Flexibility and Cave Yoga

It was an easy drive out of the Waterpocket Fold of Capitol Reef and into the Salt Lake Valley.  We slept in a little and didn't head out until about 9am – after all, our reservations for the cave tour at Timpanogos Cave weren’t until 2pm and it was only about a 3-hour drive.  And then… there was no place to park the trailer…  When you are pulling a 34-foot house behind you as you travel, you always look ahead to where you are going to see what you might be getting yourself into when it comes to parking – and Matt had done that.  Unfortunately, Google satellite maps aren't always the most accurate source of information.  In this case, the photo had been taken with no cars in the parking lot.  So, what we thought would be a leisurely lunch prior to our tour became slightly more hectic.  We dropped the trailer (the good part about being able to part with your house on wheels easily) in the large gravel pull-out up the road a bit and got information on the best place to turn around and head back out after our tour. 

So, after a quick hot lunch of homemade pita pizzas and good progress on the kids’ Junior Ranger booklets, we headed back to the Visitor’s Center to begin our hike up the mountain to the cave.  It was a 1.5 mile walk up over 1,000 feet to the entrance, so we took it slow and easy.  The weather was gorgeous, the wildflowers were plentiful, and the views back into the valley were stunning – keeping our minds off of our legs burning and our lungs straining for air.  Upon reaching the top, we were able to join a slightly earlier tour and set out with our guide, Ranger Ross.

Ranger Ross led us through all three parts of the cave, Hansen Cave, Middle Cave, and Timpanogos Cave – all now connected, but discovered at different times.  He embellished dramatic stories of how the caves were discovered and how various formations got their names.  We did a fair bit of “cave yoga” squeezing through tight places and ducking under parts of the cave – always being careful not to touch anything around us so as not to interfere with the growth of the cave itself.  By the end of our tour, we all not only knew more about Timpanogos Cave, but all agreed that this had been our best cave/tour experience yet.  Isaac especially loves all things caves.

As we re-connected with our trailer and got turned around easily in a picnic area not far up the Alpine Loop Road, we headed into the heart of Salt Lake City to see what our next stop might have in store for us…  But first, dinner and a major grocery stop were on the agenda.  After nine days on the road, we were in desperate need of most things of an edible nature – and we had taken no time to re-supply as we spent every spare minute exploring.