Longhorn Caverns - Texas

I enjoy visiting caverns and there are several in Texas.  Some are pretty, some are unique, some are small, some are large and some have interesting history.  Longhorn Caverns near Burnet in the Texas Hill Country is a cavern with some history.

During the Civil War bat guano was mined to make gun powder.  A legend concerning the outlaw Sam Bass states Sam hid money from his activities in the cave.  Another story is told of a recuse of a kidnapped girl taken by Indians who hid in the cave.

Tour visit the large room

One of the interesting and unique formations

The stories surrounding the caverns led tourist to the area to see the sites.  By the 1020's the main room of the cave was being used as a dance hall and a place for concerts. 

Boys standing at the gated entrance to the cavern

In the late 1930's the cavern and many acres around it became a state park and open to the public.  In 1971 it was designated a National Natural Landmark.

Colorful formations

A dumbwaiter used the hole above to lower dishes and food during events in the main room. 

Entry to Longhorn Caverns

Longhorn Cavern sits inside the 645 acres Longhorn Cavern State Park and is open every day except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Tours for the most part happen hourly (schedule changes during the winter - link to schedule and fees).

Footprint from an unknown human hardened in the stone

Next time you are in the Texas Hill Country stop by the Longhorn Cavern SP and enjoy the cavern.

Check out videos about Taking It Outside.

An Enchanted Hike

244 miles southwest of Dallas, Texas sits one of the biggest rocks in the USA, Enchanted Rock.  Enchanted Rock is a batholith, a large protrusion of cooled volcanic magma.  This huge rock rises 425 feet above the surrounding area to a height of 1825 feet above sea level.  It is also the largest pink granite monadnock in the USA.

Enchanted Rock from park parking lot

The rock is part of the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.  The park is located 15 miles south of Llano, TX and 15 miles north of Fredericksburg, TX just west of TX 16 on FM 965.

Hiking is popular in the park.  There are two main trails, Summit Trail and Loop Trail.  Loop Trail is 4 miles and goes completely around Enchanted Rock and crosses Sandy Creek a few times.  Summit Trail is only 6/10 of a mile, but it rises 425 feet.

On Summit Trail look up Enchanted Rock

The Summit Trail starts on the northeast side of the Interpretive Center (map of the trail) and quickly crosses Sandy Creek.  The creek is easy to cross unless there has been a heavy rain recently.  The last restrooms on the trail are east of the trail after crossing the creek.  A little pass the restrooms is a stationary telescope that visitors can use to look up the rock.  A little after  1/10 of a mile the trail turns north and begins to ascend through some boulders and plants. 

My son looking a little worn from the climb

After the 3/10 mark the trail splits with the Echo Canyon Trail continuing northwest to meet the Loop Trail and Summit Trail veering northeast and becoming very steep as the trail is solidly on the barren rock.  The trail continues to the summit of Enchanted Rock where the 360 view of the Hill Country is amazing.  The average incline on the trail is 30%.  

There is a lot of room on the summit for the hikers.  There are numerous fissures and hallows that can be explored.  Some are very steep and narrow so caution should be exercised.  There are some cave-like features and areas that are fun to explore.  My son and I spent time exploring the features.

We explored the fissures and canyons while at the summit

We hiked to the summit during March and took water with us.  If one was hiking in the summer months they would need a good amount of water because the heat on the rock can get intense.  There is not much shade to be found on the rock.

A great view of the countryside

Wildlife is common around the park, especially deer since Gillespie County has the highest concentration of White-tail deer in the US.  The wildlife is more likely to be seen in the early morning or at dusk.  Wild Turkey, wild boar, bats, squirrels, and fox are seen often in the park.  My son and I saw deer early that morning on the way to the rock, but only birds and lizards once at the park.

The park has 46 camping sites near the visitor center with shower facilities and three primitive camping areas. This is a great park for camping and hiking.  The Hill Country is a great place for lovers of the outdoors.  Enchanted Rock is a unique geological feature and well worth visiting.

Zipping Along

My son and I are planning on doing a zip line this coming summer during our motorcycle trip to the Smoky Mountains.  We have discussed it and some of the other guys going on the trip will join us for the zip line.  Well my son and I were surprised when my mother-in-law gave us and her other son-in-law passes to the Zoomair Adventure Park at the Central Florida Zoo at Christmas.  We had flown out to Orlando for the holidays but, we had never discussed our plans about the zip line with her.  She saw an advertisement for Zoomair and thought of us.

 Photograph from http://www.orlandotourism.us/tag/orlando/ - I deleted the one my son took.

The day after Christmas was unseasonable cool and it was raining.  We wanted to go since Bo would have to head home the next day.  By afternoon the rain had left but, it was still cold.  We called Zoomair and they were open and operating so we head to the zoo.

The three of us ready to go.

The Central Florida Zoo is north of Orlando in the city of Sanford. It is a nice zoo that we had visited in the past (before Zoomair joined them). The zoo sets in a forest and has a great “natural surroundings” for the animals.

When we arrived we were directed to the equipment house where we received an enthusiastic welcome. After being fitted with a harness and gloves our "guide" proceeded to instruct us and educate us on proper technique and safety procedures. After we passed the zip line "test" we were taken to the starting point and then released on the self-guided zip line tour.

My son on one of the early bridges

The first "games", obstacles, or air bridges (whatever you want to call them) were not too hard or very long. We moved from tree to tree at about eight to ten feet above the ground. The first zip was only about 45 feet long and started at a height of about 12 feet and went to the ground. As we continued the obstacles became more challenging and the zips were longer and from greater heights and ended at above ground tree platforms.

