Ride to Natural Bridge Caverns

On Saturday morning, August 20, 2011, I decided to join some other members of the local H.O.G. (Harley Owner's Group) Chapter on a ride to the Natural Bridge Caverns in New Braunfels. Although I felt a little guilty taking off for a pleasurable day of motorcycle riding, Sharon was going to spend most of the day...actually weekend...getting ready for her August Institute on Monday so the only thing I would really be missing would be honey-do's at the house.

The ride was scheduled to leave one of the local McDonald's in Bryan at 0830 and not return until around 7pm that evening. Seemed like a long time to me but I was game. I arrived a little early, ate some yummy oatmeal...doesn't cause my stomach to rebell like other breakfast items there...and socialized with those riders already there.

As it turned out, the heat...and probably the length of the ride...caused most of the would-be riders to skip this ride...we only had 5 bikes...6 total people for the ride. At precisely 0830, the Road Captain for the day led the group out of the parking lot, headed towards Caldwell to the west of Bryan/College Station.

The plan was to make multiple stops for water and rest, due to the excessive heat expected on Saturday. In fact, we made a stop about every 45 minutes - 1 hour...which seemed excessive early in the day but came as a welcome relief later. The temperature was not as bad as the days prior...only got up to 102 or so...but was bad enough for folks wearing jeans and sitting on top of a heat-producing combustible engine.

Our first stop seemed to come pretty soon after leaving home, but everyone let the leader choose times and places and I didn't hear any complaints from anyone...all day in fact.

We headed out Highway 21 through Caldwell to a nice station just out of town on the west side. Everyone made stops to the little boy's room...and the little girl's room...drank some water and then we got back on the bikes and continued down Highway 21 to the next stop.

Our next stop was just west of Bastrop where Highway 21 crosses Highway 71. Again, we had some water, took a couple of pictures and resumed our trek down 21 towards San Marcos. The plan was to take a path around San Marcos to avoid all the traffic in town where Highway 21 joins Interstate 35. At the junction of 21 and 80, where one would normally turn right towards the city and I-35, we turned left and headed east, seemingly in the opposite direction of our destination.

A few miles up the road, we exited Highway 80 on to The Old Bastrop Highway...a very narrow two-lane road with a speed limit of 30. As we passed a sign warning of road closures due to high water, I wondered where we were headed. About a mile down the road, we passed the gates that were used to close the road and came to a stop sign...which seemed a bit strange since there were no crossing roadways. As it turned out, the stop sign was to allow vehicles on one side of a very narrow one-lane bridge to see any oncoming vehicles on the other side. The bridge was just a few inches above the level of a branch of the Comal River and one could easily see how it could overflow the bridge with just a little rain in the area.

As we crossed, we noticed some kids playing fetch with their dog in the river...looked like the dog was having a great time. Although Brazos County...and most of the counties in the State...is experiencing drought conditions, the Comal River was not showing any signs of drought.

As we skirted the eastern edge of San Marcos, our leader took us over several farm-to-market roads, crossed under I-35 and eventually ended up on FM , which we followed, basically parallel to the interstate, into San Marcos...or New Braufels or Greune...who knows for sure in that area...until we came to a Rudy's...our lunch stop.

We all had a nice lunch and refreshed ourselves before making the last few miles to our destination for the day...The Natural Bridge Caverns.

We arrived at our destination about 1330 (1:30pm for you non-military types), paid our entry fee and sat down for a few minutes to await our departure time. About 15 minutes later...just enough time to buy a drink or something in the gift shop...our tour was called to assemble on the patio...which we did. The total group numbered about 30 people...including several toddlers and babies that were already crying.

After a short introduction by our tour guide...a cute college coed from Texas State nearby...we started down to the cave's entrance...which just happens to be directly beneath the place's namesake...the natural bridge. This "bridge" was caused by a huge sinkhole, thousands of years ago...that left this piece of limestone looking like a bridge over the sinkhole.

