Bat Kisses

After we visited the Big Room in Carlsbad Caverns, we went to the outdoor amphitheater to see the bat flight.  The ranger gave a talk about bats and then around 8:15pm the bats started coming out.  It was really cool!  First they made a big tornado near the entrance of the cave and then they flew off toward the Black River to get a drink.  While we were swimming in the Virgin River at Zion National Park late one evening, a bat flew down to get its drink right in front of us.  That night we didn't know that they always come out and get a drink first thing before flying around to find their dinner.

We asked the ranger some questions for our Junior Ranger program.  Right after he finished answering my question, he saw someone throwing things at the bats.  So he went down and told them why they shouldn't be doing that - even though he had already told us at the beginning of the program not to throw things over the edge into the cave.  Not long before we left we moved over some because the bats had started to fly - not just in the S-formation they had been flying in - but over the amphitheater some too.  While I was telling Mommy and Daddy something, one almost flew up and gave me a kiss on the back of the head.  I thought it was really cool to watch all those bats fly out of the cave and down to the river to get a drink.

At Grand Canyon, I got a bat that I named Leona.  Now I am really glad that I have her because she will help me remember Carlsbad too.

Abby