It took me forever to pick out the photographs for my last post on Longhorn Cavern State Park.  I wanted to fill in some of the details on the Longhorn Cavern State Park in this post. Longhorn Cavern State Park features Longhorn Cavern, a Texas Hill Country wonder created over thousands of years by the dissolving and abrading action of water on the limestone bedrock of the area. Longhorn Cavern is one of the few river-formed caverns in the world, which makes it unique.

Fossil remains show that Ice Age animals once occupied the cave. Earliest records indicate that the Comanche Indians were the first people to use the cavern. The cavern was used as a Confederate stronghold where gunpowder was stored  in secret during the Civil War. The cavern is also rumored to have been the hideout of Sam Bass, a legendary Texas outlaw.  Legend has it that there is a treasure trove from his last bank robbery stashed in the cave. During Prohibition, a Speakeasy operated inside the cavern, complete with a 9-piece band.  On Sunday mornings, bleachers were set up in the same area so that people could attend services.

The park was dedicated in 1931.  Work began shortly thereafter on the park using convict labor.  Due to the concerns of neighbors, this practice was discontinued.  Not much work was completed until the Civilian Conservation Corps began work on the park.  During the four years the CCC was active in the park, 2-1/2 million cubic yards of earth, guano and rock were removed using only manual labor, buckets, shovels and wheelbarrows.  This cleared a  1-1/2 mile trail within the cave that includes the tour of today. Most of this rock and fill was used to form the base of Park Road 4.  World War II stopped all CCC activity in the park and all parks in Texas and the USA.

Today, in addition to the standard tour, there are special tours that may be arranged, like geology tours, biology tours, paranormal tours, phototography tours, wild cave tours, as well as weddings and concerts.  This cave has more action than downtown on a Saturday night.

Longhorn Cavern is formed in the upper massive limestone of the Gorman Formation, Ellenberger group, of Ordovician age. Longhorn Cavern lies within the Llano uplift. When the Llano Uplift was thrust up during the time of  Precambrian mountain building, the Llano Uplift was covered in Lower Cretaceous, Devonian, Mississippi and Pennsylvania strata.  These rocks are gone now, weathered and eroded away.

The Cavern is located on Backbone Ridge, which is a huge wedge of Paleozoic sedimentary rocks dropped between igneous and metamorphic rocks of Precambrian age. We spent most of a day exploring one the largest show caves in the world, Longhorn Cavern State Park. The park is located on 700+ acres, complete with hiking trails, picnic tables, restrooms and other day use facilities. From Inks Lake, we headed south on Park Road 4 and followed the signs. If you are looking for a beautiful drive, look for Park Road 4.

The developed portion of the Cavern is 1.2 miles. The round trip guided tour takes about 2 hours and includes quite a few stairs. I took over 100 photographs; the ones in the slide show are just the ones I could name.

The first week of our vacation, we stayed on Lake LBJ in Kingsland. We really loved the location of the Rio Vista Resort, which is two blocks off FM 1431 and waterfront on Lake LBJ. This would be a perfect place if you have a boat or jetski; there were boat docks, including lifts right on the lake. The waterfront cabins, condos and even mobile homes were nice and for rent. The pool and grounds were tropical. Unfortunately, the RV spaces were very close. You can see in the last photograph that we were almost bumping slides with our neighbors. It was a beautiful, clean and quiet location. The couple who owned the resort were nice. We paid $185 for one week for 4-way hookups.

The Historic Railroad  District in Kingsland is anchored by the Antlers Hotel, a turn of the 20th century hotel.  The district is spread out over 15 acres on the banks of Lake LBJ. There are woods, nature trails, orchard, and an 1800s log cabin with 4 docks that sits on the lake.  There are many little cabins and cottages spread amongst the trees, around the orchard, close to the lake or to the Antlers Hotel. Most of these are for rent through the hotel.

The Antlers Hotel opened for business May 1, 1901 as a resort for vacationers traveling to the Hill Country by railroad.  It closed its doors in 1923, not to reopen to the public until 1996.  Today, the Antlers Hotel has six suites, all opening to the spacious front and back porches.  The hotel is a recorded Texas Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Probably the coolest accommodations are the cabooses, each with small kitchen, living/dining area, bath with shower, TV, telephone, queen bed and two bunks.  Or try the McKinley Coach, which is a fully-restored 1880s wooden train car, with small kitchen, TV, king bed, two twin beds and 1-1/2 baths.  There is also a railroad depot that has been restored and moved onto the grounds that you may rent.

The rest of the district consists of Kings House, where the namesake of Kingsland lived.  There is also a 1909 Victorian home that serves as the Junction Restaurant.  Take a close look at this Victorian, you might recognize it from the movie, Texas Chainsaw Massacre.