Caves: Going deep beneath the surface

It’s mighty fine being under something. I get a kick out of driving through the Lehigh Tunnel on the turnpike and taking the Market/Frankfort Line beneath the Schuylkill River. I so enjoy imagining all that water or rock between me and the surface.

And I like looking around—especially in caves. Mother Nature performs some of her finest handi-work beneath the surface.

Water slowly changes the underground topography. One drop at a time, soft rock, like limestone, is separated from hard stone, such as quartz.

The colors are often spectacular and all that is needed to enjoy them is a little bit of light.

Almost every organized cave tour features that minute or so when the lights are completely turned off.

Pitch black. Total darkness. Eyes vainly trying to focus.

For a bit of time it’s nice to completely lose a sense. The sudden shock quickly leads to calmness and serenity.

What follows are five national park caves where you can take a walking. Just watch your head!

My first cave trip was to Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota.

In 1976, my mother sent my father on the organized tour to protect us, while she waited above ground. The Old Man doesn’t enjoy being squeezed in and said he’d take the tour only if he could be to the front or rear of the group, with a clear escape route.

I appreciate his doing something for us that he really didn’t want to. He told me yesterday that he hasn’t entered a cave since.

At most caves, the guides tell you that stalactites drop from a cave’s ceiling and stalagmites rise from the floor, while both are formed by one drop at a time.

In 1903, Wind Cave was the first cave designated as a national park in the world. Caves “breathe.” Air has few, small places to enter and exit at Wind Cave. The air pressure drops rapidly before a storm. When it was discovered, a storm was brewing at Wind Cave, hence the moniker.

Just hope that a power failure doesn’t stop the 754-foot deep elevator midway at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. Two thirds of the cave is designated wilderness and the limestone chamber’s “Big Room” is the largest in the world at almost 4,000 long by 625 feet wide and 255 feet at its tallest.

Hundreds of thousands of bats leave the Carlsbad Cave entrance at dusk in search of insects. Stay comfortable in your stone amphitheater seat. The ranger will tell you not to stand up too quickly. Bat/ human interactions are few. The bats mean no harm; they are just hungry.

At Lehman Cave in Great Basin National Park, Nevada you can see where tourists burned their initials into the ceiling. An early owner loaned hammers and let visitors chisel off pieces of the cave. Yes, it’s as disgusting as it seems. But it’s all protected now.

To get to Great Basin, I took U.S. Route 50, the “Loneliest Road in America.” I passed one car every 15 minutes and there’s a sign notifying motorists that it’s 83 miles between gas stations.

You ride down through a series of valleys and then every few miles over a pass. This trip is like motoring on a huge waffle.

Quickly moving fog moved across the valley floor. It was surreal. I felt like I was cruising through dry ice at rock concert. It was fitting that I was cranking up Pink Floyd on the car stereo.

At Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky you are warned to bring a jacket or sweater. Like most caves, the temperature is constant and cool. Below, at Mammoth, it’s always 54 degrees F.

At more than 400 miles long, Mammoth is the lon

gest cave in the world. Caves are some of the last explored places “on” earth. A couple more miles a year are discovered annually at this limestone and sandstone cave.

It’s called Mammoth Cave due to the large width and length of its passages, with the entrance named the “Rotunda.”

Pinnacles National Park in California is one of our newest national parks. The area is composed of the eroded leftovers from an extinct volcano that moved 200 miles from the San Andreas Fault.

Thirteen species of bats and the huge California condor call Pinnacles

home. Once bat guano is smelled underground, you’ll never forget the distinct odor.

Large chunks from deep narrow gorges fractured from above, creating the cave’s open areas below. A creek runs through the cave.

I was able to walk the Bear Gulch Cave without a guide. The gift shop does a brisk business selling flashlights. Mine cost $9.

It’s a thrill to go underground at our national parks. It’s easy to forget where you are. Just don’t stray from the group and get lost.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Manmouth Cave National Park