Caverns of Sonora

*conservation of original entrance 

*stalactite (top) & stalagmite (bottom)

 *butterfly shaped formation

*soda straw formation

*bacon shaped formation

*Christmas tree room

HAPPY FRIDAY! Tgif. Thank god it's Friday and I'm also really thankful for all of my family. I have been receiving gifts from them in the mail all week along, plus the packages (mostly furniture) I ordered for myself, of course. I have already put in a full day worth of work building these pieces and I still have so much more work to put in whenever I order the rest of it! As for New Year's weekend, I'm off to downtown Eugene. Hope you enjoy these photos from my last AND another one of my favorite days in Texas.

There were tons of unique things about this tour into the caverns; I remember still so distinctly the feeling of the humidity (98%) and temperature (72 degrees) down there. If one of the droplets of water falls on you while you're down there it's called a cave kiss, which I thought was cute. The tour went extremely far down and at one point the guide sat us down on benches, then turn the lights off to show us the pitch black and it's such a crazy feeling. It's not like sitting in the pitch black of your home because there are still lights all around you, outside coming through the window, on television cable box blinking and from phones/alarm clocks. But when you're in the cave, you literally can't see a centimeter in front of your face. I always find the history of the new places I travel to be fascinating. While on sitting on the benches, our guide began to explain about how explorers and the discoverers of the caves were able to see way back in the day (kerosene lamps) and the tunnels or routes that they took compared to now. The dangers people had to put themselves in to explore were wild. Our guide was so young too, it blew my mind how many details he had stored up in his brain already at only 17 and working at the center for about a year. I was so curious about how he was able to remember it all, that I probably asked him 101 questions. He was so nice in answering them all and told me all about the testing required to keep the job and rigid rules they must follow when cleaning the cave to keep out the mold.

The craziest story of the whole tour was centered around the butterfly-shaped formation. For anyone who is as unaware as I was going into the cave initially, it is illegal to touch formations because the oils from the hands can cause it to go dormant. Once a formation goes dormant, it will not come back to an active state. The laws have only become more strict over the last few years due to a college student who came for a tour and broke off the tip of the right wing. He then took it home and tried to sell it on eBay, where he was eventually caught and taken to federal prison. On top of doing time, there is also a very hefty fine for anyone breaking any of laws that help keep these places beautiful. The motto is "leave no trace."

Until next time!

xoxo,
Andrea Aloren