In 2013 my brain fell out. I enjoyed going to Cave Day back in 2012, so
I wanted to do it again the following year (also to see if the cute TCC lady in
the pink shirt would be there again).
I’d previously put out feelers to become part of the Texas Cave
Conservatory, but hadn’t gotten a response from them. 2013 would be another attempt to make a
connection, and perhaps expand the activities I was involved in. At some point, I missed what day it was. I didn’t think to see when it was until
either it was after the fact, or had already committed to a Planetarium event
that day (it could be six of one or half-dozen of the other).
When 2014 rolled around, I
wanted to make sure not to miss this again.
I checked TCC’s page for the date to put in my calendar, and read about
some interesting (but sad) news. 2014
would be the last Cave Day for the foreseeable future due to funding issues,
and the Avery Ranch Cave
I got there right at 10 am when
it was due to open, and there were already a few dozen people waiting in
line. One difference I noticed this over
the previous time was the way people were queued. Last time people waiting on the sidewalk
outside the fenced area, and were only allowed in when it was time to load more
people into the cave. This time, the
line snaked around the opening, following some hastily-erected dividers. That was a good idea, in the fact that it
kept people out of the street. But the
volunteers didn’t maintain the line well, so it got out of whack as more people
came along. I’m spending time talking to
the people in line around me (handing out cards for the blog to drive
readership), and watched three separate lines form behind me.
The confusion was added when
someone came up with the idea that those who didn’t want to stand out in the
sun could put their name on a list, and wait under the shaded area. Also a great idea, but when volunteers were
forgetting to call the name of those waiters, that added to the confusion, and
upset many who’d come to enjoy this. I
noted that not to be negative, but for future opportunity.
Those near me in line hadn’t
seen the cave before, and their kids were unsure about going in to a
potentially “dark and scary place.” I
described what the entryway was like, and how it opened up into a larger area,
so there was nothing to be afraid of. I
did point out most of the fenced off section here was the footprint of the
cave, which helped show a sense of scale.
The opening has a trap door
which keeps the cave sealed during the year.
While the fence around the park is enough to deter all but the
most-determined human, the trap door keeps out non-human critters whose
presence would unintentionally disrupt the natural beauty of the cave.
There’s a ladder with a couple
steps which bring you about six feet down to a passageway. You have to crouch the first few steps, as
the passageway is about three feet in height, but that’s when the stairs
begin. Going forward about ten feet, the
stairs descend to a depth of roughly over double that, which comes into the
actual cave. The passageway is a
man-made access point.
This cave was discovered back in
May 2001 when Avery Ranch was digging a new sewer line. Seeing what they had, the developer
redesigned the placement of the sewer line to avoid the cave, and even gave up
three of the housing lots which would’ve been placed directly over this natural
wonder.
An interesting aside which we
talked about while waiting to go in was a recent cave discovery much like the Avery Ranch
Cave McNeil Road is being built which will
allow access to the IH-45 Tollway (west of LaFrontera), and is supposed to
connect to Route 620 (from my understanding).
During the construction to place a ramp, a cave was discovered (much in
the same manner InnerSpace was found the 1960s). It took a couple months for this to be
studied to see how essential it was to the Edwards Aquifer, and what was the
most-cost effective way (read: cheapest) to resolve this. In the same of InnerSpace, the engineers were
able to adjust the placement of the overpass in order to preserve the
cave. Would that be feasible here?
I believe TCC had a hand in this
study. The end result was while the cave
did filter down to the Aquifer, it appeared to be a minimal amount, so the
overpass would get to remain in position.
Then the question of how to strengthen the area to provide support for
the highway without disrupting the water flow.
A combination of crushed stone, cement, and other porous materials were
used to permanently fill in the cave. I
know there were some pictures of this taken (which were published in the Community Impact), but I wonder how much
of the natural wonder was documented before essentially being destroyed.
It brought up some interesting
discussion among myself and other visitors here today about what would happen
in the future. This whole area is
honeycombed with caves; many small, and easily avoided or filled in. There are other larger ones which won’t be
discovered until sections of land start to get developed. What will happen with them? Will some get fenced off yet remain accessible
like this one at Avery Ranch, will one be of sufficient size which will allow
for commercializing and visitors (like InnerSpace, or Natural Bridge, for
example), or will they get filled in and their beauty forever changed? Something to ponder.