Just a short history of the caverns for those who do know it. The caverns sat on private land and was fairly well known among the local farmers as early as 1900, but it wasn't until 1960 that four St. Mary's University students asked the landowner for permission to explore. Luckily, the owner granted them four visits to the caverns...which they made the most of. What they discovered was underground passageways, two large "rooms" and other interesting things common to such caverns.

In 1964, the caverns and land was declared "public land" by then Governor John Connally and the park began operations. Today visitors can walk on asphalt walkways down to about 200 feet below the surface and see one of nature's amazing sights. Our guide said that it takes about 100 years for water to seep into the cave, become an acid solution and turn into about 100 cubic inches...about the size of an ice cube...of stalactite or stalagmite.

The reason she told this little tidbit...and the reason she kept telling us to keep our hands off the rocks, sides of the cave or anything except the handrails...was that just by touching, our body oils would kill any further growth in the stalactites and stalgamites...we would kill something that has taken millions of years to grow...pretty heavy, right?

Throughout the caves, one can see remnants of one of the inhabitants long ago...bats. In several places, there is evidence of their roosting on the ceiling as well as their droppings...that turned the floor and/or rocks a little brown...go figure. The only other inhabitants that the original adventurers found were wolves and a family of raccoons. Can you imagine how these guys must have felt when they came upon a family of angry raccoons 200 feet below the surface of the earth while crawling around in the dark? Probably not a pleasant feeling.

As we got ready to depart the tour area, our guide pointed out a green light off in the distance which she said was the beginning of another 1/2 mile of unimproved passageway that we could explore...for another $20. Well, maybe another day. I was ready to get to the surface where the 100+ weather might feel cooler than the cave. Can you believe that 70 degrees would feel miserable? Perhaps it was the 99% humidity and no breeze of any kind.

We were back on our motorcycles headed for home by 1500 (3pm). It took us over 4 hours but we rarely even saw a major highway, much less rode on one. Our return ride took us through some towns I had heard of...Bastrop, Lockhart, Smithville and Giddings...and some I had never heard of...Geronimo, Fentress and Rosanky. I saw several smaller state highways and farm-to-market roads...FM3009, FM1863, SH46, FM738, SH133, FM20, FM713, SH304, FM535, SH95 and several others I can't remember. We crossed 4 Texas rivers...Comal, Guadalupe, Colorado and Brazos...and several creeks...such as Aligator Creek and Dry Comal Creek.

Overall, it was a good ride and no one got too hot or tired...however, it sure felt good to get in the shower after getting home. The next scheduled ride with the group is a trek to the Hill Country and the Koyote Ranch...ought to be interesting.

By the way, pictures of the inside of the caverns are lacking due to the fact that my batteries died the moment we entered the first cave...wonder if something in the rock killed them.

Alaskan Cruise-Day 8

August 7, Day 8, finds Sharon and me finally making it back to the USA…we docked in Seattle about 6am. The alarm went off at 6:30…actually a wake-up call from the ship’s operator…and we quickly got dressed, packed up what was left in the room and headed up to Deck 14 for a little breakfast.

After breakfast, we hurried down to the Passenger Service desk on Deck 7 to turn in some comment cards…kudos for those staff members who we thought went above and beyond the call of duty. Then we hustled down to our disembarkation station in one of the aft lounges…where we waited 20-30 minutes before our group was called and we were allowed to leave the ship. As we exited the door to the deck, it was raining, but no one cared. In fact, it had stopped raining by the time we were through customs and headed for the shuttle bus.

Our driver, normally a tour guide, had to do shuttle duty today because her tour cancelled, so she gave us an abbreviated tour as we headed to the airport. It was not half bad. We arrived at the airport around 10am…only 7 ½ hours before our departure time. Sharon tried to see if we could change our flights but all four flights today headed to DFW were totally booked…you knew that being on the infamous MD-80 was going to be fun.

