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CAVE OF THE MOUNDS

Written 12/18/2011 | Back Posted to 11/26/2011

The day after Thanksgiving Dave, Zach, Dawn, Rob, Brady and I all drove over to visit Cave of the Mounds.

We drove to Blue Mounds, Wisconsin which is just 25 miles west of Madison. So a quick drive from Monona where Dave's parents live. 

We arrived just as a tour was starting. They were watching the video pre-tour so we joined the movie late and then took the tour with the kids.

A guided tour of the Cave takes you past a varied collection of colorful stalactites, stalagmites, columns and other formations. The main cavern began forming over a million years ago as acidic water dissolved the limestone bedrock far below the surface. As Cave of the Mounds staff like to point out, geologic time is mind-boggling. It is difficult to imagine the time it took for the large caverns to be dissolved within rock that is itself believed to be over 400 million years old! ---Cave of the Mounds Website

I took many photos of the formations that we saw....so you can now take a photo tour of what we saw. *smile*

Please note I tried to take all my photos without flash, the light provided are the lights installed in the caves to showcase the formations and to light the way for visitors.

Formations in the South Cavern. These formations are over 15 feet high. If you look at the base of the photo on the right side you can see shadows of the tops of heads of Rob and Dave. 

Additional formations in the South Cavern

Glacier Room of the cave - this is an example of 'cave bacon' formations

More formations.

Zach looking down into one of the Reflecting Pool and at the painted "waterfall"

Reflecting Pool - I wasn't able to capture the reflection of how high up the chimney goes up above the reflecting pool.

Painted "waterfall"

More painted waterfall with different white balance.

Cave formations - stalactites "Soda Straws"

Formation in the Cathedral Room. A couple was actually married in front of this formation per our tour guide.

Same shot as above with a different white balance setting.

Stalactites and Stalagmites have rings just like trees as you can see here on this broken stalagmite.

Formations in the Totem Pole Room

Zach and Brady looking into what I think is the "Surprise Cave"

Zach and Brady looking into "Surprise Cave" without the help of my flash.

A shot of "Surprise Cave" without the kiddos.

Zach smiling for the camera

Zach and Brady in the cave at the Dream River - they only stood still for a moment and this shot is blurry. Oh well...

Dream River - someone else took a photo with their flash at the same time I was taking my photo...

Now the Dream River without any flash and just the cave lights.

That now brings us to the end of our tour of Cave of the Mounds. I hope you enjoyed the photo tour!

After the tour of the cave we all went out for lunch at the Happy Gnome. The food was fantastic as were the beverages. Num!

That's all for now...Thanks for reading!

Shamelessly Stolen from My Sister's Facebook Page...

My sister posted this on her facebook page and I like it so much I thought I would post it on the blog too. I too am an introvert and I have to say I too really do not enjoy small talk. 

Enjoy the article:

Jerry Brito

Impulsively redesigning since 1999.

About / Archive / Ask Me

Top ten myths about introverts

Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.
This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.
Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.
Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.
On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.
Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.
Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.
Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.
Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.
Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.
Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.

(Source: carlkingcreative.com)

Did you know?

I thought I would share this article from HealthEast's Parent email that I received in my inbox this morning.

Did you know?

Boys and girls may use different parts of their brains to learn language.

Girl, boy: What"s the difference?

While language development varies from child to child even of the same gender, some differences in language development between male and female are more typical. For example, generally girls are better able to remember more words than boys. However in one study, 2- and 3-year-old boys were able to remember exceptions to language rules better than girls, saying "held" and "blew." The girls were more likely to say "holded" for held, "blowed" for blew, perhaps because they had a more extensive list of similar verbs to use as models. Eventually both boys and girls, however, learned the right way to say each verb in the past-tense. The study reveals one example of how girls and boys may get to the same skill level in an area, but use different roads to get there.

Memory game

"Take-Away" is fun game to play with your toddler at this point in her development. Find about 10 small, common household objects. Start by putting three interesting objects on the floor between the two of you. Ask her to take a close look at them, then to cover her eyes while you take away one item. Can she remember which one is missing? Can she describe it without looking at it? Add objects to the collection on the floor as she increases her abilities. Vary the game by taking away more than one item. Praise her efforts to recall and use descriptive language. Of course, you should take your turn too! After she has taken her turn guessing, let your toddler hide something while you cover your eyes.

Ottoman

When we do not want to play the stair game with Zach we put the ottoman at the base of the stairs.  That way he can not get around and climb up and down and up and down the stairs.  Well about 20 minutes ago, I put something ON the stairs that Zach wanted.  I figured it was now out of reach.  NOPE!  Zachary PUSHED the ottoman so he could get by.  Yes!  The little stinker has figured it out.   I'm now going to need to find something new to block the stairs.  Hummm....might need to find a long piece of plastic plexi-glass to slide between the banisters.

On the other hand, it's great that Zach is a fast learner and is figuring these things out to keep us on our toes!