Hawkstone Park

Hawkstone Park is a historic landscape park with pleasure grounds and gardens formerly belonging to Hawkstone Hall, just North East of the small village of Weston-under-Redcastle, near to Market Drayton, in Shropshire, England. It is one mile (1.6 km) east of the A49 road. The park is known for its follies.
Park.
Today the park consists of of follies and landscaped parkland grounds and rocky outcrops, based around the ruins of the medieval Red Castle. The park was created as the gardens for Hawkstone Hall.
Hawkstone Hall itself was established by Richard Hill of Hawkstone (1655–1727), also known as 'The Great Hill', circa 1707, whilst the follies, estate and reputation were mainly established by his nephew and heir Sir Rowland Hill, 1st Baronet Hill of Hawkstone (1705–1783) and Sir Richard Hill, 2nd Baronet (1733–1808) in the 18th century.
The park then fell foul of a century of neglect and decay until an ongoing programme of restoration was started in 1990, enabling it to be re-opened in 1993. It is now scheduled as Grade-1 listed on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. It takes a 2.5-hour hiking tour to completely see each folly and their landscapes (a reasonable level of physical fitness and mobility is required and there are many steps, ascents and descents). At some times of the year, not all site trails are accessible.
Attractions include: a red brick tower, once lime washed and still called the White Tower; the Monument standing over high commemorating Sir Rowland Hill who was the first Protestant Mayor of London; the Cleft which is spanned by the Swiss Bridge; the Grotto which may have originated as a 5th-century copper mine and the Arch atop of Grotto Hill, plus various caves, tunnels through the rock, walkways, viewpoints and trails winding through Rhododendron plantations.
The Park was used to represent parts of Narnia in the BBC's TV adaptation of C. S. Lewis's books for the battlegrounds in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 1988 and Prince Caspian a year later.
Hawkstone is currently combined with an adjacent hotel (formerly a lodge of the hall) marketed in association with the Principal Hayley Group, golf course. Hawkstone Hall, nearby, is a Catholic retreat, open to the public in August, courtesy of English Heritage roof repair funds.
History.
Castle.
The site of the Red Castle is closed to the public as it is unsafe. It takes up the top of Red Castle Hill (the westerly outcropping hill of the park grounds), a crag overlooking the golf course and Weston to its South East.
Red Castle, the first castle at Hawkstone Park, was built in 1227 by Henry de Audley (Alditheley), Sheriff of Shropshire and Staffordshire. This Norman enclosure castle was built of sandstone on a natural outcrop of rock, flanked on all sides by wide valleys. The castle has been known by various names: Red Castle; Rubree; Radeclif, Redcliffe, Redde, Castle Rous, and Hawkstone.
About the same time (1227-1232) Henry also built Heighley Castle at Madeley, Staffordsire, and made it the family caput. Subsequent generations of Audleys were also known as, "Lords of Heleigh Castle", and expanded from there.
The "Red Castle", as it became known, was held by the family until the early 16th century initially as their main Shropshire stronghold. Repairs were undertaken in 1283. It was in use in 1322, but by around 1400 it seems no longer occupied. When Leland visited the castle in around 1540 he described it as ruinous.
John Tuchet, 4th Baron Audley (1371–1408) inherited the title via his sister, then survived the uprising of Owain Glyndŵr and the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, where he fought against Henry "Hotspur" Percy. His son James Tuchet, 5th Baron Audley (1398–1459) was killed by Sir Roger Kynaston, whilst leading the House of Lancaster at the Battle of Blore Heath in 1459.
The Audleys forfeited the title when James Tuchet, 7th Baron Audley (c. 1463–1497) led a rebellion against King Henry VII of England in 1497 and was executed. The Audley title was restored to John Tuchet, 8th Baron Audley in 1512.
Manor house.
The Hall stands on the site of an earlier Manor House.
Eventually the lands passed via Sir Andrew Corbet of Moreton Corbet to Sir Rowland Hill, 1st Baronet Hill of Hawkstone (1705–1783), who lived nearby at Shelvock Manor. He was the great, great, great, grandson of Sir Rowland Hill, the first Protestant Lord Mayor of the City of London and Member of Parliament for the City of London in 1533, and who had owned Hawkstone and nearby Soulton. The manors of Hawkstone and Soulton were sold in 1556 by Thomas Lodge to Sir Rowland Hill and Thomas Leigh under long leases (until 1610) for quiet enjoyment by his brother Edward Lodge.
Hall.
Richard Hill (1655–1727), 'The Great Hill', traveller and diplomat, had made a fortune by 'lucrative arithmetick' (sic), raised the family into the aristocracy, and established the existing Hawkstone Manor House as the family seat, He started partial demolition of the house in 1701 replacing it with the Hall, completing it circa 1707.
