Cosmic Caverns

One thing we have learned about Missouri is that it has plenty of caves to explore and there were a few very close to us, however we found one just over the border in Arkansas which suited us because of the entrance fee and formations to be seen.  It was also a good choice as it was doable for our little ones- a third of a mile long, but with very many stairs to climb.  The children were okay with that until the very end when they started to complain.  Our tour group had many children but the guide was a retired school teacher and knew just how to keep their attention.

Cosmic cave has some unique features.  It is one of the warmest caves in the Ozarks, keeping a constant temperature of 64 degrees F.  Bats love this cave for its warmth during the winter months.  We were assured that currently they are out of the cave, raising their babies and foraging for food.   It is also a very wet cave, heavy rains in the outside area immediately flood the cave.  The cave has been mined for cave onyx, that gem can be seen above.  The cave formations are translucent and quite pristine except in one location.

When cave tour guides have warn us not to touch the stalactites and stalagmite I always wondered what would happen if I did.  The blackened formation pictured above is what happens, and that piece
of the cave will no longer grow.  This was one place on the tour which we could touch.

This cave is famous for its helictites, one of which can be seen above.  In the upper spot-lit yellow area look at the twiggy- looking formation hanging down, like 3xes in a row.  That is a helictite.  I have been on quite a few cave tours in the past, and that was a new formation for me.

The cave was discovered in 1845, and has had 14 owners, the current owner has had it since 1980.  He has dynamited and explored parts of it over the years.  Two bottomless lakes have been found, but not explored.  One last formation I have here to show you is what looks like poached eggs.  We had seen on the tour stalactites which looked like bacon,  and here we found the rest of our breakfast!

And for lunch you may need a soda straw.  This cave has plenty of them!

Needless to say, it was a beautiful cave to tour, muddy to walk through and drips of water were frequently coming down, but well worth that discomfort!

Summer Vacation

I know, we are retired, so why do John and I need a summer vacation?   Well, we do still have the travel bug, so it is necessary for us to get out once and a while and hit the road.  Our daughter and her family had a small window of time between their son’s various summer camps to get away for a week, so we chose to join them on the first week in July at Table Rock Lake.  When we embarked on planning for this vacation at the beginning of this year we failed to take into account that many vacation rentals had already been booked.  We did find one available condo in Kimberling city, which is part of the Branson metropolitan area.  I was quite concerned as to whether we would find enough to do with our young grandchildren at a fishing resort, but it turned out to be a good week with them!

We found a scenic train at the Branson train station (actually an elderly Amtrak train from the 1950s) which took us out over the rolling Ozark hillsides two hours out and back.  Our 5 year- old grandson and 2 year- old granddaughter enjoyed that a lot- the dome and snack cars were their two favorite sections of the train.

Moonshine Beach is located on Table Rock Lake.  Nathan and Clarissa had been asking to go back to the beach in Florida, so this beach satisfied that desire.  Another day we went blueberry picking at Persimmon Hill farms- the cinnamon buns with blueberries at their bakery are quite delicious.  All five of us dove into one bun with our forks and it disappeared very quickly. 
And just because we were in a small town did not mean we missed fire works either.  On July 3 fireworks were shot over the lake, we had seats on a grassy hill near our condo- did not even have to take our car out for that.  Our two grandchildren also had fun trying out their fishing poles- patience is not a strong suit for children at this age! 

  We also toured Cosmic Cave with the children, that experience will be in my next posting.