Zachary Wilkinson

Review of Natural Bridge Caverns

I recently took a trip into the otherwordly settin...

I recently took a trip into the otherwordly setting of Natural Bridge caverns near San Antonio, TX. Not even 200 feet below the surface runs this large network of steep descents, narrow twists, and tiring climbs.

Discovered on private property by 4 college students in 1960, it is now excellently lit and showcased as a national landmark. Its amphitheater-like entrance is topped by the natural limestone slab bridge that became its namesake.

Once inside, a twisting antechamber that chills to 70* year round sets the tone. Cascading falls of flowstone appear as splashing waves caught in time. Piles of water hewn rock dot the alien landscape, gaurded by armies of stalagmites and stalactites staring ominously from shadows. You could swear massive stone jellyfish stacked upon eachother were floating in a waterless sea of air. The dark setting evokes thoughts of underworld monsters crawling and hiding in dark corners...keep your feet, as the just might creep up on you!

At one turn, a deep muddy pit off one side of the path named "Grendel's Canyon" holds just enough light to give the foreboding thought that you might see the hulking silhouette of Grendel himself crawl out from it any moment. The sweat on your neck could be because of this gripping thought, or due to the constant 99% humidity.

I had a blast in the thrilling turns of these caverns. They brought to mind settings i've recently imagined from C.S. Lewis's second book in the Space Trilogy, Perelandra, where Ransom casts a longtime foe from atop a cliff into a subterranean fire deep within the strange world.