Sir Rowland Hill, 1st Baronet (1705–1783), landscaped the Red Castle and extended the estate, with walks over the four natural hills and a wide range of follies that included a hermit to dispense wisdom to visitors.
Sir Richard Hill, 2nd Baronet (1733–1808) took over on his father’s death in 1783, published a guide for visitors and built the 'Hawkstone Inn' to accommodate them. He engaged landscape gardener William Emes to build a vast manmade lake, the Hawk River and his follies included a 'ruined' Gothic architecture Arch on Grotto Hill, the urn, a tribute to an English Civil War ancestor, the Swiss Bridge, and the obelisk with an internal staircase, topped by a statue of the original Sir Rowland Hill. Hawkstone Park had become one of Britain’s top attractions by the time he died in 1808. It maintained this status under his brother Sir John Hill, 3rd Baronet (1740–1824).
Dr. Johnson visited and wrote of...
Erasmus Darwin also visited, and notes the outcrops of copper-bearing rocks...
Sir Rowland Hill, 4th Baronet Hill of Hawkstone, 2nd Viscount Hill (1800–1875) inherited, spent and lost a large fortune. He created two new drives, one at vast expense through a rock cutting, and even considered completely relocating the hall across the park. In 1824-5 he built a dower house known as The Citadel in Gothic Revival style. His extravagance and bad management caused a descent into a mess that was inherited by his son in 1875.
Rowland Clegg-Hill, the 3rd Viscount Hill (1833–1895) was bankrupt by the time of his death in 1895, forcing the sale of the contents of the hall and then the split up of the estate by 1906.
The hall was purchased by George Whitely, later Baron Marchamley of Hawkstone, Liberal Whip. He had extensive restoration and reconstruction done by William Tomkinson and Sons of Liverpool, managed by H.P. Dallow, which included shortening in length and reducing in elevation, the wings of the house. The chapel wing was reconstructed as a games room with a dance floor, and the other wing was converted to servants accommodation.
The hall and lake became a religious retreat in the 1920s, while the hotel and a large part of the park later became a golf course. During World War II, parts of the park were used as a prisoner of war camp.
Hawkstone Park is now largely restored, and once again open to the public. It is protected as a Grade I historic park, as rated by English Heritage.
Golf course.
Hawkstone Park has two 18-hole golf courses, set in and around the parkland. Sandy Lyle was tutored in golf by his father Alex, who was the resident golf professional at Hawkstone.


Botany Bay Plantation Wildlife Management Area

Botany Bay Plantation Wildlife Management Area is a state preserve on Edisto Island, South Carolina. Botany Bay Plantation was formed in the 1930s from the merger of the Colonial-era Sea Cloud Plantation and Bleak Hall Plantation. In 1977, it was bequeathed to the state as a wildlife preserve; it was opened to the public in 2008. The preserve includes a number of registered historic sites, including two listed in the National Register of Historic Places: a set of three surviving 1840s outbuildings from Bleak Hall Plantation, and the prehistoric Fig Island shell rings.
History.
Sea Cloud Plantation.
In 1695, Christopher Hinkley received a grant of on Edisto Island. In 1727, the property was acquired by Paul Hamilton Sr.; in 1748, by Paul Hamilton Jr. At some time after the Revolutionary War, a parcel adjoining the Hamilton property was acquired by Normand McLeod. At some point, the property was acquired by Ephraim Mikell Seabrook; in about 1825, he built a house there. It has been suggested that the name "Sea Cloud Plantation" was bestowed after the marriage of a Seabrook to a McLeod.
Bleak Hall Plantation.
In the late 1790s, Daniel Townsend III began developing Bleak Hall Plantation. In 1799, his first son, John Townsend, was born at the plantation. His wife was Hephzibah Jenkins Townsend. In about 1805, a mansion was built; in about 1842, John Townsend inherited the property. At some point in the 1840s, he acquired the Sea Cloud Plantation as well.
John Townsend was noted as an agriculturist and political leader in 19th century South Carolina. He was one of the state's largest planters of Sea Island cotton; his cotton commanded a high price from lace-makers in Belgium and France, and won several prizes, for both its quality and its length. Between 1822 and 1858, Townsend served several terms in the South Carolina General Assembly; in the early 1860s, he was a delegate to the state's Secession Convention, and a signer of the Ordinance of Secession, whereby South Carolina withdrew from the United States, part of a chain of events leading to the American Civil War.
In November 1861, Edisto Island was evacuated. During the Civil War, both Union and Confederate forces used the cupola atop the Bleak Hall plantation house as a lookout. This house burned down during or shortly after the war, and a new one was built in a mix of Victorian styles. The war had disrupted property records, and Townsend was only able to establish his ownership of the combined plantations through an appeal to U.S. president Andrew Johnson.
