Geography #3: Belize and Cave Tubing Adventure

My husband and I had an amazing jungle river boat tour in Belize while I was pregnant with our second child.  Our fearless guide took the boat right up to a crocodile leaping into the air and splashing back into the water.  Our guide pulled  the boat close to shore, so we could see the giant iguanas hanging from the trees.  Our guide enthusiastically insisted we all need to move to Belize, really not that dangerous of a country.  We bought wooden bowls and vases at a local market in the jungle.  Our items wrapped in newspaper gave us reading material on the bus including the story of a foreigner murdered yesterday.  

Sharing the photographs would have been amazing...except my husband left the camera memory card in the Norwegian cruise ship room safe.  We had to return to Belize someday.  Who would know how to top such experience?  Pauline Frommer!  The award-winning travel writer would speak at the Chicago Travel and Adventure Show.  So I asked Pauline and she quickly replied that we must take the family cave tubing!

Not too many places offer cave tubing.  However, Belize has the largest cave systems in the Americas.  Humans have discovered over 300 caves in Belize and still looking for more.  The Dark Night Three Cave Tubing Adventure Cave Exploration tour takes you to a journey deep into Jaguar Cave.  Jaguar tracks left in the soil led to the cave name.  While I kept my eyes out for jaguars, I had a two surprise.  

Surprise #1 - Friendly Scorpion

The first surprise came after the hour plus bus ride including a bumpy section over a dirt road.  Employees warned us to use the restrooms because the trails had no restroom.  The signs clearly stated not to throw paper in the toilet.  I didn't expect the scorpion crawling out of the wastebasket.  I didn't freak out.  In fact, I waited patiently for the opportunity to photograph him.  I didn't follow the scorpion too long.  It's generally unwise to stalk a venomous animal.  I told my husband about the scorpion and he shrugged.  If your spouse lived in South America for a year and Spain for a year, you can get shrugs.  As if I just told him I saw a fluffy, cute cat or dog.  For goodness sakes, I probably just say a centruroides gracilis, the most common black scorpion in Belize.  

Surprise #2 -Termite-Eating Guide

The second surprise came from our tour guide.  Before you get to tubing, you hike in the rainforest, across wooden bridges, and near towering cliffs.  The caving tour company claimed guides were versed on jungle plants, herbal medicine, and Mayan history.  Boy, our guide more than delivered.  From Mayan descent, his father taught him at a young age how to survive in the thick rainforest.  He seemed to know every plant and animal.  At one point, he stops to show us termites and encourage us try them.  Surprise!  Termites are packed in protein!  You should eat them!  Despite my enthusiasm for protein, I let the guide eat the termites.  The kids really liked our guide as he let the kids climb vines and ask lots of questions.  

Historically the Belize citizens used caves were for sacred rituals and ceremonies and caves could cause fear.  You need not fear the caves.  The guides give you headlamps and it never seemed pitched dark to me.  The Jaguar Cave has enormous 100-foot ceilings.  I think even claustrophobic people would enjoy this cave tubing.  Indian Creek's calm waters let us enjoy the views.  Emerging out of the cave made for a beautiful scene of blue skies, bright blue green water, and green plants surrounding us.  

After all the hiking, we had quite the appetite and so grateful for the local lunch included.  Chicken, stew, and beans brought back good taste and scent memories of visiting Central America.

The neat part of the long bus ride was having the opportunity to see the city, the countryside, and even the above ground cemeteries.  I booked the excursion through the Royal Caribbean cruise.  The cruise traveled to Belize, Honduras, and Mexico.  Read about our dolphin excursions in Honduras in my article "Dolphin Kisses".  Travelers know that you can't just appreciate the destination, you need to appreciate the journey too.  A special thank you to Pauline Frommer, encouraging us to take another adventure.

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Science Lesson #2: 2 Free Venus Fly-Trap Viewings + 4 Other Botanical Gardens

Meat-eating plants!  Oh my!  Plants eating ants, flies, spiders, and other insects sound like a bizarre science-fiction film, but you and your kids can see the process in action.  Visit a fly-trap farm or botanical center with venus fly traps, pitcher plants, bladderworts, and sundews.  

