Always Good News » Trips

Bluff Dwellers Cavern

David Barwick — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:18:47 +0000

I’ve been wanting to check out Bluff Dwellers Cavern for a while. I like caves, and it’s a cave. You figure it out.

The problem has been that it’s in Noel, which is an hour away. The distance, and the fact that I felt like a goof for going to this thing by myself, formed a prohibitive combination. Eventually, though, I thought “who really gives a crap,” and decided to go. It was so worth it.

Everyone there was super friendly. It was a small operation, but Brent, the guide, was extremely nice and knowledgeable. I had a bunch of questions, and he gladly answered them all. Afterward, he even told me where to find several wild caves in the area that are accessible to anyone. I have to do that.

The tour began with an incredibly corny look at several artifacts recovered from the site. The artifacts themselves weren’t corny, but the presentation was. At that point, I was smiling and laughing on the inside, because I expected the cave to be kind of lame. It was still fun, but it wasn’t that impressive. Then we went to the “museum,” which was just a collection of a bunch of antiques and artifacts, some of which were found in the area. I really didn’t expect anything good after seeing the museum. There were a few cool things, though, like some Paleo Indian skulls recovered from the cave from about 7,000 years ago.

After all this hoopla we entered the cave. Now is a good time to mention that the only people in the tour were me and one family of four. The family included two little boys that were really cute and funny, and not at all annoying like I half expected them to be.

As soon as we got started inside the cave, I felt much better about the tour. The cave itself was awesome. The only other show cave I’ve been to is Marvel Cave in Silver Dollar City. Bluff Dwellers Cavern isn’t as large or quite as grand as Marvel Cave, but in some ways it was cooler. All the features were right there in front of me, and I got to photograph lots of cave wildlife from close enough that I could have easily touched it with my hand. It was also nice to be in a small group instead of a crowd like in Marvel Cave.

Overall, the tour was very professional, and it took about an hour. It was a great way to spend an afternoon, and I highly recommend it.

Caves are one of those things that you just can’t appreciate in pictures. I took dozens, but most of them are pretty lame. You really have to see it with your own eyes. Here’s a cool cave salamander, though.

George Washington Carver

David Barwick — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:37:29 +0000

One day last week I was sitting at home with naught to do. It was a beautiful 98˚ outside, and only 70% humidity, so of course I couldn’t stay indoors. I was in the mood to bake. I decided to go see the George Washington Carver National Monument.

I’ve actually been there many times. It’s cool. I used to live two miles from it, and I never went. Now I live 30 minutes away and every time I drive by it I say “Oh dang, I should go there!” Which sounds more redneck, “dang” or “dern?” I think dang does. Dern sounds more South to me. Dang is a word I hear a lot in the Midwest, and I roll my eyes in secret every time. When I catch myself using it I make sure to cry that night. I put it on my calendar. Cry tonight, dummy. I think “darn” is pretty safe to use, but I rarely remember.

Of course, if you’re going to fake swear, why not just swear for real? Because it’s not socially acceptable, that’s why. But I do like to swear. It feels so daring and romantic. I figure just save everyone the trouble and go for the real swear words. Except sometimes I like to say “frick.” I think it’s funny. Like if you just yell it out, “Frick!” That’s funny. Or if you say “I don’t give a frick.” It doesn’t really roll off the tongue, which is why it’s so funny.

Anyway, I don’t even remember what the frick (SEE!) I was talking about. I should probably wrap this up with some crap about George Washington Carver. Plus I’m about to hit the 300-word mark, and that’s the point where you start to lose a reader’s interest. I think. I don’t know, I actually just made that rule up. Does anyone still like Arrested Development? I’m proud to say this is my least-focused blog post ever. Blah blah blah, here are some pictures. This was a lot of fun to write. I’ve turned in papers like this.

Carver rules

A bridge on the nature walk

Moses Carver's house

A low tree branch helped me out on this one

Thanks, Mose

Perma-goggles

David Barwick — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:05:08 +0000

I’d like to start this post by saying that Eureka Springs sucks. There is no reason to ever go there, even if your whole family goes, which just happens to be the reason I went there last weekend. It was awful.

Now, we all know that whiny blogs are a major drag. I’ll spare you an emo diatribe, but I do want to mention the so-called Great Passion Play. If you’re not familiar, the Great Passion Play is a marquee attraction in Eureka Springs, and highlights the week leading up to and including Jesus’s crucifixion, a.k.a. Passion Week. I like Jesus, but I hated the play. But hey, you might like it. In fact, you would definitely like it if you enjoy:

Feeling like a sucker
Pre-recorded and poorly-delivered voice “performances” loosely adhered to by faraway “actors”
Jesus sounding like Hank Hill
Bible stories written by someone who may or may not have ever seen a bible
A huge waste of 25 dollars

The best part of the vacation is that I came home early, with three days of leisure remaining before I have to go back to work. I’m currently on Leisure Day 2, and enjoying life again. The second-best part is that I took lots of pictures and videos, which I stitched together into a mildly entertaining video in iMovie. That was fun. The third-best part is that it gave me something to blog about. So here are some pictures, since this is a cheap and boring blog post.

Oh! And Perma-Goggles refers to the awesome tan I got from wearing sunglasses the whole time.

My parents

The "Great" Passion Play

A huge and creepy Jesus hovers above the treeline

The showers featured soap dispensers and very low ceilings

An awesome artsy photo I took(?)

My dad kept doing this without knowing what it means

We found a trail that led to this old quarry

Silver Dollar City

David Barwick — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:51:25 +0000

The other day my grandparents and I hit up Silver Dollar City. As park employees, they have plenty of free passes, and invited me to spend a day at the park with them at no charge.

In case you don’t know, Silver Dollar City is an 1880s-themed park in Branson, MO. It features rides, shows, arts and crafts demonstrations, and lots of shops and restaurants. Additionally, the park holds several festivals each year. I visited on the last day of the Christmas Festival, and it looked amazing, with over 70 million lights across the park’s 61-acre footprint. All the shows we watched carried a Christmas theme, and several restaurants served holiday specials (including some fantastic peanut butter pie).

My personal highlight of the day was a tour through Marvel Cave. Before Silver Dollar City existed, tours were led through Marvel Cave, as early as 1889. The cave became so popular that in 1960 the attraction was expanded into Silver Dollar City. The tour through the cave takes an hour, and it involves a lot of climbing and descending through narrow passageways, but I highly recommend it to everyone. Caves are some of my favorite things, and a cave as magnificent as Marvel Cave is endlessly fascinating. Some of the sights, like the Cathedral Room, the Cloud Room, and the Gulf of Doom simply cannot be described. I only wish my tour had included more of the cave, as a few of the rooms were flooded and could not be accessed.

Entry to Silver Dollar City will set you back $52.66. Not bad, considering the tours, shows, and demonstrations included in the price. And while it would be easy to spend a fortune at the restaurants and shops, I was able to eat a terrific grilled cheese sandwich and some garden tomato soup on special for less than six bucks. A season pass is only $65, so it’s a good choice if you live in the area or plan to spend more than one day at the park. If you do, you won’t be sorry.

Take it slow, but not too slow.

This is my new friend, Washboard Leo.

An example of the lights. Surprisingly good result for an iPhone photo.