Townsend died at Bleak Hall in 1881. The plantation continued to produce a valuable crop of Sea Island cotton until 1917, when the boll weevil reached Edisto Island. By the early 1920s, production of cotton had ceased, and the plantation was used for farming and timber production.
Botany Bay Plantation.
The Bleak Hall and Sea Cloud plantations remained in the Townsend family until 1933, when they were bought by Dr. James C. Greenway, part of the Lauder Greenway Family, who combined them to form Botany Bay Plantation.
In 1968, hotel and real estate magnate John E. "Jason" Meyer bought Botany Bay. An enthusiastic outdoorsman, Meyer bequeathed the plantation to the state of South Carolina as a wildlife preserve, but stipulated that should he predecease his wife Margaret, she would retain the use of the property. John Meyer died in 1977; his widow remarried as Margaret Pepper, and remained on the plantation, continuing to manage and improve the property for conservation purposes, until her death in 2007. In 2008, the property was opened to the public under the name "Botany Bay Plantation Heritage Preserve/Wildlife Management Area", managed by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
Historic preservation.
Bleak Hall outbuildings.
Three outbuildings from the Bleak Hall Plantation, thought to date from the 1840s, remain on the Botany Bay preserve. In 1973, the buildings were listed in the National Register of Historic Places, for their connection with John Townsend and as surviving examples of the Gothic Revival architecture used on the plantation.
One of these buildings is a 1 1/2-story icehouse, built out of wood on a partial basement with tabby walls. The building has a high gable roof oriented north-south; on the east and west sides are high triangular dormers, each with two pointed windows and a small balcony. Three-level wooden spires, topped with pendants, rise from the peaks of the gables and the dormers. The roof is slightly flared at the eaves. Barge boards cut in circular designs decorate the gable eaves; boards decorated with dentils run below the eaves on the east and west sides of the building. The north and south ends both have two doors: one at ground level and one in the gable. Two paneless windows closed by narrow shutters flank each of the lower-level windows. On the east and west sides of the building are mock Gothic doors and windows.
Near the icehouse is a small tabby building, thought to have been used as a gardener's shed and/or a smokehouse. The building has a single door and no windows. The roof is slightly bell-cast, clad with cypress shingles, and topped with a wood finial; a board decorated with large serrated dentils runs around the building below the eaves.
A short distance from these two buildings, near the site of the original Bleak Hall house, is another tabby building, thought to have been used as a barn during the Colonial period and subsequently used as an equipment shed. The building's high gable roof, oriented north-south, is clad in cypress shingles. A wooden spire topped with a pendant rises from each gable end. Barge boards decorated with dentils cover the gable eaves; boards decorated with serrations run below the east and west eaves. There are doors on the north and south sides.
Near the icehouse and the gardener's shed/smokehouse are the remnants of John Townsend's Japanese garden. When the Perry Expedition returned from the Orient in 1855, they were accompanied by one Oqui, variously described as a "Japanese botanist", a "Japanese gardener", and a Chinese florist and gardener. Learning of this, Townsend travelled to Washington, D.C., and persuaded Oqui to return to South Carolina with him, there to lay out extensive Oriental formal gardens. Remains of the gardens, including some of the exotic plants, survive into the early 21st century.
Other historic sites.
Twenty-one registered historic sites lie on Botany Bay Plantation WMA, including the remains of the Sea Cloud plantation house, the chimney of a slave house, and a beehive-shaped brick well originally built to provide water for the Sea Cloud slaves.
The Fig Island Shell Rings, with an age estimated at 3000–5000 years, are on the property; they are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Wildlife and habitat.
Botany Bay Plantation WMA includes a variety of habitats: of marine and estuarine wetlands, including of beachfront used for nesting by endangered loggerhead sea turtles and least terns; of upland, consisting chiefly of mixed pine-hardwood forest; and of agricultural fields, managed for dove hunting and as food plots for wildlife. A set of dikes creates freshwater and brackish ponds.


Brankelow Cottage

Brankelow Cottage, also known as Brankelow Folly and Brankelow House, is a folly on the Combermere Abbey estate, in Cheshire, England. It is listed at grade II. Dating from 1797, it was originally a model dairy and later a gamekeeper's cottage with attached kennels. Described by Nikolaus Pevsner and co-authors as a "charming eyecatcher," the folly is ornamented with battlements, pinnacles, pilasters, arrowslits and fancy brickwork.
History.
