertigo).
Overall, Wonder Works
Park
For current information on the places mentioned:
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