We made ourselves at home on the lower floor of the terminal until 1:30pm at which time we went to check in. For the first time in my life, my bag was over the 50 pound limit so we had to sit there and dig out about 20 pounds of stuff to carry on. Of course, that caused all kinds of hassle at the security check because two of the items we took out of the suitcase were my shaving kit and Sharon’s makeup…both of which contained numerous gels and aerosols. After questioning and a rescanning of the “suspicious” items, they confiscated my shaving cream, hair gel, small knife out of my clipper set and a couple of Sharon’s items as well…fortunately, nothing that couldn't be replaced fairly easily.

Following security, we found a place to sit down…recharge a phone or two and eat a sandwich. We still have about 4 hours to entertain ourselves. I opted for updating this blog…3 days worth…and Sharon went shopping. Actually, Sharon was looking at books and I was trying to update this blog for the past couple of days. After a while, we traded places. About 1 1/2 before our scheduled takeoff, we ambled down to the gate and once again found a comfortable place to sit.

Finally, the boarding call was made and we found our seats. Luckily for us, the MD-80 had only two seats on the left side and three on the right...we had the two seats on row 19. The MD-80 is not known for it's creature comforts, but rather as a "cattle car" where in the past American has managed to put as many people aboard as possible. I don't think this plane was any different. However, since Sharon and I had the two seats together and didn't have to deal with a stranger, it was tolerable....although row 19 is the right in front of the exit row so our seats did not recline...made sleeping more difficult.

As we climbed out of Seattle, we got a beautiful view of Mount Rainer...once again. It was a unusually beautiful sunny day in the area, as the picture suggests.

Sharon ended up working and I read using her IPad...neither of us slept more than a few minutes. We landed early...about 11pm...and headed to the baggage claim. We were really looking forward to a nice shower and a comfortable bed to get a good night's sleep. While I waited for the bags to appear, Sharon called our park-n-ride provider...I can't even remember the name but then again, I never want to use them again.

We retrieved the bags without a problem and headed for the curb where Sharon told the shuttle bus driver where we would be waiting...the only problem was that she didn't tell them we'd be on the upper level, but then that would seem obvious since that's where the baggage claim was...right? We waited for a long time, suffering the heat and humidity and still no bus. We saw several shuttle buses belonging to the airport and even a SuperShuttle but not ours...she called again and they said they were on the way.

After another long wait, she called once again and this time she was told that shuttle buses couldn't come up to the upper level...we'd have to go downstairs. By now, it's after 1130pm and we're tired and short-tempered. We haul our bags down the escalator...three trips for me...and found a place to sit outside...this time on the lower level. Low and behold, along came our bus and we loaded up...with a few other seemingly disgruntled riders. I think it was the heat at that hour that made everyone grouching. After all, we had just come from Seattle where the high on Sunday was going to hit 70...maybe!

We found our car without further mishap, loaded up, paid the attendant and headed to the hotel...down near Six Flags. We grabbed some food on the way and found the hotel without a problem. Upon checking in, the girl behind the desk was very congenial, telling us about the free breakfast the next morning, the WIFI, and oh by the way, no water. WHAT!?! Well, she said, the water would be back on by 6am the next morning and she was going to give us some bottle water for our troubles.

She gave us 4 bottles of water...not near enough for 2 showers...and we headed for the room. At least the A/C worked well. We used the bottled water to brush our teeth and went to bed, praying that the water would be working in the am...which it was.

We called Courtney to see if she and Ellasyn were up for a visit and then took off towards Arlington. We had a nice visit at the McDaniels's house for a few minutes and then headed home. We arrived home about 3pm. I took Sharon to work and I went home to take a nap with the dogs.

It's always nice to get home after a long trip...although there was no longer a cabin steward to make the bed and leave little candies on the pillow. So for now, that's Traveling with Papajax.

Alaskan Cruise-Day 7

August 6, Day 7, saw Sharon and me at sea, headed towards Victoria, our last port of call. Our schedule for the day included an herbal medicine seminar for Sharon, workout for me, lunch, acupuncture appointments for both and a Steve Moris concert at 4pm before cruising into port around 7pm. Squeezed in between the concert and walking off the ship was packing. They really wanted our bags out in the hall before we left the ship at 7:15 but we held one of them back until we returned about 11pm.