Inside the cave, a guide was
explaining to people what the differences between stalagmites and stalactites
were, answering questions, and using his flashlight to point formations to
people. The space inside the cave had
about as much square footage as a living room & kitchen an average-sized
house (or the space of a studio apartment).
Okay, that was just my approximation, based on the size of the fenced
off area, and that of the people inside.
None of the formations were
given cute names like in commercial caves, but the guide explained how the
limestone in the dripping water slowly creates these deposits, and how the oils
secreted by animals (including humans) can damage that growth (hence the trap
door to the cave).
There was some talk about what
was flowstone, cave bacon, and such, but I think most of the people here this
year had come out because it was a “free event” to do, not because they had any
genuine interest in the cave, its preservation, or geology in general. I have some hope that some of the younger
members who had their interests piqued by this have it further encouraged by
their parents.
I asked the TCC guide inside the
cave about the lack of funding which forced the closing of this cave in the
future, and if they’d looked at any association with the UT Geology Department
for example for support. The person was
a volunteer, and he didn’t have that information. He directed me to locate Mike, who was the
only actual TCC employee here today, as he’d have those answers. Being part of a non-profit organization
(Austin Planetarium), I know about having volunteers on hand and the quest for
grant money, donations, and other funds in order to keep solvent. I had this idea of giving some suggestions to
Mike, and seeing what he’s already investigated. Mike also might be able give a presentation
at AP’s Speaker Series on the cave geology of the area.
Back on the surface, I noticed
the number of people waiting to go inside had tripled, and they were scattered
about. I couldn’t tell where the lines
were. I hunted around to see if I could
find Mike. There was a table with some
information about Texas Cave Conservatory, yet no one was manning it. In fact as I looked around, other than the
single individual at the trap door, I didn’t see any volunteers present. The person who’d been identified to me as
Mike was out doing crowd control of who been on the “shade list” and when they
could enter the cave. There was no one
at the gate to direct people as they came in.
It was pretty chaotic.
I waited at the booth for a bit
hoping that Mike would get everything worked out and emerge from the
crowd. By the fact I stood where I was,
many thought I was a volunteer and asked me questions. If I could’ve told where the end of the line
was, I would’ve directed people that way.
After about 30 minutes, it was clear Mike would be busy with the crowds
for a bit, and he wasn’t going to have time to speak to anyone. I still never saw any volunteer come over and
try to assist. In fact, I still saw no
volunteers present. That would’ve been
something I could’ve assisted with (as I’ve learned about volunteer
coordination with the Planetarium). If I
could’ve handed my card to Mike (or one of the volunteers) in order to talk
with them later, I would’ve done so.
Since I’d been here previously,
I knew exactly what I was going to see, but that didn’t change my
experience. Ignoring the issues with
crowd control on the surface, I think the visit this time was a little more
special. Part of that comes from knowing
this will probably be the last time I get to see this, and part of that comes
from this cave could’ve easily been filled in by the housing developers of
Avery Ranch.
It creates something very
important to think about, no matter what area you live in. Don’t take things for granted, and don’t wait
to see them. Situations might change and
take you out of the area before you get the chance to visit something, or
circumstances may result in those opportunities being no longer available. Many people who I saw today never knew of the
existence of the Avery
Ranch Cave
If there’s a “Things To Do”
section in your local paper, make time to do them. Go and speak to people at your Chamber of
Commerce or Visitor’s Bureau in order to find out what might be in your area,
and see them. You won’t be sorry, and
who knows what you’ll experience.
Informational Links:
Cave Day: http://www.texascaves.org/cave_day.html
As far as the cave system under
RM 620 goes, I’ve placed the following links here which talk about its
discovery, its ultimate fate, and some more information about how it was
sealed. The second link contains the
only picture I could find of the interior, although I’m sure there are others.
Discovery: http://impactnews.com/austin-metro/round-rock-pflugerville-hutto/cave-system-discovered-underneath-rm-620-construction-projec/
Fate: http://www.myfoxaustin.com/story/23569690/cave-discovered-on-rm-620-to-be-filled-in
Sealing the Cave: http://www.jbgoodwin.com/news_articles/Cave_Under_RM_620_Sealed_120513.pdf
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