My Kind of Place

Traveling through the Ozarks, Mom and I stopped at Mystic Caverns. Here we were able to experience two, that's right two!, caves. I've become a bit of a cave junkie, having visited four now this year. Before 2007, I had not experienced a natural cave. There was a cave in the Northern portion of Minnesota that was formed from iron ore mining, but that was not a natural cave. I've been told I may have seen another one when I was very little, but I don't remember it so it doesn't count.

But back to the trip. I was excited to visit these caves. I like walking through a cave - the temperature is always the same, there is clean, crisp air, and I don't have to wear sunglasses. A young girl took us on the tour, her male co-worker watched the counter/gift shop as we headed down into the cave. Which was good because there was a creepy man hanging around and I think they did that so she wouldn't be left alone with that man. Smart kids.

It was after Labor Day and a weekday, so Mom and I had the tour to ourselves. I appreciate that. Then I can take tons of pictures! The first cave had been used to make moonshine during Prohibition and also ballroom dances were held there. It was unfortunate that the cave had that history because the damage is still evident. It takes millions of years for cave formations to grow and minutes to destroy them. But there were still cool sights to see!



You can see where pieces of the cave have been cut off here. The straight lines at the end show the damage.






The main attraction of this cave was a formation called the Pipe Organ. It looks a bit like the pipes of a large instrument and I believed the story that if hit, the formation made loud, long sounds much like a pipe organ would. It was very large and impressive.


The soot on the cave walls shows the impact of running a moonshine operation inside this cave. I couldn't imagine being lowered on a rope through a small hole, dressed to the nines for a ballroom dance, and then partying in droves of black, sooty smoke. But to each their own.


This little fellow met us as we were leaving the first cave. Kind of cute, in a lizard sort of way.


The second cave was discovered much later and so it is much better preserved. This first picture shows the white flow stone in the cave that looks much like white mud. I was told that if someone stepped in the flow stone, a foot print would be left for ages, much like a footprint would show in a pile of snow (but of course the flow stone wouldn't melt away).




This cave's major formation was a bell. It's very pretty. It also sparkles in the right light.


People see different things in the formations of a cave. This is supposed to be a dragon or a dinosaur. Do you see it?


I find this so pretty.


Ripples in the flowstone.


A large column in the cave.


Cave bacon! There were formations considered to be pancakes and eggs too!


The bell one more time. This cave had a tall ceiling and so some of the formations on the ground were very flat. It's interesting to see how the velocity of the dripping water creates different formations. Each drop deposits a bit of calcite before it falls and as it hits the ground. It's very minute and that's why it takes so long for formations to be created. I am just fascinated by caves!


Outside the cave is serene and pretty. I noticed that we were in the Bible Belt of the country though as we traveled through. The question about this picture that has formed is, "Do you think they believe Jesus is actually buried there?"


I think that is the end of the pictures I'm sharing from the trip. I've developed them now and I'm preparing my scrapbook layouts in my freetime (freetime? What is this freetime thing you speak of?) Maybe I'll complete the album before my next vacation, but that seems unlikely. I just had a week off last week (yeah!) and I have another week off in early December. I considered going to New Orleans to see where the Mississippi empties into the Gulf of Mexico (which I considered on my trip with my mom and then Diana commented the same! That was pretty cool to see great minds thinking alike). I haven't decided quite yet since that involves flying and some extra costs. But 2007 could be the year of the Mississippi. Who knows?

Rolling Hillsides

Let's see how this goes. I'd like to share some pictures from my trip again today. The images are from the drive Mom and I took through the Ozarks. If driving over big, scary bridges was not stressful enough, we now faced curvy, mountain roads that dropped out of view quite often.




And this just seems fitting proof as to being in the Ozarks. Yeah, we didn't stop to eat here. Wonder why?


Here is an old building that we passed on the road. I just really liked how this picture turned out.



Living in a rather flat state (rivers and lakes are beautiful scenery, don't get me wrong, but we've got little for hills), I was fascinated by the mountains. Sure, it's not like we were in the Rockies or visiting after the leaves turned, but the colors were still pretty great. Rows and rows of shifting hues greeted us as we drove and stopped at different overlooks.







This overlook was kind of cool. We met the Seizemores at it. This couple had driven up to the overlook to use their cellular phone. They live in the valley near the house with the red roof. (Which I couldn't find.) Reception was poor at home, so they made their way up the mountain a couple times each day. The husband told us their story on how they chose to live here. He was working, fixing all the lights in the Arkansas school districts, and he saw this view. He called home and said, "Honey, we're moving." They now found themselves building a house in the valley, hoping the roof would be done soon because the bear had destroyed their tent five times now. He let us know we were standing on top of a giant cave, probably where the bear lived.

As we spoke with the couple, the man asked where we were from. When we replied, "Minnesota," he asked, "Ever been to Ponka?" The blank stares must have indicated our confusion. As it turns out, he has a friend in Ponka. It's about 20 miles from where we were and it is known for elk herds crossing.

It was a beautiful place to view the mountains.



As I said, the drive was a little stressful. Mom is playing here, but this isn't too far from her expression behind the wheel.

A nicer picture of Mom. And yes! I got her to use a camera on the trip!






And just a few more pictures of our time in the Ozarks. Because I'm not addicted to photography. (I guess I just like these pictures.)





Also, while we were staying in the Ozarks, we decided to see a waterfall. Unfortunately, this plan didn't work too well. We had figured on going to a waterfall that was an easy, 1-mile hike. In speaking with people, we were directed to Lost Valley Trail. As it turned out, this trail was 3 miles one-way and a moderate hike. With Mom's hip replacement, this wasn't the best idea. We didn't make it to the waterfall, but I did get to see a few pretty butterflies.




And for Johnny, each did remind me of Uzi.

As far as trip photos go, I think I only have one more set that I'm going to share. Hopefully I'll get to them tonight. I'm going to try and jump start my blog back up and try to post daily in November. This also means I need to visit daily in November. Let's see how this goes. I used to love writing nightly, and there are things to write about. I'm off to work now. I have to give an interview tonight and it is Halloween, so let the madness ensue!