Brankelow Cottage was built in 1797 for Sir Robert Salusbury Cotton (c. 1739–1809). The architect is believed to be John Webb (1754–1828), who has also been suggested to have been the landscape designer used when Cotton landscaped Combermere Park in 1795–97. It was originally a model dairy. The building also contained a sitting room used in summer, whose decorations were done by the Cotton family daughters. It was subsequently used as a gamekeeper's cottage; the pavilions to each end were formerly used as dog kennels. It is now a folly.
Location.
Brankelow Cottage stands at on the west side of Comber Mere, on a rise approximately 300 metres south-east of the low-lying area of Brankelow Moss, within Combermere Park. It is around 500 metres across the lake from the former abbey, which lies to the east, and 500 metres from the memorial obelisk to Stapleton Cotton, Viscount Combermere. Combermere Park is privately owned and there is no public access.
Description.
The building is in red brick with ashlar dressings under a slate roof. It is cross shaped in plan, with both single- and two-storey portions. The main (lake-facing) front has a single storey with seven symmetrical bays, a central three-bay projection to the front, and pavilions to each end. The bays of the main face are separated by pilasters topped with stone finials, and the face is surmounted by a parapet with battlements; there are pinnacles at the corners. The windows to the main face have pointed arches with Tudor-style hood moulds over them. The pavilions have arrowslits and heart-shaped ornaments. Another central three-bay projection stands to the rear, which has two storeys. To each side of the rear projection are extensions dating from the 20th century, which have a circular quadrant plan. The building is further ornamented with fancy brickwork. The interior has a single elliptical room.
Nikolaus Pevsner and co-authors describe the building as a "charming eyecatcher." Historic England describes it as "the main eyecatcher at Combermere."


Banco Chinchorro

Banco Chinchorro is an atoll reef lying off the southeast coast of the Municipality of Othón P. Blanco in Quintana Roo, Mexico, near Belize. It was featured throughout the 2009 semi-documentary film "Alamar" by Pedro González-Rubio.
Geography.
The reef lies in Mexican waters offshore in the Caribbean Sea, or about east of the city of Chetumal. It is approximately long from north to south, and approximately wide at its widest point. It covers an area of . The atoll has three islands, with an aggregate land area of :
The natural vegetation of the islands is largely mangrove near the shore shading into open woodland more than from the shore. There is an American crocodile reserve on the southernmost (and biggest) island. The islands (in common with many isolated tropical islands) are thickly populated with small crabs, which are tame and can be trodden on inadvertently by visitors.
Some of the islands are inhabited by fishermen, who live in stilt houses about offshore to circumvent local regulations forbidding private construction.
Shipwrecks.
The reef is home to at least nine shipwrecks, including two Spanish Galleons. The names of the known wrecked ships are: SS "Caldera", SS "Escasell", SS "Far Star", SS "Ginger Screw", SS "Glen View", SS" Penelopez", SS "San Andreas", and SS "Tropic". There is also a large ferry from Cozumel that washed up on Chinchorro during Hurricane Wilma.


National nature reserve (France)

A national nature reserve, in French "réserve naturelle nationale", (RNN) is a protected area that is part of natural reserves of France (RNF) and whose status is defined by the law on local democracy of February 27, 2002. It is a tool for the long-term protection of spaces, species or geological objects. The duration of its protection is unlimited.
History.
In 1912, the first French nature reserve was created in Sept-Îles archipelago as a private ornithological reserve. It will be classified in 1976. In 1961, the first RNN created is Lake Luitel in Isère.
Legislation.
The Law n° 57-740 of July 1, 1957 amended the Law of May 2, 1930 by adding an article 8 bis allowing the classification of a site as a "nature reserve". It allowed the subsequent creation of national nature reserves by Law n ° 76-629 of July 10, 1976 relating to protection of nature. Afterwards, the law on local democracy of February 27, 2002 redefined their status by distinguishing between:
National nature reserves are classified by ministerial decree or by decree in the Council of State.
Inventory.
As of February 1, 2020, there are 167 national nature reserves covering 67,681,656 ha distributed in:
The smallest RNNs are Toarcien with 0.61 ha and Gravelle Cave with 1.37 ha
The largest are French Southern Territories with 67,200,000 ha, Nouragues with 100,000 ha, Kaw-Roura Marshes with 94,700 ha, La Trinité with 76,000 ha and High Plateaus of Vercors with 17,030 ha (the largest in mainland France).


USCGC Mesquite (WLB-305)

USCGC "Mesquite" (WAGL/WLB-305) was the lead ship in the Mesquite class of seagoing buoy tenders operated by the United States Coast Guard. She served in the Pacific during World War II, and spent the rest of her Coast Guard career in the Great Lakes. She ran aground and was wrecked in December 1989 off the Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior. She was scuttled nearby as a recreational diving attraction.
Construction and characteristics.
