Finding the bottom of Mercer Caverns
I planned to visit at least one cave this week, despite the advice that bringing a 3-year-old into a dark, wet, cold cavern may not be his idea of fun. I did the prudent thing; checked out caving books from the library to prime my kids’ curiosity, called the website number in advance to learn which cave would be the best bet, built it into my week’s itinerary for a morning, the time when the kids are most cooperative, mapped it out from my hotel, and on the day of the event, threw all my planning completely out the window.
In the “Gold Country” of California there are four caves which give public tours, all within 50 miles of each other. Since my plan was to visit California Cavern, I hadn’t bothered looking at where the other caves were located. When I arrived at Murphys, my home base for three nights, low and behold there’s a sign indicating Mercer Cavern is about two miles from my hotel. The day we were set to leave I checked my map and my plans. We had two other places to visit in addition to the cave; Columbia and Jamestown. The other two places require driving a different direction from Murphys than the cave. Hmm, visiting Mercer would be so much more convenient. Add one deciding factor, my father decided on a whim to join us on our adventures. With two extra hands, I was pretty sure we could get through a 45-minute tour.
We arrive before the first tour of the day. I ask the cashier at the gift shop, “Can three year olds go on this tour?”
“Yes.” Phew.
“Does the next tour begin soon?”
“Yes, in a few minutes.” Double Phew.
“Have you been to California Caverns as well?”
“Yes.”
“How does this one compare?”
“California Caverns is a horizontal cave, whereas Mercer is a vertical cave.”
“Oh, so it goes down pretty deep?”
“One hundred and sixty one feet.” Ohhhh crap.
The tour began soon after this conversation, so holding my breath we just went for it. There were lots of things that worked in our favor. Being a weekday, there were only two other families on the tour. Also, the tour makes frequent stops where the guide shares geological or historical information. The stairs were pretty steep so I was thankful to have my dad guiding my five-year-old, though it turns out he didn’t need much help. And little Josh? He did great, that little trooper. There were times as we stopped and listened to the guide that Josh wanted to be held. But when it was time for us to move he hopped down, grabbed the rails, and tackled the stairs one at a time. The trek up, also with lots of resting while the guide talked, had a few complaints by Josh but only toward the end of the route. His older brother’s encouragements at the tail end of our climb took away the potential whining that was coming on. (Insert proud momma moment.)
Though tackling Mercer Caverns was a risk, the payoff was that the formations in this vertical cave were incredible to see. I’m sure California Caverns also have spectacular stalactites. This Monday I am still dreaming of cave exploring. It says a lot if after a trip you can’t wait to go back and explore more.
This post is part of the Mondays are for Dreaming series, sponsored by Mara at Mother of All Trips. Stop by her website to see other travel dreams.
Congratulations, Lora! I’m so glad your adventures went well. We took a similar risk this weekend by traveling 1 1/2 one way to see the poppy reserve. Plenty of my friends told me I was crazy — that it’s just not the kind of place you take kids. But guess what? They loved it & we had a really fun family adventure. Sometimes you just gotta go for it.
“I did the prudent thing; checked out caving books from the library to prime my kids’ curiosity, called the website number in advance to learn which cave would be the best bet, built it into my week’s itinerary for a morning, the time when the kids are most cooperative, mapped it out from my hotel, and on the day of the event, threw all my planning completely out the window.”
That to me is the essence of everything that I do in life, travel, blogging, etc. Thank you for distilling it so elegantly.
That picture made *my* stomach drop, so kudos to your kids (and you). One thing I’m always surprised at is how far little legs can walk when they need to. But climbing all those steps – that’s impressive! Great post. And as I think I mentioned before, I’m not a fan of anything underground, so I’m happy to experience this vicariously.
You brave, brave lady. There are 3 things I’m afraid of – tunnels, bridges, and caves. No thank you!
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