We went down 750 feet (in an elevator) into a big room. It has a snack bar, restrooms, and , surprise, a gift shop. The tour was a ranger guided tour with about 50 people. It was amazing. The caverns are huge. And they have done so much work to make paths and railing so it is very easy to see everything. The tour we were on was the one where they turn off all the lights for about 2 minutes. Total darkness!!!. It was fairly comfortable and peaceful, because you were with 50 other people. Don't know how the 16 year old kid that first explored the caves did it, with just lanterns and candles and no paths to make the walking easier.
That tour was about 2 hours and afterward we had lunch upstairs in the visitor's center. Then we rented the audio things and went on a self guided tour. That was the best and awesome. Because there were few people around, we had sections of the tour all to ourselves. And because of the echoing, everyone talks in whispers so it is very quiet. The morning tour was the King's Palace and the afternoon one was around the Big Room. We went up and down in the elevator but tomorrow we are going down the Natural Entrance and come back up in the elevator. It is about 800 feet down, but on a paved path and switch backs. Don't think I would like to try it going up.
Tonight we went out to watch the bat flight. The way they found the caverns was when the bats come out at night. Right now there are only a few thousand bats, but during July, August, and September, there is about a half a million Mexican free tail bats. Then in October they go to Mexico for the winter. Might not have been as spectacular as later in the season, but it was a wonderful sight.
Now for the pictures. Marv took about a hundred but I will only post a few.
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