On Wednesday it was even hotter (and more humid) than Tuesday, with temperatures predicted to be about 89, which is really hot for this area. We decided to beat the heat and drive on out (a long drive) to Howe Caverns. The interior of the cavern is 52 degrees, so I was excited to finally need some cool weather gear! As we waited for our tour we perused the facility. For Al's sake (and Beth said Erich would want it too) I took some pics of this...apparently it's built by Orange County Choppers, a show I'd occasionally watch with Al. I guess that's pretty cool.
Then it was off to the caverns themselves. Some info, provided from their website...stepping into an elevator that takes you 156 feet below the Earth's surface. When the elevator stops, the doors open into a prehistoric underground cavern six million years in the making. As you exit into the Vestibule, your imagination takes hold." Unfortunately I have not yet learned the workings of my camera, so my pictures don't do it justice. It was pretty cool to see the stalactites and stalagmites and other cave details.
We posed for a professional photo, which I felt the need to buy since we are all actually looking at the camera!
Eventually Olivia's crankiness became too much so Beth left with her while Erich and I stayed with the rest of the kids. We got to go on a boat trip (yes, a boat IN a cavern) which was kinda cool. Sorta bizarre, but neat. Unfortunately after that Jason got a bit restless and would scream if I picked him up, so all stairs were a challenge. Luckily we didn't have too much of the tour to go before finishing up.
After our tour we met back up with Beth and Olivia and head outside for the kids to do some mining or panhandling or whatever you want to call it. Essentially you bought sand with "gems" hidden in it and they got to sift through it to find their treasure. They were really excited by this, but I lacked enthusiasm. Too darn hot outside in our cold weather clothes and Jason was CRANKY!
We stopped for Taco Bell on our way out of the cavern area. The kids were spent and too cranky to eat at the cavern, but it was too far of a drive to make it home before eating.
We took our food in the car and stopped briefly to view the Blenheim Bridge. In case you were in the mood for some more history, here is your chance...The Blenheim Bridge was built in 1855 by Nicholas Montgomery Powers, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is over the Schoharie Creek and is a "double-barreled" or has two separate lanes. This bridge is used on the NYSCBS Logo as it is the longest single span bridge in the world (at 228 feet) and one of only six remaining bridges in the world with two separated lanes. It is constructed of Long truss with a center arch. Hope you enjoyed your educational installment.
The drive proved to be too long for the kids, and they all dozed off. Jason insisted on holding this cheez-it box in his sleep. If I removed it he awoke. Too funny.
After the return from our cavern adventure we decided to take a walk with the kids around the campsite and then down to the lake. Beautiful sunset over the lake!
A little playground time.
More lake.
After taking in the beautiful lake fresh air we took a brief hike (mild enough for jogging strollers for the little ones) up to the site of the old Catskill Lodge. Just an empty flat cliff-side space, but pretty cool. There were lots of flat rocks where people had carved in their names with dates back in the late 1800's. Ty found that fascinating, although I don't think he has a good grasp on how long ago that was. He also thought carvings from 1984 were cool. LOL.
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