"Mesquite" was built at the Marine Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company yard in Duluth, Minnesota. Her keel was laid down on August 20, 1942. The ship was launched on November 14, 1942. She was christened by Mrs. Jessie L. Tyler, wife of Lieutenant Commander Gaines A. Tyler, chief inspector for the Coast Guard at the Duluth shipyard. Her original cost was $874,798.
Her hull was constructed of welded steel plates framed with steel I-beams. As originally built, "Mesquite" was long, with a beam of , and a draft of . Her displacement was 935 tons. While her overall dimensions remained the same over her career, the addition of new equipment raised her displacement to 1,025 tons by the end of her Coast Guard service.
She was designed to perform light ice-breaking. Her hull was reinforced with an "ice belt" of thicker steel around her waterline to protect it from punctures. Similarly, her bow was reinforced and shaped to ride over ice in order to crush it with the weight of the ship. In 1968 Mesquite was fitted with an experimental "sea plow" called the "Alexbow" to enhance her icebreaking capabilities. This device was long, wide, and tall. It was attached by cables to the ship's bow which fit into a v-notch at the plow's stern. There were a number of problems with the experimental device and the design was not adopted by the Coast Guard.
"Mesquite" had a single stainless-steel five-blade propeller driven by a diesel-electric propulsion system. Two Cooper-Bessemer GND-8 4-cycle 8-cylinder Diesel engines produced 700 horsepower each. They provided power to two Westinghouse generators. The electricity from the generators ran a 1200 horsepower Westinghouse electric motor which turned the propeller.
She had a single cargo boom which had the ability to lift 20 tons onto her buoy deck.
The ship's fuel tanks had a capacity of approximately ". Mesquite's" unrefueled range was at 13 knots, at 12 knots, and at 8.3 knots. Her potable water tanks had a capacity of . Considering dry storage capacity and other factors, her at-sea endurance was 21 days.
Her wartime complement was 6 officers and 74 enlisted men. By 1964 this was reduced to 5 officers, 2 warrant officers, and 42 enlisted personnel.
"Mesquite" was armed with a 3"/50 caliber gun mounted behind the pilot house. She also had two 20mm guns, one mounted on top of the wheelhouse and one on the aft deck. Two racks of depth charges were also mounted on the aft deck. All of this armament was removed when she returned to the Great Lakes in 1947. The Rush-Bagot Treaty with Canada had largely demilitarized the lakes leaving "Mesquite" with only small arms for law enforcement actions.
At the time of construction, "Mesquite" was designated WAGL, an auxiliary vessel, lighthouse tender. The designation was system was changed in 1965, and she was redesignated WLB, an oceangoing buoy tender. Her namesake is the Mesquite tree of the southwest United States.
World War II service.
Upon the completion of her fitting out and sea trials, "Mesquite" sailed from Duluth to the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland to have her armament and sensors installed. She was commissioned there on August 27, 1943. Her first, brief assignment was to the Coast Guard's 5th District, which was responsible for the mid-Atlantic coast. Within a month she was slated for service in the Pacific and began a series of training exercises to prepare. "Mesquite" sailed through the Panama Canal arriving at Brisbane, Australia on February 29, 1944. She reached Milne Bay in New Guinea on April 16, 1944.
"Mesquite" was engaged in placing and maintaining aids to navigation in the Milne Bay Area for two months. On June 19, 1944 she arrived at Wakde Island less than a month after it was taken from the Japanese. She placed buoys in the area for two months and then moved on to Manus Island once again placing and maintaining buoys and other aids to navigation. By July 16, 1945 "Mesquite" was buoy tending in the Philippines. She spent the next year maintaining aids to navigation in the Philippines. She sailed back to the United States via Guam, and Hawaii, arriving at San Francisco on August 12, 1947.
Great Lakes service.
After returning from the Pacific, "Mesquite's" first home port was Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, where she arrived on December 5, 1947. Her primary mission was maintaining aids to navigation. Much of her activity was driven by the annual advance and retreat of heavy winter ice on the Great Lakes. Buoys were brought to port in the fall to prevent them from being damaged, sunk, or set adrift by ice. Buoys were cleaned, repaired, and repainted over the winter and redeployed by the ship in the spring.
Her second mission was icebreaking, a service she performed throughout her career. One aspect of her icebreaking work was to free ships that became trapped in the ice. In April 1960, for example, the tankers "Edward G. Seubert" and "Clark Milwaukee" became frozen-in on their way to Green Bay. "Mesquite" cut a track into the port, widened it, and then broke the ice near the immobilized ships to allow them to move into the broken track. The entire round trip from Green Bay, including breaking out the two tankers took nine hours. A second icebreaking role was to escort ships through the ice, breaking a channel for the ship following her. "Mesquite" was engaged on this task on April 18, 1958 when she led three Canada Steamship Lines ships through the ice in Whitefish Bay. A third icebreaking activity was to clear shipping lanes for future ship traffic.  "Mesquite" cleared ice in the Straits of Mackinac, Lake Michigan, and the Saint Claire River. She also participated in "Operation Oil Can" over several winters. This program engaged several cutters in icebreaking channels for tankers transporting fuel to Great Lakes ports.