 

How does a plant capture an insect?  The venus fly-trap emits a fruity scent that attracts insects.  Tiny bristles within the leaf trigger the plant to close when an insect brushes against it.  Once the insect gets captured inside, the plant has a "green stomach", producing digestive enzymes and transporters to take up nutrients.  It can take several days to digest the insect.  

The venus fly-trap is native to Cape Fear, North Carolina.  The loss of habitat has led to 95% of the original plants to disappear.  There's now less than 30,000 plants in the wild.  However, farmers grow the plants and sell them at their nursery or online.

We visited the largest botanical collection of carnivorous plants on display to the public in the US.  Located 45 minute north of San Francisco in Sebastopol, CA, California Carnivores is open Thur. to Mon. 10AM-4PM to the public.  The owner has grown carnivorous plants for nearly 50 years, wrote the book The Savage Garden:  Cultivating Carnivorous Plants, and featured on Martha Stewart Living.  Unfortunately the plane transportation meant we couldn't buy plants onsite.  However, it inspired us to visit our local home improvement stores and we easily found a kit to buy.

 Another way to see the plants for free - visit The United States Botanic Garden Savage Gardens in Washington D.C. from 10AM to 5PM.  Here's four other botanical gardens featuring meat-eating plants:

1.  MOSI Museum of Science & Industry Coleman-Lienhart Savage Garden, Tampa, FL, adults $27, child $21

2.  Frederick Meijer Garden Kenneth E. Nelson Carnivorous Plant House, Grand Rapids, MI, adults $15, children under age 13 for $7, over 150 acres

3.  Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden The Carnivorous Plant Bogs located in Rory Meyers Children's Adventure Garden, adult $15, child under age 12 for $10

4.  Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Garden Savage Gardens, Columbus, OH; $14 adults, $7 child under age 17, plants and sculptures

Lighthouse Lesson #3: Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse in Manteo, North Carolina

Before you begin your lighthouse tour, check out The Outer Banks Lighthouse Society website.  Besides hosting America's largest keepers' descendants' gathering, the society teaches children about lighthouse history.  Before getting in your car, print off their free 19 page coloring book.  If ambitious, tell your kids about the Lighthouse Explorer Patch Program.  If your child completes 7 out of 10 activities, noting 3 are required, he or she can earn a OBLHS embroidered patch.  

While in the Outer Banks, you should visit the relatively new Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse.  Built in 2004, the lighthouse stands as a replica to the 1877 lighthouse also known at the third Roanoke lighthouse.  Due to the lighthouse protecting river traffic versus ocean traffic, the light doesn't need to stand as tall.  Even at 37 feet tall, you will easily see the lighthouse.  It jets out 40 yards into the Roanoke Sound with white exterior, black shutters, and a red shingle roof.  

Several lighthouses have served to protect boats entering and leaving the Shallowbag Bay:

- First Roanoke lighthouse (1831) experienced floods and repairs that led to abandonment

- Second Roanoke lighthouse (1858) suffered wood rot

- Third Roanoke lighthouse (1877) sold to a private owner in 1955 who placed it on a barge; the lighthouse fell off the barge and sunk into the Albemarle Sound

Fortunately, the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum manages today's lighthouse and light still shines 19 miles offshore.  In the spring, summer, and early fall, you can visit the interior which also includes a fourth-order Fresnel lens and local Manteo exhibits.  Just walk down the wooden boardwalk and visit.

Lighthouse Lesson #2: Bodie Island Lighthouse

Bodie Island Light Station stands proud at 170 feet tall and noticeable with it's black and white stripes. It's iconic look likely helped it make the Frommers travel guide article list "7 All-American Lighthouses".

Did you know it's not the first Bodie Island lighthouse?  Marine safety is worth the continued effort for a structure to watch over the "Graveyard of the Atlantic."  A poor foundation caused the first Bodie Island lighthouse to be abandoned.  Confederate troops who feared the lighthouse would be used as a Union observation post during the Civil War destroyed the second lighthouse.  The third lighthouse was built in 1872 and became part of the National Park Service in 1937.  The third time's the charm!

1937 was also the creation of the first national seashore.  Bodie Island Light Station is part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the first national seashore.  If you visit, consider timing your visit between the third Friday in April to Columbus Day in October.  That's when the park service allows visitors to climb the 214 steps to the top 70-foot structure.

