Gone Batty

Now that Halloween is around the corner, I figure it's a good time to post about our family's excursion to the Eckert James River Bat Cave near Mason this summer. We went with Dan's parents, who had visited the bat cave before and told us it would be worth the trip.

We turned onto a dirt road and then had to cross a river, and we weren't sure if our cars could make it. After we got out and inspected the depth, we went for it and made it to the other side safely. We noticed most other vehicles in the parking area were trucks, jeeps, and SUVs, but our cars were the little blue Civics that could.

We all gathered on benches above the bat cave surrounded by oak trees in the early evening. We were waiting for millions of Mexican free-tailed bats to emerge for dinner, feasting on insects in the air. While we waited for the show, the "bat Grandma" shared information about the bats and how they communicate. She told us the bats would return to Mexico after the weather cools down. The smell of guano hung in the air; now there's a great idea for a scented candle at Halloween. We spotted other wildlife in the area, including a snake (Sir Hiss), a skunk, and a rabbit.
When the bats emerged from the cave, it took my breath away. They came out in droves and flew in a spiraled pattern in perfect rhythm toward the sky. They came and came in a flurry of movement, and I marveled at how many bats the cave contained. It was an amazing sight.

The bat Grandma held one of the bats for us to see up close, and I thought it was a baby, but this is a full-grown bat. I think it's cute. One bat latched onto a lady's shirt in the front bench, but before the volunteers could get to her, it flew away. I'm glad she didn't scream. I definitely recommend the bat cave experience.


Dan ditched me and the kids one week this summer to go camping in the Uinta Mountains in Utah with his buddies. While he was gone, we went with Grandma and Grandpa to visit President Lyndon B. Johnson's ranch, farm, and his Texas White House -- his retreat from Washington, D.C., while he served as president. They had some fun activities at the ranch; the kids liked the duck race and playing marbles and jacks. They don't use running water or electricity there, and it was the first time I had seen cotton plants. It was fun to hear Grandma and Grandpa's stories of games they used to play when they were young. Grandpa said it was high stakes with the marbles on his playground, and Grandma grew up in the countryside of Brazil when she was younger, and they played a different version of jacks with rocks and made up all kinds of games with her siblings playing outside. It made me wish we weren't such suburbanites and that our kids could have lots of land to explore. Of course, my ideal locale would include mountains and clear streams, but we have yet to explore much of the spacious state of Texas too. I enjoyed the tour of the Texas White House. I thought it was interesting how he had three televisions in his office so he could check up on all the three networks said about him. Nowadays the news channels can talk about the president nonstop on cable TV. I liked seeing the decor from the 1960s in the home.

And while we learned more about a former president, this is what Dan was up to -- building a fire to kingdom come. He had a great time, and I'm glad they got to hang out together. (Dan's the good-looking guy on the far right.)