If I didn’t mention who Steve Moris was in yesterday’s post, let me give you a very short bio. He is a comedian now but he was a musician for many years, playing backup for groups/individuals such as The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, BJ Thomas, Clint Black, and many others too numerous to remember. He is a good musician but his gift is comedy. His act mixes both of them, plus a few stories about some of the people he has worked with and/or met throughout his career…such as John Denver, Peter Noonan, Neil Diamond, Crosby, Stills and Nash, etc. He has been doing the cruise scene on the Sapphire Princess for several years but this cruise was his last…he is starting a headliner gig in Las Vegas at a new casino at a theater built by his good friend, Louie Anderson.

The crowd to get off the ship was pretty heavy and we barely made the bus before it pulled out. We started our tour driving along the shore road through some amazing neighborhoods where the lots start at around $2.5 million. The houses on the lots are also amazing and include a handful of famous people, from Vickie Lawrence (Carol Burnett Show), Tom Selleck, Meg and Jennifer Tilly, Steve Nash and several professional hockey players.

After the tour of the fancy parts of town, we headed up the hill to Mt. Tolmie where we had a 360 degree view of Victoria, including a good view of the harbor and the cruise ships at the docks as well as Mount Baker 35 miles to the south in Washington State. Next, we were taken to the Craigdarroch Castle. This amazing “house” was built by one of the original coal barons back in the late 1800’s. His wealth back then would be comparable to Bill Gates today.

The story goes that when he decided to head to North America from Scotland, his wife didn’t want to go so he promised he would build her a castle if she would accompany him…she did and he did. He died before the castle was finished and his widow lived in the castle, alone for the remaining 18 years of her life. The castle was handed down to the surviving family members but the upkeep and taxes to keep it livable became too much to bear. Eventually, the castle passed thru several hands but eventually was taken over by the government due to delinquent taxes. Now the castle is a huge tourist attraction.

The castle is 4 stories tall and has a huge amount of original and reproduced artifacts from the time when the original owners lived there. Apparently, they kept the castle open for the cruise ship visitors way past normal hours…and we’re glad they did.

Following the castle tour, we drove around downtown Victoria for a while. It looks like an interesting place to live/visit and we wouldn’t mind seeing more of it. I’m afraid the pictures we took from the windows of the bus don’t do it justice.

Well, it’s midnight and we have left the docks…so quietly and smoothly that we didn’t feel a thing. I guess everyone made it back to the ship on time. We only have about 80 miles to Seattle but since it’s night and this area is pretty congested, the ship will be moving pretty slowly. We’re due to dock in Seattle around 5:30am or so. However, we will not be leaving the ship until sometime after that. In fact, we’re not due to meet in our disembarkation assembly area until 8:30am.

Customs will tell the ship when they are ready and the areas will disembark and head for customs at that time. Perhaps the process of clearing customs won’t be too bad with smaller groups going through one at a time. Once we clear customs, we’ll be taken to the airport by bus.

For some reason, our flight was booked for a 5:30pm departure (7:30pm Central Standard Time) so we will have some time to kill in the airport. We’re due to arrive at DFW around 11:30pm. You probably will not see another post from me until I get home sometime Monday.

Alaskan Cruise-Day 6

August 5, Day 6, finds the Jacksons at sea, headed towards Victoria, British Columbia. We shoved off from Skagway, Alaska about 6pm last night…after an hour of trying to find some missing passengers…and began our journey south. We were in the inside passage for a short distance and then exited into the Northern Pacific Ocean to make better time to our next stop. While we were still in the Inside Passage, the fog became very heavy and around midnight the ship’s foghorn went off. I stepped out on to the balcony to see if I could see any other ships but the fog was too thick. Well, we must have missed them because we’re still here and making good time on the open seas.

We slept in a bit this morning…some more than others…and went up to breakfast around 9:30. I had a little too much to eat so decided to skip lunch. Sharon and I went to a seminar on acupuncture at 10:15 and ended up getting a consultation at 12:00 after which I had a treatment. It was very interesting, to say the least. I’m scheduled for another session in the morning but I may change my mind about the follow up.