"Mesquite" participated in numerous search and rescue missions. For example, in November 1956 the 7,300-ton freighter "J.P. Wells" lost her rudder in a storm with 30-foot seas. "Mesquite" steamed out into Lake Superior to render assistance. She was able to get lines across to the disabled ship twice, but both parted. She radioed for help and together with USCGC "Mackinaw" was able to tow "J.P. Wells" to Sault Ste. Marie for repairs. In 1963 Mesquite and a tug towed the grounded freighter "Exiria" off the rocks. She was laden with 500 tons of cheese embarked at Green Bay. In August of that year the ship rescued a family of five whose sailboat had been wrecked on an uninhabited island. In September of 1974, "Mesquite" rescued five people aboard a small powerboat that had been adrift for two days with engine problems and a dead battery. She not only rescued the passengers, but also craned the boat up on to the buoy deck before heading back to port.
"Mesquite" was pressed into service as a fire-fighter several times in her career. Perhaps the most dramatic case occurred in January 1973. The port engine on the tanker "Venus" exploded and caught fire, killing one of her engineers. "Mesquite" went to the ship's aid and was able to extinguish the engine room fire in a matter of hours. She earned the Coast Guard Unit Commendation for this event.
In 1959 "Mesquite" was assigned to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. She replaced USCGC "Hollyhock" (WAGL-220) there. Her career at Sturgeon Bay was similar to that at Sault Ste. Marie with the seasonal removal and replacement of buoys, frequent calls for ice breaking over the winter, and the occasional vessel in distress. On April 10, 1964, though, it was "Mesquite" that needed a rescue. She was placing buoys at the beginning of spring, as she had for years. That year, however, Lake Michigan was at an unusually low level. At 11 am "Mesquite" went aground on Eleven-Foot Shoal in Green Bay and ripped a twelve-foot gash in her hull. The flooding reached five feet deep in her engine room and shut down the ship's engines and generators. The tug sent to pull her off the reef went aground, too, another victim of low water levels. "Mesquite's" crew placed a temporary patch on the hull to stop the flooding, so there was no danger of sinking. USCGC "Sundew" arrived on scene the next day and towed the tug off the reef. Then the two ships cooperated in towing "Mesquite" free. "Mesquite" went into dry dock at Sturgeon Bay for repairs.
In 1972, USCGC "Woodbine", based in Grand Haven, Michigan, was decommissioned. "Mesquite" was assigned responsibility for "Woodbine's" fleet of buoys. She also inherited some of "Woodbine's" equipment.
In June 1976 she sailed for Portland, Maine. "Mesquite's" crew was transferred to the newly renovated USCGC "Acacia" at Curtis Bay. They sailed their new ship back to Sturgeon Bay where "Acacia" replaced "Mesquite". Meanwhile, "Mesquite" went into the Coast Guard Yard for her own renovation. Her engines were overhauled and a bow thruster was added to improve the ship's maneuverability.
At the completion of the work in the fall of 1977, "Mesquite" was manned by the crew of USCGC "Sundew", which was entering the Coast Guard Yard for her renovation cycle. They sailed the ship back to "Sundew's" old homeport, Charlevoix, Michigan. The juggling of ships and crews continued in 1978 as the Coast Guards buoy tender renovation program progressed. USCGC "Woodrush" was due for renovation, so her crew was swapped with "Mesquite's". "Mesquite" sailed for Duluth to replace "Woodrush." In June 1980 "Mesquite" was ordered back to Charlevoix, and traded crews with "Sundew" which was home-ported in Duluth. This was "Mesquite's" last change of home ports.
In 1984, in cooperation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hatcheries and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, "Mesquite" released 210,000 lake trout fingerlings on offshore reefs in Lake Michigan. It was hoped that fish released in the middle of the lake would have a higher survival rate than those released along the shore. In another cooperative venture, "Mesquite" set and retrieved weather buoys for NOAA.
