Bandera Volcano and Ice Cave

I will just go ahead and gush about our next stop, Bandera Volcano and Ice Cave. This is a privately run tourist attraction that surely would be a national monument if the government owned it. The family that runs it has a ton of history with the property. If you are lucky, like I was, one of the sister's running it will walk you through the stories of all her ancestors who's pictures are on the wall. It all starts with the one who was raised by Indians, there is a marriage of moguls, a Sears house ordered and built, land was bought, a tourist attraction was born. You have to hear it from her. I can't do it justice but it was fascinating. They also have many artifacts discovered on their land on display in the museum/store where you buy the tickets to see the volcano and ice caves.

Amazing stop that I never new existed here in the U.S.

Because it was hot I did the Volcano trail first and then the ice caves. Volcanic rock will tear up the dog's paws (and heats up fast in the sun) so they sat in the RV.

A volcanic spatter cone.

Pretty cactus flower growing in the lava.

Volcanic landscape.

Bandera Volcano

Lava tube area.

Trail out to the ice cave.

And down we go to the ice cave.

There are several platforms to break up the stairs.

Ice cave.

Algae is in the ice.

People use to mine the ice to refrigerate food. Because it is no longer mined it has built up thicker.

The ice is formed when water accumulates in the cave which never gets above 31 degrees. It was great down there during the hot day!

The ice cave is not huge. In the store you can see pictures of people visiting when you used to be able to walk out on the ice.

Steps looking up from ice cave.