The afternoon was relaxing. Sharon read out on the balcony and I watched TV. Sharon also had an acupuncture consult at 5:30 and after that we met for dinner in the Savoy Dining Room…sounds pretty swank but it was about the same as the last two nights. Sharon had beef medallions and I had lobster and sea prawns. Of course, as usual, we had dessert…Princess Love Boat Dream for Sharon and I had Baked Alaska.

Following dinner we went to another show in the Princess Theater...Do You Wanna Dance? was the title. It was put on by the ship's cast and was pretty good. Following the show, we made our way back to the cabin and watched the sun set over the Pacific Ocean behind us.

Tomorrow will be another day at sea, arriving in Victoria…our last port of call…around 7pm. We’re scheduled for a tour of the city almost immediately. Before we leave the ship we’re supposed to put our bags in the hall so it looks like we’ll be packing up in the afternoon. Hope we can get everything back in…I’ll let you know tomorrow night how it went.

Alaskan Cruise-Day 5

August 4, Day 5, Skagway, Alaska found us getting up early once again…6:30am…and the ship had already backed into the dock…up against our sister ship the Sea Princess. We got dressed and headed for the breakfast buffet and ran…almost literally…down the dock to our waiting tour bus. We were only 10 minutes late but the bus was still there.

We boarded a refurbished 1925 Mac motorized street car…the refurb done by the famous Boyd Coddington in California. The driver…a woman…was dressed in period clothing from the Gold Rush days…circa 1898. She was as entertaining and informative as our driver yesterday in Juneau. I don’t know where they find these people but we’ve had some good ones. Some of the original buildings are still in use, as well as some of the same family-run businesses…obviously run by descendents of those in 1898. There were 70-80 saloons/brothels back then. They were the only “merchants” in town that operated with cash…all the others bartered for services so the brothels kept the town running.

For the next 2 hours, a small group of mostly older folks took a tour of all the downtown part of Skagway…all 20 blocks of it. The entire city is approximately 5 blocks wide and 20 blocks long. There just isn’t any remaining space to build on…unless you head up into the hills. The average house…and I do mean average… in Skagway runs between $200,000 and $300,000…rivaling expensive real estate areas such as San Francisco and Los Angeles.

We even visited the old Skagway cemetery, where the hero of Skagway is buried, along with the man he killed that was robbing everyone of their worldly possessions. He wasn’t physically robbing them but rather he was a world-class con man. He could sell ice to an Eskimo…ha-ha!

After the tour, we were dropped off in the downtown where we walked around a little, took some pictures and did a little shopping. Skagway is an interesting little city. However, once the cruise boats quit coming in September, the town’s cute little shops are all boarded up and it looks like a ghost town.

We caught a shuttle back to the boat and arrived with just enough time to run up to the room, drop some of our stuff and head back out for our second tour of the day…this one headed to a little town called Liarsville and a salmon bake. Liarsville is a recreation of the mining camp by the same name from back during the Gold Rush. We arrived just in time to eat lunch…baked salmon, wild rice, baked beans, cole slaw and great cornbread.

Following lunch, we walked through the little campsite looking at the various displays set up…very interesting how these people lived at the beginning of the White Pass trail up through the mountains towards the Klondike gold country. Then we were entertained by some of the locals with a corny little skit, followed by mining for gold. Sharon and I both found a few flakes…probably fool’s gold…but not even enough to be measurable.

We arrived back at the ship around 2:30 where we promptly stretched out for a rest. Sharon went to get another massage at 4:00 and I took a short nap. The ship pulled out around 6:00 headed for Victoria…where we won’t arrive until 7:00pm Saturday night. Friday, Day 6, will be entirely at sea. We’ll get a lot of rest…and perhaps another workout…before reaching Victoria. Friday night is also the second “formal dining” night on ship…which means about 10-15% will dress for dinner.