Today the Keepers Quarters brick house also serve as one of the three Cape Hatteras visitor centers.  You can expect a small exhibit area and a bookstore.

Bodie remains as one of only a dozen remaining tall brick tower lighthouses in the United States.  It's also special because it still has it's original Fresnel lens.

Stay on the trails as signs warn of snakes.  Take the boardwalk leading from the lighthouse to an observation platform near marshes for another view.

If you love the National Park Service like me, take your kids to the other National Seashores too.  Not only will you learn about history, but also shoreline conservation.  Here's the other nine national seashores:
1) Assateague Island National Seashore (MD)
2) Canaveral (FL)
3) Cape Cod  (MA)
4) Cape Lookout (NC)
5) Cumberland Island (GA)
6) Fire Island (NY)
7) Gulf Islands (MS)
8) Padre Island (TX)
9) Point Reyes (CA)

Lighthouse Lesson #1: Cape Hatteras and 6 Lighthouse Events

Perhaps it's because I grew up near the Great Lakes that I find maritime history fascinating and lighthouses as majestic, protecting our coasts with the values of safety and stories of heroism.  Celebrate lighthouses and their keepers.  August 7th is National Lighthouse Day. 

We saw many lighthouses at the Outer Banks and the iconic Cape Hatteras in Buxton, NC stood as the most memorable.  By climbing the lighthouse, we also heard stories about the lighthouse.  Our guide pointed out where this lighthouse stood prior to 1999.  Due to erosion, the lighthouse moved to higher ground.  Known as "The Move of the Millennium", the lighthouse became the tallest masonry structure ever moved.  Perhaps it was memorable because as we looked out over the beautiful sunny & blue sky view, we also knew a hurricane watch was coming and we could imagine the danger on water years ago; overlooking "The Graveyard of the Atlantic.

Kids can expand their vocabulary:
Pharologist - one who studies or is interested in lighthouse
Wickie - a name given to lighthouse keepers, derived from the task of trimming the wick of the lamps
Prism- a tansparent piece of glass that refracts or disperses light
Beacon - a lighted or unlighted fixed aid to navigation
Lantern - a glass enclosure at the top of the lighthouse tower which housed the lighthouse lens
See the United States Lighthouse Society site for more terms.

Light up their imagination.  There's more than one day a year to teach kids about maritime history, whether touring a museum or climbing a lighthouse.  Here's six special events:

1.  Maryland Lighthouse Challenge - Sept.
You must see all mandatory stops (10 lighthouses) to proclaim "I've seen the lights" and collect a specialty designed souvenir.  Scouts have an opportunity to earn "Keeping the Lights Shining" patch.

2.  Maine Open Lighthouses Day - Sept.
Sponsored by the United States Coast Guard; climb and learn about over two dozen historic Main lights including Bass Harbor Head, Burnt Coat Harbor, and Owls Head.  Plan ahead.  The event attracts 15,000 to 18,000 visitors per year.  Stop into the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland where you'll see the largest collection of Fresnel lenses display in the US

3.  Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival - Sept. - Washington
Free, 50 year festival, fireworks, art show, children's parade, fly-over, salmon bake, fishing derby

4.  Lighthouse Challenge of NJ - Oct.
Visit up to 11 lighthouses; $2 registration fee includes a special passport book
Climbing ranges from donation to $8 (Cape May)

5.  Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival - Oct. - Alpena, MI
20 year festival; Free four day event close to Mackinaw City
Lighthouse tours, entertainment and over 100 maritime related vendors
Alpena also has the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center - free admission and you'll see shipwreck exhibits and a full size replica wooden Great Lakes schooner

6.  Lakeside Marblehead Lighthouse Festival - Oct. - Ohio
Lakeside Chautauqua and Marblehead Peninsula, crafts, pumpkin decorating contest, hayrides ($2), lighthouse tours ($2), and sailboat rides
Marblehead, 2nd oldest lighthouse on the Great Lakes, had the first female lighthouse keeper in the US

State Park #3: Wailu River State Park - Kauai's Fern Grotto

My parents first took me to Hawaii and I fell for the tropical, natural beauty of the state...like every other tourist. I particularly fell for the island of Kauai.  Not many restaurants or stores, the waterfalls, parks, and beaches stood out as the main attraction.  The people didn't seem hurried.  They wanted to tell you their story.  On the Fern Grotto boat, a guide told us about the Wailua River, the only navigable river in Hawaii, and how we would pass the wettest place on earth.  Another guide told his personal story.  He explained with pride that he stared in the 1961 movie Blue Hawaii with Elvis.  We needed to watch the movie because he blows the conch shell near the hotel entrance.  Some stories draw you back to a place.  Someday I would return.

