Treasure Map - Howe Caverns

Last week Andy and I went to Howe Caverns. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon on Route 88. Every fifteen minutes or so, a butterfly, usually a monarch, fluttered across our line of vision. We saw cows, horses, goats, and hawks. And we stopped at a rest area for a soda from the machine, which Andy thinks is very cool. :-)

We loved all the bright, colorful signs pointing us in the direction of the caverns once we turned onto Route 9. The funniest part of the trip was pulling into the parking lot of the dilapidated brown barn with "gift shop" signs on it. The windows were boarded up. "This can't be it," I said to Andy, as we stared. "I think it's up the road more," he concluded.

Gorgeous land up there. We found the right building, and there were hardly any cars. We felt so FREE and excited to be!

We took a tour at 4:15, with just one other mom and her 4-yr-old son Dougie. Our tour guide was Mr. Bill, an older guy who seemed at first like an automaton- he would keep doing his spiel even though Andy asked a question. No time to chat! He loosened up after a bit. He showed us formations that looked like witches, mice, turtles. He steered the boat in the underground stream like a gondola. Andy and I sat near the front, so we could pretend we were the only ones in the cave. The first guy to ever explore the water in the cave lay on an 8-foot-long log, with a candle at the end for light.

Mr. Bill told us that every time water dripped on us, the cave was kissing us. He told stories of college students smuggling small animals down there, and the animals only live 6 hours. He told us about a woman freaking out in the cave of mystery, having to be pulled out by her feet inch by inch as she screamed. And another woman who got stuck in the walls of Tight Squeeze and would NOT allow her designer dress to be ripped- it took 2 hours to free her.

The cave is 16 stories beneath the earth at the current entry point. It was originally discovered because a farmer's cow had strayed from the herd- she'd found the cool breeze coming from the cave's natural entrance near a clump of bushes.

Andy and I picked out some cool stuff from the gift shop, including a little tin pail of precious stones he selected himself. We got ice cream treats and sat on a bench outside, where my boy became coated with chocolate. :-) Then we enjoyed the drive home- more country-gazing and conversation. We saw plane trails in the distance which had spread out and looked like rivers in the sky. Andy asked about the difference between the colors gold and yellow, and told me the sun is definitely yellow.

As we approached home, my son sleeping in the back seat and the sky that deeper shade of purple signalling approaching night, I felt euphoric about life. Again.