Dark and Light

Why would this profile of George Washington be lit up at night? Hint, it isn't lit by the National Park Service, or your tax dollars. Confused? Wait until the end of the blog. :)

Today began as a very relaxing day. The girls all played outside this morning, until Hailey took her morning nap. Then the "Bigs" and I did a bit of school (Grammar and Phonics, oh my) before lunch. It was so fun to just hang out this morning and not feel under any time constraints. It was sunny, and comfortable (high 60's) so we sat at the picnic bench for school and lunch. The dogs enjoyed the sun as much as we did!

I gathered the troops and we headed west to Jewel Cave. We arrived about 40 minutes before the last scenic tour of the day, so we had a chance to look at the displays while we waited. I had Hailey in our Kelty baby backpack, and Beth was going to have to walk the 1/2 mile tour just like her big sisters. She said she was game, so off we went.

The tour started by descending down about 22 stories into the cave. As our group exited the elevator, I knew it was going to be a great time! The cave was guarded by airlock doors to prevent the man-made entrances from disturbing the natural air flow of the cave. There is only one natural entrance, so all air flows in and out of that one point. Jewel Cave is known as a "breathing" cave, as the air will rush in or out depending on the air pressure above ground. Today the air pressures were fairly equal, so there was no wind.

It was 49 degrees Fahrenheit, so we made sure to put on sweatshirts before we began the tour. It was also quite humid in the cave, even in areas where water could not be seen or heard dripping. It was the first time the girls and I had ever seen some of the crystal formations like nail head spar, dog tooth spar and boxwork. We had seen flowstone, draperies, popcorn and soda straws in the Carlsbad Caverns this past November when we visited with our good friends, the Beanes.

As I said earlier, the tour was about 1/2 of a mile. It took about 1 hour and 20 minutes, Beth's "yittle yegs" didn't seem to hold up the group too much. Just to give you an idea of what good explorers my girls are, this tour had 723 stairs, some very steep, plus it was damp and cold. We did have to duck under and maneuver around various cave formations throughout the tour. Hailey was the only complainer. Everytime our tour guide would stop to talk to our group, Hailey would let it be known that she was unhappy. It was tough, but Katelynn really helped to calm her down, and we made it through. Its not like she had a choice in the matter, did she?

It was amazing to see God's creativity demonstrated far below the surface of the Earth!

We returned to camp for dinner, and so Hailey could nap again. Around 9pm we headed back out to see Mt. Rushmore at night. And now for the rest of the story...

I had called the ranger office earlier in the evening and learned that no tax payer monies would be lighting the sculptures tonight. This was because:

Yep. A movie was being filmed at Mt. Rushmore tonight. Can you guess which one? Here are a few more clues:

Leading Actress: Diane Kruger
Supporting Actor: Jon Voigt
Leading Actor: Nicholas Cage

Any ideas yet? OK, if you need one more hint, here's my last one:
This will be a sequel, and it is about riches that belong to our country.

Yes, the girls and I saw a few minutes of taping of "National Treasure: The Book of Secrets" tonight. I think I was more impressed than the girls were. :)

If you look carefully, you can see Diane Kruger and Nicholas Cage in the center of the picture. Aren't you jealous of me. *giggle*

So now, it is way past 1 in the morning, and I had hoped to get out of here first thing tomorrow morning. However, I need to finesse our plans a little bit, as I think we'll try to see Devil's Tower tomorrow on the way to Yellowstone. Plus, I'm a bit sore after hiking around underground with a toddler on my back. I think I'll sleep as late as the girls let me. :)