Yesterday Daniel and Jack did a little father-son excursion with another father and son we have become friends with. I am incredibly proud of Jack for
tackling his first serious mountain biking ride to Edwards Point.
Daniel thinks they covered about 9 miles. Jack said he fell off his bike twice, and he
came home pretty muddy. The following comments are Jack's regarding his experience.
"This is where I got stuck in the mud." – Jack, age 5.5
This is when I fell in the mud... I just collapsed into the water mud.
Mr. Tarbell helped me pull it [my bike] out.
This ride was better than the Pump Track because we went a lot faster.
The only time I got off my bike [on the way to the Point] was for some water breaks.
I didn't walk my bike down the steep hills, but I did walk it up.
We walked to the Point after we parked our bikes.
We went to all three Points.
We were throwing stuff off the ledge: rocks, a pine cone, and sticks.
This is one of the cliffs.
They were not scary but Daddy thought I was going to jump off, I think.
It would be scary to jump off!
We were hopping over a log to go back.
Where we parked our bikes – on the kid tree.
Riding back to the car.
It was tiring walking up the hills with my bike.
Some of the time I rode on the side of the [banked] path.
Do you know why?
Because there were mud puddles [we had to go around].
We saw a teenager and he wasn't behaving very well.
He was riding a dirt bike and he almost hit daddy.
Caves hold a special place in my heart. From listening to my dad share endless stories about his spelunking experiences, to the wild caving trips I took with friends during college and meeting Daniel on one of those caving trips, to getting to pass on our love of caves as we introduce our boys to the underground world, it feels like life is coming full circle.
I have always felt a calling to wild places. When life gets too hectic, I have a need to retreat from all things chaotic and bask in the presence of things that are bigger than myself. Majestic mountain tops, deep forests, vast oceans, trickling creeks, endless night skies, and dark caves, are among the places in this world that remind me that there is a creator and that I am but a small thread in the much larger tapestry of life.
So when a friend reached out to see if we were interested in joining his family on an outing to The Lost Sea in Sweetwater, Tennessee, about an hour north of us, we felt inclined to say yes.
Just seeing our old friend was worth the trip (Daniel has been friends with Nick since birth and I met Nick in college, possibly before I met Daniel), but we were also excited about the the prospect of taking the boys to a cave (I had the chance to take them to a cave in Florida last year but Daniel missed that experience).
The Lost Sea Adventure actually takes place at Craighead Caverns. There is also a nature trail and pioneer village on the campus to fill your time on a busy weekend (we had an hour wait before a tour was available).
Our kid's had a blast "mining" for gemstones. You purchase a bag of
dirt and rocks and the kids use water and mesh boxes to clean the dirt
and find their treasures. Our kids enjoyed this, but more than that they
enjoyed racing the mesh boxes through the wooden trough (see video above).
They thought this was hilarious and could have done it all day. We finally made them stop and went to get dry clothes before our cave tour.
We took a short walk on the nature trail, then grabbed a snack and some water before heading into the cave on our adventure.
The Lost Sea is at the bottom of the cave, after you make your way through a maze of wide paths. The cave is not extremely wet, so there is not a huge abundance of formations like many other caves we have visited over the years, but there is plenty to see and some exciting and colorful history connected to the cave.
I was actually surprised by how big the cave was, and the paths made it great for kids – there was only one time I was really concerned about Isaac because he seemed determined to climb down the Devil's Hole that was lit up with a red light and a 13 foot drop to the bottom...
To enter the cave, you walk down into a big yellow pipe that takes you into the side of the cave. We started out crossing a bridge that felt a bit wobbly and made Jack nervous. From the bridge and platform we had a chance to see some cave bacon (a type of formation) before retracing our steps to a path that was firmer.
The path zigzagged through the cave and we stopped at various points of interest. Most notable were the "cave flowers" that grow on the ceiling – a large collection of rare anthodites.
The cave is recognized by the U.S.
Department of the interior as a Registered National Natural Landmark due to the natural phenomenon of the lake and the
abundance of the cave flowers.
Among the colorful history included a mill (I think that is what it was) to convert bat guano to gun powder, a distillery, and also a saloon that was once located deep in the cave. Our guide shared some funny stories related to these historic markers.
When you reach the lake at the bottom of the cave, you get to go out on a boat. The lake covers about 4 acres and is 70 feet at the deepest part. Nothing lives in the water but it is stocked with Rainbow Trout. In the 60s, they had hopes of learning if the lake exited the cave anywhere, but none of the fish were ever found outside the cave. So the fish are fed on the tours and are part of the attraction of the cave.
We saw one waterfall on our 3/4 mile walk and Jack says he is ready to go on one of the wild cave tours. I can't wait to do that with him.
My favorite moment in the cave was when I pulled Jack out of the group to take a quick family photo and he pouted and said, "I'm going to miss something!" and hurried to get back in the front of the group as soon as I snapped my photo.
This was a fun cave to visit with our kids. The cave is open daily, be sure to check their website for times they are open (it varies day-to-day and month-to-month). The cost for a regular tour is:
Adult: $19.95, Child: $10.95 (ages 5-12), and Children 4 and under are free.
We have felt a lot of pressure over the last year to sign Jack up for various sports. And he typically is aware of what sports are going on... I guess it is something they discuss on the playground at preschool?
Daniel and I both want him to play sports, even though we don't care
about sports now, we both grew up playing team sports and feel like
those experiences had positive impacts on our lives. But now... As a
parent... It feels different. There's more pressure. Even at a young
age. Like you are supposed to fine the thing that will define you and
then work to excel at that. At age five.
Sports take up precious family time on the weekend, too. So we go back and forth, and then suck it up and sign Jack up for the sport of the season.
He had asked about Taekwondo, so we signed up, not knowing it was a commitment of two nights a week. We wish it was one night for an hour instead of split into two 30-minute sessions, but we don't get to pick. It's also expensive. But. It turns out that Jack really loves it. And he's pretty good at it too.
It's the first sport/activity that he has shown serious interest in and tried hard to master (when he's not telling the teacher that he already knows how to do everything).
At his first test (I wasn't able to go), he surprised Daniel and the teacher by breaking his first board on the first try. He really does love Taekwondo, and I can see him continuing with it.
Isaac also enjoys going to watch class/standing in the back and trying to do the moves too.
Our house policy is one sport at a time, so Jack will have to sacrifice Taekwondo in the future if he wants to do anything else.
We will just have to see how it shakes out. Mostly, we just want him to have fun, make friends, and love what he is doing... while also learning to be disciplined in the sport.