On November 26, 1984 "Mesquite" sailed from Charlevoix bound for Grenada. Operation Urgent Fury, the United States invasion of Grenada had been launched the previous month. She reached Grenada on December 25, 1984 via Halifax, Bermuda, and San Juan. Her primary mission was law enforcement patrols, but it became clear her services were not needed in Grenada. She headed back to Miami about February 1, 1985. She participated in a number of drug seizures and humanitarian missions while in Florida waters. She met USCGC "Gallatin" towing a fishing boat loaded with of marijuana, which she had seized. "Mesquite" took up the tow, and turned the contraband and the six-man crew over to law enforcement authorities in Miami. She returned to Charlevoix on April 7, 1985, just in time to begin her usual task of resetting buoys in the spring. The ship also deployed to Florida waters during the winter of 19881989 for law enforcement duties. She boarded twenty vessels while on patrol. She arrived back in Charlevoix on April 5, 1989, in time to replace her buoys.
Loss of "Mesquite".
By the late 1980s the World War II-vintage buoy tender fleet on the Great Lakes had become mechanically unreliable. Coast Guard budget constraints sometimes slowed or deferred needed maintenance. It became common for ships to service not only their own fleet of buoys, but those of broken-down buoy tenders as well. At various times "Mesquite" was assigned to take care of buoys for "Acacia", "Bramble", and "Sundew". Commandant of the Coast Guard Admiral Paul A. Yost, Jr. characterized this practice as "somewhat dangerous". Since buoys often mark shoals, rocks, and other hazards to navigation, tending buoys necessarily brings a cutter close to these dangers. When tending buoys assigned to a different cutter, the lack of previous experience can increase the risk.
The higher risk became manifest in December 1989. "Mesquite" began her usual duties picking up her buoys before advancing ice could damage them. USCGC "Sundew" was late coming out of shipyard repairs, so "Mesquite" was once again tasked with removing some of her buoys as well. "Mesquite" picked up 25 of her buoys and headed to Lake Superior to pick up "Sundew's". She retrieved at least 35 before she pulled the light buoy which marked the shoal off Keweenaw Point. With the buoy aboard, she got underway. At approximately 2:10 am on December 4, 1989 she ran onto the shoal and went aground. The hull was pierced, but the pumps were able to keep pace with the incoming water. Wind and waves were moderate, but enough to pound the ship on the rocks. After three hours, the flooding became uncontrollable. The captain ordered "Mesquite" abandoned at 6:17 am and the crew was safely evacuated. Three suffered minor injuries. The crew was taken aboard a passing cargo vessel, "Mangal Desai," which had responded to "Mesquite's" distress calls.
USCGC "Acacia", USCGC "Katmai Bay", and CCGS "Samuel Risley" responded to the scene. Up to of oil containment boom was deployed to capture a diesel fuel leak from "Mesquite". High winds and waves up to battered the grounded ship on December 8 and 9, damaging the hull further, tearing off her rudder, and toppling her mast. The Coast Guard concluded at this point that the ship could not be salvaged in winter conditions. Instead, efforts were made to pump off the remaining fuel, salvage high value equipment, and seal the ship for the winter. On January 4, 1990 the Coast Guard announced that it would decommission "Mesquite" on January 31, 1990. Her damage was so great that it would not be worth attempting to restore her to service.
The captain of "Mesquite" chose to stand for court-martial after the grounding, rather than resign. In September of 1990 he was found guilty of hazarding his vessel, but was acquitted of dereliction of duty. In January 1991, the appeal of his conviction was rejected.
Causes.
Investigations subsequent to the loss of "Mesquite" identified a number of factors which may have contributed to the grounding. The crew of Mesquite had never tended this buoy before and thus was not familiar with the area. It was a dark, overcast night, eliminating any visual references. GPS was unavailable, LORAN was inaccurate, radar was insufficiently precise, other navigational aids in the area were unlit, and the chart of the area had an inappropriate scale. In short, it was difficult to tell precisely where the ship was in relation to the shoal. The bright lights on the buoy deck hurt the crew's night vision. There was no lookout posted on the flying bridge who might have seen or heard waves breaking on the shoal. The officer of the deck failed to confirm the ship's location before getting underway and the captain failed to review the officer's work.
Additional issues were identified as potentially preventing the ship from promptly refloating after the grounding. The ship was not aggressively lightened. Fifty tons of fresh water were not pumped overboard. She retained her anchors and chain as well as the 7 tons of buoys she had recovered. Only a limited attempt was made to back off the shoal and the bow thruster was not used. Some of the crew exhibited signs of panic.
Salvage and sinking.
The Coast Guard believed that storms and ice would break-up the stranded "Mesquite", transforming her into an environmental and navigational hazard. It determined to remove her during the summer of 1990 while the ship was mostly intact. There were three options considered for the hulk after it was removed from the shoal. First, it could be scrapped. Second, it could be repaired and returned to service, but at an estimated cost of $44 million, this option was quickly discarded. Third, it could be scuttled not far from the grounding and become a recreational diving attraction.
