Conquistadors at Coronado Cave

      After the girls soccer game today we packed up a lunch and lots of water and headed to nearby Coronado National Memorial. At  http://www.stateparks.com/coronado_national _memorial.html  it says, "The cave has been called by several names including Montezuma's Treasure Vault and Geronimo's Cave. Legends claim that it was used by the Apaches as a hide-out when being pursued by the U.S. Army and in the late 1800's it was not uncommon to find arrowheads in the cave." It's a half mile hike up steep and rocky terrain.

  We encouraged the girls by telling them we'd get to go inside a cave at the end of the trail. They did great. About half way up we stopped for a light lunch.

  
      After about another twenty minutes we spotted a tiny waterfall and arrived at the cave. Part of the trail featured rock stairs. This is the last few steps before the cave.

      I wasn't quite prepared for what we were about to encounter--the opening was steep and difficult to navigate. We each chose a "partner" and slowly made our way down. The pictures taken obviously don't do justice to what we were actually experiencing.

Aubree peering down the opening:

Aubree and Travis are almost to the bottom:

My partner about halfway down, yelling, "I'm in a CAVE!"

Vast and dusty:

We discussed Native Americans, early explorers, stalactites, and stalagmites. The girls loved "exploring" on their own.

 A little dirty...

They had a great time.

      They also, under close supervision, both climbed out of the cave by themselves! I'm very proud of them. It was a tough hike that was well worth the experience.