 Tightrope with two hand cables 

Slow going on the tightrope

Each bridge was different.  It might have fewer planks, looser ropes, step farther apart...  Each provided its own challenge and flair.

Glad he is had that red security cable

Over, up, and back over

Tree to tree zip

Across the road and fountain - 512 feet of fun!

The highlight came in the last 1/3 of the course with the 512 foot zip that started around 50 feet above the ground. Wind gusts were common that day and a big gust came when I was at the top of the tree trying to hook up to the zip line. The tree swayed, it was pretty wild! Once hooked up I shoved off. It was great. The other two followed.

Bo coming across the long zip

The second to the last zip is a 300+ zip that was about 25 feet above the ground. There were a total of 9 zips and over 40 obstacles/air bridges. We spent about 2.5 hours on the course. It was well worth facing the colder temperatures, especially since after a little while you get warmed up from all the activity.

If you get the chance I suggest you try a zip line and if you are in Central Florida check out Zoomair Adventure Park.

You're all wet! So am I.

For the second summer in a row my son and I (along with some friends) decided to do some rafting while on our  motorcycle trip.  Last summer we rafted out of Pagosa Springs, CO.  During our trip to Yellowstone National Park we decided to raft out of Gardiner, MT on the Yellowstone River.

Gardiner is right outside the famed north gateway to the Yellowstone National Park known as the Roosevelt Arch that was dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt on April 24, 1903.

We stopped for pictures at the famous arch on our way back to camp.

There were four rafting companies each offering full and half day trips.  After doing some research and reading different reviews I chose the Yellowstone Raft Company.  We opted for the 1/2 day trip.  Four of us, including my son and I, got up early and got in a great hike to Osprey Falls prior to our afternoon rafting experience.

We met the rest of our group at the Yellowstone Raft Company store in the afternoon.  We changed into appropriate clothes, picked up our life jackets, and were briefed about the trip.  We loaded up in the vans and rode to the launching locations only about a 1/4 mile from the store.  We carried the rafts to the river and began the wet and wild adventure.  Since there were eight of us in our group and another couple we split up with five in each raft along with our guides.

Raft #1 had five from our group and a guide.

Raft #2 - my son is manning the front right of the raft and getting really wet!

Both of our guides were friendly, funny, and knowledgeable.  They pointed out different mountains, plants, and geological features, including Devil's Slide.  Our guide had a great sense of humor and kept us laughing.  He would skillfully steer the raft toward the biggest waves ensuring maximum splashes.

Preparing for a big wave.

The other group also had some big splashes.

During one stretch of the river the water was pretty calm, but still flowing at a good rate.  Anyone that wanted to was welcome to go swimming or float along side the raft.  That mountain water is a little chilly so I stayed in the raft, but some jumped in.

To the south we could see Joseph Peak and Gray Peak of the Gallatin Range in YNP.  The views were awesome.  We saw birds, but no mammals.  The river was flowing at a good rate so there was plenty of excitement.  Overall it was a much "wetter" adventure than our rafting trip in 2009.

If you are visiting YNP or that area and you want to do some rafting I would check out the Yellowstone Rafting Company.  They did a great job - we had fun, got wet, learned about the area, and we were kept safe.  What more could you want?

Our first rafting trip.

For a few years I had wanted to do some rafting, but I was concerned my son was too young.  However, while planning my summer motorcycle trip (June 2009) to Colorado, with my son (12 at the time) and some other men, I decided we would take a 1/2 day rafting trip.

I found Pagosa Outside Adventures (POA) while searching online for rafting in the Pagosa Springs area.  I was greatly impressed with the friendliness and helpfulness of the personal when I called several months ahead of time to get information. I decided to go with POA and booked our trip.

When we arrived at 12:30 on our scheduled day, we were met with smiles, laughter, and energy.  The entire staff seemed excited about the trip, a trip I am sure by then they had already taken many times.  Since none of us had ever been rafting we had questions and each question was enthusiastically answered.

After everyone had the appropriate gear, we loaded the POA van and head to the launching point which was directly behind the Malt Shoppe (great place - maybe discuss in a later post).  The rules and procedures were given in a humorus yet understandable way (Photos by "Birdcage"). 

Six rafts were launch and the fun began.  The river began smooth and cold.  The trip took us through parts of the town and right by the Springs Resort & Spa, a luxury hotel that features natual hot springs.  We continued down the river and out of the town where we got to experience some level 2-3 rapids. 

We difted beside steep granite walls and mountain forests.  We saw bald eagles looking for food and we rafted by a site used during the filming of the John Wayne classic The Cowboys.  At about the 1/2 way point the rafts pulled over and we had time for a snack and necessary break.

Once back on the river the speed picked up.  We experience some whitewater, but it was never too big or too rough.  The scenery was great and there was some fun-loving splashing wars between the rafts. Our guide was very experienced and knowledgeble.  He added a lot to the experience with his commentary and humor.  (Photo by "Loose Wheel" Grant)

When we landed we all helped load the equipment back on the trailers.  On our ride back into town we saw a black bear, but none of us got a picture.  The bear ran once the vans got close.

This was a great experience and has motivated me to go rafting again.  Next time I am in the Pagosa Springs area I will be planning a full day trip with POA.  Give it a try, you will have a blast.