A Field Trip to Linville

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16002198.post-1132089252324441802005-11-15T16:09:00.000-05:002005-12-01T17:37:34.380-05:00A Field Trip to Linville<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/1600/papananakeeganevanoutsidecave.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/320/papananakeeganevanoutsidecave.jpg" border="0" /></a> On the ninth of November my family and I went to Linville Caverns and Linville Falls. After thirty minutes of reading (Gregor The Overlander) in the car, we were at the caves. First, we went into the gift store and I saw lots of neat things. My favorite was a geode that had purple crystals inside of it. While we waited, we<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/1600/keeganevanincave.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/320/keeganevanincave.jpg" border="0" /></a> noticed that a creek was running out of the wall near the entrance to the caverns. After a few minutes of waiting, the tour started. When we entered, we first noticed the trout in the water. Our tour guide told us the trout were either partly or completely blind because the caves were one of the two places on earth where you could find complete and total darkness. (The other place is at the bottom of the ocean called ‘the abyss’.) The temperature in the cave is fifty-four degrees <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/1600/bat.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/320/bat.jpg" border="0" /></a>Fahrenheit and the water temperature is forty-four degrees Fahrenheit. Bats, spiders, and daddy-longlegs go there to hibernate. The bats that hibernate in the cave are smaller than your hand. Pictured to your left is one of the cute little bats. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/1600/flowstone1.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/200/flowstone1.jpg" border="0" /></a> The first rock formation we saw was called the bat and it looked like one to! We went up some stairs into the cathedral room with a rock formation that looked like two people getting married. The cathedral is the tallest room in Linville Caverns. Next they had a real fireplace that <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/1600/flowstonecopper.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/200/flowstonecopper.jpg" border="0" /></a>soldiers in the Civil War used when they wanted to get away from the battle and recuperate. Eventually they were discovered because there were holes in the top of the mountain and smoke escaped. Further on we went into a narrow passageway that led to a bottomless pit. It was filled <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/1600/flowstonepigsear.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/200/flowstonepigsear.0.jpg" border="0" /></a>with water and was over 150 feet deep. No one knows how deep it is. We saw it as we walked on a metal bridge hanging over it. My brother hit his head on a very low stalactite. A stalactite is a rock that hangs ‘tight’ to the ceiling. But watch out! You ‘might’ trip over the stalagmites that grow from the ground. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/1600/flowstoneminerals.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/200/flowstoneminerals.0.jpg" border="0" /></a>The guide turned off the lights so we could experience total darkness. It was so dark that I couldn’t even see my hand almost touching my nose. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/1600/linvilleupperfalls.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/200/linvilleupperfalls.jpg" border="0" /></a> We left Linville Caverns, hiked up to Linville Falls, had a picnic and went back home. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/1600/keeganevanlinvillefalls.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/320/keeganevanlinvillefalls.jpg" border="0" /></a> It was a GREAT field trip! <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/1600/keeganevanlinvillefalls.jpg"></a> <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6933/1502/1600/keeganevanlinvillefalls.jpg"></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Homeschooler</div>K W Pucknoreply@blogger.com