Helen gave us this cute stained glass owl as a thank you and good-bye gift. Ari mounted it for me in the window over my kitchen sink. It is pretty sweet. Helen made this herself, so that gal has some talent.
We are still at the Triangle T.
Fran, one of the campers near us, is an avid equestrian. She agreed to ride my horse with Ari. This was wonderful as Lennox does better on the trail if Mercy comes along.
On the trail, they rode by this old movie set from the movie,
3:10 to Yuma. The Triangle T has been used for several movies and boasts a long list of celebrities that have visited the property.
They include John Wayne, Glenn Ford, Van Heflen, Russell Crowe, Dale Evans, and Christian Bale.
Pictures from the trail ride.
On Wednesday, we went into nearby Benson and toured the
Kartchner Caverns. This was a very different cave tour from any we have experienced. Ari and I have visited caves all over the world. This cave is a relatively new discovery. They have basically curated and protected it from the beginning, so unlike other caves we have visited there is no graffiti inside - people signing and dating their names, etc. They have double entrances into the cave to ensure the environment isn't upset.
I was able to use my mobility scooter the entire time.
They have a small museum with gift shop. The museum is lovely and well worth visiting. It is really well done.
When you first enter the cave, you walk through a fine mist. The mist is to basically keep any lint or dust out of the caverns, so it is kind of like going into a clean room.
There are railings throughout, which you can use to hang onto. There is a guide in front and a guide in the rear. The guide in the rear watches the tour group and if anyone in the tour touches anything, he marks the location with trail ribbon and they will come in later to clean off any oil or contaminants left by the visitor.
One of the guests rested her knee on a concrete curb on the side of the trail. She was asked to remove her knee and the guide put a ribbon to mark that area to be de-contaminated.
The caves are major migratory stop for bats. There is an area in the caverns where the bats give birth and raise their young. That section of the cave is closed off to tours (mid-April through mid-August) so the bats are not disturbed.
Visitors are not allowed to bring anything into the caves - so I wasn't able to take any pictures. They are concerned that even the flash of a camera may affect or upset something. You can't even bring water with you on the tour as you might spill some.
They wipe down the railings and wash down the trail paths three times a day.
The caverns themselves are pretty standard, but you don't see the damage you do in other caverns from people touching the formations, etc.
In all, these was the most extreme protections I have ever seen in a cave.
I contrast this to
Luray Caverns in Virginia. Those caverns are quite beautiful and they have underground pools. When we toured those caverns, the guide said that they tried stocking the ponds with fish to see what would happen. The fish died.
Ari and I visited a cave in British Columbia several years back where we had to dress in coveralls and wear mining hats with lights. We basically crawled through mud to explore the cave.
We visited another cave that could only be reached by kayak and picnicked there.
In Australia, we rappelled into a cave.
I can only imagine the gasps of horror from the curators of these caverns here in Arizona.
I am not criticizing their methods. I think they are enlightened. They are preserving these caverns in a way no other caverns have been preserved which means these caverns are going to be way more informative scientifically speaking as they haven't been damaged and contaminated the way other caves have.
