| THE CAVE by Dave and Cathy |
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| Three years ago on a “wandering” as we call it, my family
and I discovered the cave.
Going out in the country and seeing the diversity there often leads us to such finds, not all are as striking at first glance, but all are helping to keep us in touch with nature and the rich history of our land. At first glance it was just an interesting ridge of large rock and cliffs, but on closer examination there seemed to be more to it. Stopping for lunch seemed to be a good idea and soon we found our temporary stop turning into a hike in the area. From the ridge, at just the right angle, there was a dark spot in the cliff across the creek. Always curious, we hiked over to check it out. On the approach we noticed flint chips in the creek bottom. As we scaled the cliff face it seemed that there was a path of sorts leading to the dark spot. Getting there wasn’t like walking across the street and the path sure wasn’t a sidewalk, but the path led directly to the cave. Always careful of bats and bears and other critters, we peered inside. Larger inside than at the opening, the cave had a smoked ceiling, and littered on the floor were fragments of metates, some shards of pottery, and more flint chips. Now we knew for sure that this wasn’t just a natural feature. “They” had been here!! Who are “they”? The Early Americans some call Indians or Native Americans. We prefer the term Early Americans as we see ourselves as just arriving later. |