Perfect Arch

The entrance to Perfect Arch is actually an old mine. The mine itself is fairly extensive and there is a dangerous drop near the back that should be avoided. A few hundred feet back from the entrance is where the natural cave was encountered.
This is the main room. Not very big, but beautifully decorated with gypsum crystals.
This is the largest stalagmite and the only column we found in this cave.
One portion of the cave is covered in these yellowish mamalaries.
Many of the stalagmites have been broken off and are missing in this cave.
                       
After the main room an arched tunnel system begins that is covered with white gypsum crystals. Great care should be taken when crawling through these passages.  You can see that a lot of dirt is ending up on the walls from previous visitors.
This is looking down one of the passages. While climbing down it my brother suddenly yells "skunk!" I don't think I have seen everyone freeze that fast in a long time. And I didn't know that skunks lived inside of caves until now. So be careful if you visit this one!
These gypsum hairs are extremely delicate formations. Please do not touch or even breathe on these.

 

1 comments:

Ben said... | March 14, 2012 at 9:34 AM

Hahaha- SKUNK! I've had a similar experience, only with crawling underneath a cabin. Fortunately it was mid-day and the striped stinker was sleepy. I can guarantee I crawled out of there a whole lot faster than I crawled in!