Rocks and Caves

This past weekend we went to visit Josh's parents in Kerrville. Josh's brother Michael is living out there now, too and Laurie came out for the weekend from San Antonio, so we were all there together. On Saturday afternoon we went out to Enchanted Rock. Grandma Seefeldt told us it is the second largest rock in the nation. Josh and I had not ever been out there before but Laurie had several times and said we needed to do the caves, too, while we were there.

Here is the rock. This is not what I had in mind. If you ask me, this is closer to a mountain than a rock.
So you hike up this rock, which can be a little steep at times, and get an amazing view.

It was a good trek walking up. Not too difficult, but you definitely had to remember to drink your water. And please be friendly to everyone you meet along the way.


So we got to the top and looked around. Then Laurie directed us to the caves. Now, when someone says 'caves,' I think of a passageway in the rock that you can walk through, maybe ducking or squeezing by protruding rocks at points. Laurie did warn us that there were tight places and that it is completely dark inside the caves (we took flashlights) and she did say we would have to crawl through some places. But still I did not imagine what this cave was going to be like.Here is Josh at the opening to the caves, getting ready to go in.One last look at daylight before plunging in. See how happy and excited we are!

So the caves are really more like a small tunnel under and through the rocks in which you have to contort your body into all kinds of gymnastics positions to get through. Maybe that's a slight exaggeration. There were only a few contortion moments. I can't remember how many times Michael and I said "This is stupid" during the hour long trek. Michael also commented on how dangerous it was. And it's true! If you were to get stuck or hurt under there, I don't know what you could do. There certainly is no way you could get a medic team down there.
See?
But all in all it was fun. Great chance to put our problem solving skills to work as we figured out how to climb over a rock without hitting the ceiling or how to pass a flashlight so that all could see their feet. I ended up having to hold the flashlight in my teeth several times so I could use my arms and my feet to work through some tight spots. We made it all the way through! (Of course, you really had to make it through once you got started because there was no way to get back past a certain drop off.)

Would I do it again? Yes. Would I still think it is a stupid thing to do? Probably.
One thing we were surprised about is the total lack of park rangers or guides anywhere around the rock or near the caves. It was pretty much a free-for-all once you pay your entrance fee. After our adventure under the rock and after Michael commented several times on how dangerous it was, we saw this sign on our way out.Yeah, thanks.