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| Well some of our gang (Jon, Roy, & Steve) visited BMG last month so Arkansas came by to get cave debt paid back! | Our guests today were (R) Terry Mitchell and (L) Wade Baker. They came all the way to the western part of the state to go though the longest gypsum cave in North America - Jester! | Lots of rain the past week brought lots of flowers out even though it is late in the season! |
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| The road into the Southern Entrance was W A Y overgrown and almost non-existant! But dry... hopefully the cave will be that way too!! | We first went to where the water from the cave exits through a resurgance a ways from the entrance. A little hole lets out a LOT of water!! | Enough water to keep trees in our SW part of the state alive! We were worried not only about too much water but are the bats still in there or have they gone south?? |
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| We then headed to the entrance and showed the group around the Jessie James room. Then we headed into the cave proper! | The Skillful Ogre getting his equipment ready. | Jon was our fashion statement this trip being outfited in only the finest in real clothes! (Must pay good to be a librarian!) All he was missing was a bow-tie!! |
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| It was going to be the lost leading the lost a couple of times... with Duane taking them the first part and making a right when a left should have been made.... | ...and then exclaiming..."HEY!! There isn't supposed to be light at this part of the cave!?? New Breakdown??" No dumb butt... you did a circle and were looking at the entrance again!!! Sigh... | And so started the backtracking and the tour continued... Little did we know we'd see this part of the cave three times before we left!!! We saw a couple of pips (shown here) |
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| The water was its normal shocking cold but after awhile you get used to it (or numb) and don't notice it... (until it goes a bit higher!! Eeps!) | Terry is retired and in a cave at least 3 times a week helping out with coordinating S&R practice, survey groups, and enjoying caving overall. | Wade is interested in Biology and him and Roy started turing over every rock and examing every nook and cranny... we got 300 feet done in the first hour! <griN!> (then Duane made up for it by double back tracking)lots of distance...but deja vu! |
