TEXAS: LONGHORN CAVERN

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

One of the things I enjoyed about this particular trip to Texas was seeing the evidence of work done by the Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC, a group established during the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt to rebuild both the economy and the country's physical infrastructure.

One CCC project in Central Texas during the 1930s was clearing a huge underground cavern of 2.5 tons of debris and building stairs and walkways into and inside the cavern to make the cavern tourist friendly. They also built the scenic byway that led to it and facilities within the park, now known as Longhorn Cavern State Park. 

Longhorn Cavern is a limestone cave formed thousands of years ago by an underground river that no longer exists. Before the CCC turned it into a tourist attraction, it was used by indigenous people, Confederate soldiers, outlaws, and speakeasy operators.

We joined a group of about 20 people on a guided tour of the cave.

We had a very good guide whose grandfather had been part of the aforementioned CCC crews.

We walked just over a half-mile into the cave, stopping every now and then to have a geology or history lesson.

We plodded through a series of narrow and sometimes very low hallways that led to large, open ballrooms.

I meant it when I said there are ballrooms. There is even a room with a stage where bands would play for a crowd of dancing couples. Imagine  the acoustics!

The CCC found this dog-like rock (nicknamed "Queen's Watchdog") in another part of the cavern and transported it to the tourist zone for the viewing pleasure of the cavern guests.

Our guide advised us to be on the lookout for another mammal, which he described as looking like a burnt chicken McNugget."  Although once a popular hangout for over two million Mexican bats, at some point they vacated the premises. Another far less social species now occupies Longhorn Cavern--Eastern Pipistrelle bats. They hang out alone rather than in groups, and every now and then we saw one in the typical upside-down bat position.

It would be easy to get lost without a guide.

Detritus left behind by the CCC:

The undulating lines on the walls capture the patterns of the river that once flowed through these passageways.

Some of the ceiling features remind me of muqarnas, an ornamental style in Islamic architecture.

Icicle curtain:

There aren't a lot of stalactites and stalagmites, but this set, named Angel's Wings and Devil's Throne, is one of the most popular formations in the cave.

There are some extensive crystal formations:

When spotlighted by a UV light, some of the crystals are fluorescent.

An old access portal to the cave is now boarded up.

It had been an even 68° F inside the cave, but it was quite a bit warmer outside.

This is one very reliable way to ease the transition from cool temperatures to heat.