Caverns of Sonora

Sonora, Texas is just off I10, the interstate that goes through Texas. It’s pretty much isolated, not too many towns along that road in west Texas. So, anyone who wants to see these caverns is going to be out of the way. My phone barely worked there.

Sonora has a cute little historic district with some old buildings that date back to the 1800s or early 1900s. The court house is quite impressive. I went to the Old Ice House Ranch Museum, housed in the old ice house. This museum is filled with artifacts from that time period, as well as more modern items, such as World War II ration stamps. I was talking with the woman who runs this museum (and owned some of the display pieces). She told me that most people go to San Angelo for shopping such as monthly groceries, clothing and other items. San Angelo is about 60 miles away.

The main tourist draw is the Caverns, an extensive, live underground cavern with amazing formations. We were able to see less than 2 miles of it, but it extends about 8 miles total. Amazingly, this cavern has formations in it that I haven’t seen in other caverns or caves. It is billed as the foremost show cavern in the world.

The most photographed area of the cavern is the first photo above, Horseshoe Lake, about 5 feet deep, although the water is so clear you think it’s shallow. The guide casually mentioned that we were inside a giant geode. A geode is a rock that has mineral matter in it when it is opened. Some of them have brilliant colors and designs and others are just plain. An internet search will give you an idea of what it is. Some can be as small as a golf ball or as large as a boulder.

I never get tired of these caverns, so after a few more stops, I’ll be on my way to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, one of the more famous ones.

Pretty Rocks

            

        

I visited the Lafayette Science Museum in Louisiana the other day. There were various exhibits including space travel, fossils and dinosaurs. They also had a display of framed photographs of penguins, very well done.

What caught my attention probably more than anything, except maybe the penguins, was the display on rocks. Well, they weren't just rocks, they were crystal formations, quartz, calcites, some gemstones and geodes. Geodes are round rocks that had a void space inside that allowed the formation of crystals that cover the inside of the rock. If they had been allowed to keep growing, the crystals would consume the entire interior of the rock. They could be different colors, as seen below.
         

 

      

Also on display was a piece of tree trunk that was petrified, as well as a slice of a tree trunk that showed the interior. Surprisingly, you can see that it looks more like a rock than part of a tree. Throughout the time it petrifies, water flows through it and minerals replace the organic matter of the tree. Different colors are formed by different minerals.

　

One of the prettiest was a piece of opal, in rough form, but you can recognize the gemstone that is used in jewelry.

　

This was a small museum, and I found myself wishing it had more minerals, quartz and other pretty rocks to display. I'm sure in my travels, I'll find another museum with rock displays.