Inner Space

The state of Texas has 400+ caves under it. Anytime a new road is to be built holes have to be bored into the ground so the formations under the site can be evaluated. In 1963, before I-35 was built, holes were bored into the proposed site to study the substrata. Interestingly, the bores indicated that there was a cave present. A large hole was then bored and a 65 year old man was lowered into that hole, attached to a rope. Can you imagine descending into the unknown like that? I think it might be very scary!
What he found is now known as Inner Space, a cavern located near Georgetown, TX. Last week Sweetie and I took our granddaughter for her first cave experience. She loved it!


The first two pictures show the "train" that one rides as they descend into the deep! A lot less scary that being lowered by rope.

The hole...

Of course, the cave now has electric lights inside, and pathways, but the formations are the same. Also, the bats! Yes, this cave has a bat colony inside. These are small bats -- not the Mexican Free tail Bats that live under the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin. We saw quite a number of them during our visit.

Below, Flow stone

The roof of the cave used to be the bottom of a sea. In places you can see petrified shrimp tubes and sea sponges. I think it is interesting how things get turned topsy turvey.

Eons ago there were animals inside the cave -- bones of a woolly mammoth are visible at one place. They were left en situ, as they were found, so visitors were able to see what a dig looked like.

This was a fun outing.