LONG STORY SHORT By Kristine McGowan While waiting for our tour of the Lehman Caves in Great Basin National Park, Jason and I noticed a group of about 15 kids lining up nearby. They ranged anywhere from 7 to 10 years old. And they were concerningly close to our waiting area. Another guest—an adult—wryly said what we all were thinking: “Lucky us, going on a tour with kids.” We gave false chuckles in agreement. Obviously, none of us childless adults felt lucky. Kids would slow us down, we all thought. They would interrupt the tour, or they would whine or misbehave. They would be a distraction. The kids quickly proved us wrong. They followed our guide through the caves, careful to keep their hands off the delicate geological formations inside. They kept their voices down because, as one girl put it, they didn’t want to “upset the bats.” They answered our guide’s questions eagerly, and they asked their own questions in return, raising questions that us noncurious, childless adults never would have thought to ask. Best of all, they were funny. Here are a few of our favorite moments from the tour, none of which would have happened without the kids there. After the guide showed us a long-abandoned packrat nest, one kid raised his hand to share some knowledge: “I think I know why they’re called ‘packrats.’ I think it’s because they’re like Pac-Man and they eat a lot like Pac-Man does.” At our first stop inside the caves, our guide shut off all the lights and plunged us into pitch-black darkness. Then he asked, “Do you think we could find our way out of here with all the lights off?” One kid deadpanned, “Yeah… no." In another area of the caves, one kid asked, “Can we turn off all the lights in here to see what it looks like?” The guide answered, “I think it would look a lot like the other part did.” The guide mentioned that several insects call the cave their home, such as crickets, psuedo scorpions, and millipedes. One kid spun on his heel, jaw dropping and eyes wide. “I LOVE millipedes!” The guide passed around a pseudo scorpion, preserved in a tube of liquid, for everyone to look at. Holding the scorpion, a kid asked, “Is it alive?”
1 Comment
Zanymouse
7/26/2023 09:41:28 pm
Wow, what an amazing experience! Such a beautiful cave. Kids always add an interesting commentary, lol.
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