On the first full day that we got to spend with Justin at St Louis, we drove to Stanton, Missouri to visit the Meramac Caverns. It is cave system formed by the erosion of limestone deposits over millions of years ago.
I had anticipated that Sonya would grumble about the dim lighting in the caverns and so I brought 2 flashlights (If Sonya has one, Clara will need one too. That seems to be the way to go these days to avoid any major tantrums) with us on the trip.
It was a guided tour. Two guides brought us through the caverns narrating the significance about each area that we visited. I only understood half the things he was saying as he had a really thick accent!
Near the entrance of the caverns was a pendulum (like the one in the Museum of Science, Boston) used to demonstrate that the earth is revolving. But the guide was saying that it is not really working because for this kind of pendulums to work properly, the weight at the bottom has to be at least 100lbs and this one is not. Justin said it didn't make sense.
The caverns was also once the hideout for the infamous Jesse James and Frank James.
The formations in the caverns were quite amazing but they were very fragile too. They were told not to touch them because of the oil in our skin.
This is the Mirror Room. The very shallow pool of water reflecting the formations on the roof creating an illusion that the water is actually very very deep.
Justin carried Clara throughout most of the tour because she would just run everywhere and touch everything and get hurt somehow. Sonya stayed with me with her flashlight while I took photos.
Up a flight of stairs to get to the Wine Room or the guides joking said it is also called the "Whine" Room since the visitors tend to complain about the long flight of stairs.
These clusters resembled clusters of grapes and I think thus the name Wine Room.
The grand finale was "The Greatest Show Under the Earth" as opposed to The Greatest Show on Earth by the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
It was a light and music show projected onto the formation on this massive wall that resembled curtains in a theatre.
The show ended with the song God Bless America and the American flag projected onto the wall :)
It was an interesting experience but I don't think we would be visiting any more caves anytime soon because it was just not Sonya and Clara's cup of tea (or should I say juice!).
No comments:
Post a Comment