Timpanogas Cave

On Saturday morning we got up at the crack of dawn to go hike to Timpanogas Cave. None of us had been there for a really long time so we were looking forward to it. The kids hadn't ever been there at all. I remember going when I was about 8, but all I remember was looking forward to the next bench to rest on and that I was wearing a glow necklace when they shut off all the lights in the cave. So it was definitely time for another visit. It was a gorgeous day for a hike and we were able to finish it before the day got too hot, so it was pretty much perfect. I was a little nervous whenever my kids walked too close to the edges of the path because there are some really steep drop offs, but we all made it back alive! Whew!

The kids were all on a roll with their funny little sayings on that day. The tour guide told a story about how the cave is named after a myth about an Indian Princess who threw herself off the mountain as a sacrifice for her village. At the end of the story the tour guide says "Isn't that such a cool story?" and Zac says, in a totally dead panned voice "yeah....except for the suicide part." He has such a literal sense of humor! Garrett told Uncle Shay not to "drop his nuts down the port-a-potty hole!" (We all had bags of trail mix, which is, of course, what he was referring to!) And Drake kept sitting down on every bench saying "Ahhhh.....my butt cheeks!" I guess maybe he'll have the same memories about hiking Timp as his mom did!

The cave itself was really cool. We learned about stalactites, stalagmites and columns. I had no idea it takes so long for these formations to grow. They have been studying one of the really fast growing stalactites and in 50 years it has grown 3/8ths of an inch! Did I mention this was one of the fast growing formations?! I can't even begin to fathom how long it took for these caves to become what they are. Amazing!