| The following is an article I wrote for Little Egypt Grotto's Crawlway Courier in 1995 (vol 29, no 2-4). It's a story about my trip to Arizona from Illinois and my first impressions of the southwest: It all began in April. The thought of moving to Arizona was only a pipe dream until then. Now I can only think that I must have been smoking one. I must have been watching the Beverly Hillbillies and thought they said, “Jen, move away from there.” So we loaded up the truck and moved to Tucson, AZ. Desert, that is –sand dunes and prickly pears. Our journey westward began June 9th. We were on our way to Arkansas. It took forty days and forty nights –at least the rain would have you believing that was so. Our fist cave-on-the-road experience began at Blanchard Springs, Arkansas. I, unfortunately, don’t remember much about this cave. It may have something to do with the fact that the Ozarks’ winding roads had made me ill. At least I didn’t spit up on myself like the cat did. All I can say about this cave was that it cost a lot of money for a few pretties on the tour. We went on the longer tour (via elevator) that had a lot of climbing in order to get out. That, of course, did not bother me. I was just hoping for more. I think the other tour was supposed to have a greater amount of formations. This tour had a huge flowstone amount other large formations. There just weren’t enough to fill my greedy speleological curiosity though. Through the rain again, our next destination was Caverns of Sonora in Texas. I must say that the entire state of Texas smalls bad. I can’t explain it. They also have the biggest roaches that I have ever seen down there. Now, I do not know what I expected from these caves, but it just didn’t seem like I was getting my needs filled. Steve enjoyed this cave most of all. Caverns of Sonora is beautiful. I can’t complain at all about this cave. It was filled with popcorn. The tour had a limited number of people which made it that much more like a “real” caving trip. Steve was impressed, but I was waiting for 200-foot ice formations or something. I wanted big though, like I said. I was just as thrilled with the peacocks walking all over the grounds an sitting over the cave entrance as I was with the cave. I think I expected Lechuguilla. Our final cave trip led us to Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico. The weather was clear and warm. This was a clue. Now, I was happy. This cave is not just big, but really big. This cave had everything a cave should have. It had little formations, big formations, popcorn, soda straws, water (at least a little bit), bats, self-led trips, an elevator for the trip out, and even a lunch room. I was thrilled. I didn’t want this trip to end. We took our time and walked a couple of miles in the cave. The Big Room has about a one-mile trail outlining it. That, in itself, was impressive. There were large formations in the center of this room, but there were scenic cutouts all along the way. It seemed as though it were a museum or zoo. We walked a few feet and gazed at a small room with gorgeous formations. The room did not go anywhere that I could see. We then walked a few more feet and came across another of these displays. It was amazing that these highly decorated rooms were one after another along the entire trail of the Big Room. The cost for the self-led cave trip we took was only $5 per person. An additional $5 would take you on a guided tour to another part of the cave or to other caves in the vicinity. Carlsbad Caverns National Park has more to offer any visitor than any other show cave that I have ever seen. We took a desert hike that led us to another natural opening of the cave. We listened to a talk about vertical gear and another on the desert. We watched a short film on bats, and saw the famous bat flight in the evening –one million Mexican free-tailed bats beginning their ascent into the night skies. It would take hours before they all finally made it to the surface. All of these programs are free. Our experience across country was worth a little rain and sunburn through the desert of New Mexico. Now we are in the Sonoran Desert. Although a little moisture in the air may sound refreshing after being in this heat, it would make our cooling system less effective. It cools the air with water. If the humidity gets past 20%, the house gets warm. I’m going to die in these caves. Just about everything I have ever learned about camping and caving is practically useless out here. I have to figure out how to set up a tent so I don’t come into contact with rattlesnakes, tarantulas, scorpions, and stinging, ten-inch centipedes. I must carry water with me at all times –even to go to the grocery store. I no longer have to worry about getting a wetsuit. Out here, they are vertical. I must decide which t-shirt and pair of jeans I want to take caving. I am told to pack up my caving suit for trips up north. It has been suggested –perish the thought- that I go electric. Never, I say. Never! I will be going to my first caving meeting soon. I have already spoken with a caver here. Although he makes the cavers sound friendly, it still won’t be Steve Taylor and Taka swinging in a tree or Kay’s macaroni salads. I won’t find late nights at Jean’s or parties at Al’s. I will just have to adjust to these cavers as they will have to get used to me. |