A little over a decade, we returned.  More people this time because we expanded our family.  We eagerly returned to the Wailua River State Park for another open-air boat ride by the Smith family.  This park has the only navigable river in Hawaii and contains two waterfalls (Opaeka'a Falls and Wailua Falls)  After the nature hike and songs played at the grotto, we boarded the boat back to the marina.  Dancers taught us the hula while moving on the river.  Then a guide took the microphone and explained that he stared in the 1961 movie Blue Hawaii with Elvis.  We needed to watch the movie because he blows the conch shell.  I watched the movie after returning home.

I'm not the only one impressed with the friendly local people.  Author Patricia Schultz lists "Kauai" in Hawaii as a must see site in her book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.  She notices the people, "Kauai's people are known as the friendliest in the fiftieth state, and tend to live a rural and unrushed old-time Hawaiian lifestyle, in which natural beauty and not overly plush Maui-style resort life is the focus."  

Dance can tell you stories too.  In ancient Hawaii, hula was used to keep history.  Watch the hand gestures.  The missionaries suppressed the hula, but King David Kalakaua restored hula.  The biggest hula festival and competition is the Merrie Monarch Festival held in Hilo, Hawaii.  If you want to get see hula and learn more about the Hawaiian culture without the long flight, consider taking the family to the following festivals:

1) Heritage of Aloha; Heritage Park in Santa Fe Springs, CA; May
Hawaiian and Polynesian music and dance with free admission

2) 3 Days of Aloha in the Pacific Northwest; Vancouver, WA; July
Hula competition and workshops on language, chant, and outrigger canoe paddling

3) Hawaiian Hula Days; Itasca, IL; Oct.
Held by the Hula Association of the Midwest; registration and workshop fees

NPS #3: Elk & Bison at Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park Entrance, Photo by Krenda

The year after visiting Yellowstone & Grand Teton, I asked my son where he'd like to visit on vacation.   He exclaimed "where there's bison!".  You can show your kids bison and elk at both Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park.  The Jackson elk herd takes claim as the largest herd in North America.  The park objective given states having a herd of approximately 11,000 elk migrating between Grand Teton National Park and the National Elk Refuge.  In Yellowstone, we found the most elk in the Mammoth area (North Side) where they wandered among the campground lawns.  In the Grand Teton National Park, we saw them grazing in the fields.

Mountains, boats, and lake at Grand Teton

Grand Teton National Park offers more than viewing animals in nature.  The park offers educational talks, mountain scenery perfect for photography, plenty of hiking trails, and even a boat ride on the lake.

Author Patricia Schultz lists Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming as a must see site in her book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.  While she notes the overall photographic beauty, she points out a particular place, "At the foot of the range, glacial advance gouged a string of deep, cold, sapphire-blue lakes, of which Jenny Lake is one of the most beautiful and therefore most popular and visited."  For a reasonable rate, you can rent a kayak or take a ferry.  

If you want to show your kids elk, you can also find them in the eastern part of the United States. Consider a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Bison at Teton National Park; Photo by Krenda

1.  Cataloochee Valley, Great Smoky Mountains National Park:  Park released elk in 2001 and now nearly 140 elk live in the area.  Besides elk, visit the 9 historic buildings.  If you need to rent a nearby cabin, contact me or check out Lightning Bug Lodge or Indigo Moon Lodge. 

2.  Ponca Elk Center in Ponca, AR:  Drive into the Boxley Valley near the Buffalo National River, elk wer re-introduced and now there's nearly 450 elk along the river.  Visit the center for education open 5 days a week (closed Tue./Wed.); free admission.

3.  Elk Country Visitor Center in Benezette, PA:  Learn at the center which opened in 2010.  Most people drive to Winslow Hill with viewing areas and off road parking.  If you want to camp near elk, try Sinnemahoning State Park which has a small herd.

Exhausted kids after hiking and searching for animals.