游山记：我说，他说，她说（2）― 地下世界的水晶溶洞

我说：
水晶溶洞位于红杉树国家公园， 1918年被发现，每年从五月开放到十月。

水晶溶洞处于地下世界，所以要走一大段的下坡路。夏日炎炎，虽然绿树成荫，我们依然走得汗流浃背。快到洞口的时候，一条瀑布从天而降，为我们带来了几分清凉。就这样，我们来到了水晶溶洞的门口。

穿过蜘蛛网大门之后，前面是一个奇异的世界：曲折的潮湿小道，巨大的溶洞空间，潺潺的小溪流水，抛光的大理石造型，石钟乳、石笋、石柱，还有洞中48°F冰冻的感觉。

站在大厅的中央，导游关闭了所有的灯，然后我们感受空旷的黑暗、躲藏的蝙蝠、以及辛勤运作的流水。。。真是令人流连忘返。可是整个旅程只有45分钟，我们必须离开了，然后可以有下一批的游客。

虽然参观时间只有45分钟，但是到指定地点买票，车行蜿蜒曲折的山路，步行下坡与上坡，一切都是慢节奏的，消耗了太多的时间，我们来不及去看Tokopah峡谷的大瀑布了。

儿子说：
Today is Monday, the second day of the trip. Today’s highlight was the Crystal Cave tour. However, before we even got to the cave, we had to take a hike down a very steep path through marble rubble and across a creek with some small waterfalls. The area itself was quite pretty. The cave itself would be even more fascinating. The Crystal Cave was unique because its features are carved out of marble, not limestone like most other caves. This gave the features in the cave a white luster, which, under the correct lighting, could look like icy icicles. The features were quite amazing as well. The stalactites were not the standard ones that are shown in textbooks, but come together to form complex patterns. The tour guide mentioned that some of the carvings looked like a piano organ, Jabba the Hut, and a dragon. I personally felt that the features looked like delicious white chocolate desserts from the ruffled texture slightly rounded all with an unusual white hue. The rest of the day was mostly spent in the car. The many twists and turns made me rather dizzy, so I napped quite a lot.

女儿说：
We went hiking today. At first, we ran down the mountain to the entrance of Crystal Cave. When we got there, we went through many rooms. Unlike most caves, this particular cave was made of marble. And, the only thing that stopped us from having to swim our way through the cave was a pile of rubble. It was very awe-inspiring -- the fact that at any moment, a river could flow through some gaps and flood the cave.

Going back up was tiring, but we could take all the time that we wanted. Mommy got some good pictures. I also got quite numerous views of a waterfall. We rested frequently. All of that took so much time that we had to skip a perfect opportunity to hike a trail to see a waterfall. Not a tiny one. A huge, gigantic river that would tumble down a cliff and send a fine mist in your face…the Tokopah Falls.

We drove back to Cedar Grove Lodge. It took a long time, so long that we were supposed to switch stories and start listening to our other CDs, The Hobbit/There and Back Again. I fell asleep.

[林贝卡]

可爱的孩子，他们俩长得真象。