There were several issues with the diving proposal, all of which revolved around liability. There were concerns that fuel, oil, or other toxic substances would leak from the wreck. There were concerns that lawsuits might result from divers injured on the wreck. The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community was concerned that the wreck would interfere with fish spawning. The Coast Guard was not willing to shoulder this liability, as recreational diving sites are not part of its mission. Secretary of Transportation Samuel Skinner, who supervised the Coast Guard, offered to donate the wreck to the State of Michigan in April 1990, but the state had its own concerns about liability. An agreement was struck in early May 1990 and "Mesquite" was donated to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for the proposed Keweenaw Underwater Preserve as an attraction for recreational divers.
After the storm of December 8 and 9, 1989, salvors concluded that she could not be patched, pumped out, and refloated. The wreck would have to be lifted off the shoal and carried to her sinking site. To achieve this lift, a barge was chartered and a pair of lowering trusses originally used by Shell Oil for platform construction at its COGNAC oil field in the Gulf of Mexico were mounted on it. The heavy-lift barge was towed from Port Newark, New Jersey to Lake Superior during May 1990.
In preparation for scuttling, salvors stripped Mesquite of valuable parts, including the propeller, cargo boom, and anchor windlass which the Coast Guard wanted for its stores. Much loose material was hauled off. Most of the superstructure was cut away. Remaining fuel, oil, paint, and other toxic material was removed. Flooded compartments of the ship were either pumped out or blown out with compressed air to reduce the wreck's weight. Finally, on July 14, 1990 "Mesquite" was lifted off its ledge. When her full weight was carried by the trusses, the heavy-lift barge had less than of clearance to the bottom of the lake. After "Mesquite" was off the bottom, the wreck and barge were winched out of the shallow water. Once clear of the shoal, they were towed to the sinking site about away in Keystone Bay. The wreck was lowered to the bottom in of water. The total cost of the removal process was approximately $2 million.
Legacy.
The Coast Guard reassigned "Acacia" to Charlevoix, Michigan to replace "Mesquite". There was no replacement cutter for "Acacia", however, reducing the number of buoy tenders in the Great Lakes from five to four. The Coast Guard justified the move based on cost savings, but others attributed it to the influence of U.S. Representative Bob Davis, who represented Charlevoix in Congress. He was vice-chairman of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee which had jurisdiction over the Coast Guard. The move left ill-feeling in Grand Haven, "Acacia's" previous base.
The Keweenaw Underwater Preserve was created and "Mesquite" became one of its most popular attractions for recreational divers. Not all were respectful, and the ship was stripped of many artifacts shortly after she was scuttled. Artifacts from the "Mesquite" are on display at the Maritime Museum at Eagle Harbor Lighthouse in Eagle Harbor Michigan.


Seward Highway

The Seward Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska that extends from Seward to Anchorage. It was completed in 1951 and runs through the scenic Kenai Peninsula, Chugach National Forest, Turnagain Arm, and Kenai Mountains. The Seward Highway is numbered Alaska Route 9 (AK-9) for the first from Seward to the Sterling Highway and AK-1 for the remaining distance to Anchorage. At the junction with the Sterling Highway, AK-1 turns west towards Sterling and Homer. About of the Seward Highway leading into Anchorage is built to freeway standards. In Anchorage, the Seward Highway terminates at an intersection with 5th Avenue, which AK-1 is routed to, and which then leads to the Glenn Highway freeway.
Route description.
The full length of the Seward Highway has been listed on the National Highway System (NHS), a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility. The segment designated AK-9 between Seward and Tern Lake Junction is part of the STRAHNET subsystem, highways that are important to defense policy and which provide defense access, continuity and emergency capabilities for defense purposes. The remainder that follows AK-1 is also designated Interstate A-1 (A-1) and included in the NHS on that basis. The state's Interstate Highways are not required to comply with Interstate Highway standards, instead "shall be designed in accordance with such geometric and construction standards as are adequate for current and probable future traffic demands and the needs of the locality of the highway" under federal law. The highway is maintained by the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (Alaska DOT&PF), and the A-1 designation is not signed along the highway. In 2010, 2,520 vehicles used the highway near the junction with Sterling Highway in a measure of the annual average daily traffic, the lowest tally along the highway. The highest traffic count as recorded by Alaska DOT&PF was 58,799 vehicles daily at the Dowling Road overpass in Anchorage. In 2012, Life magazine included the Seward Highway in its list of Most Scenic Drives in the World.
Seward to Bear Creek.
The Seward Highway begins at an intersection with Railway Avenue, in Seward, less than from Resurrection Bay. At this point, the Seward Highway is two lanes, with a parking lane on each side. The Seward Highway is designated as AK-9 at this point of the route. The highway continues through downtown Seward and residential areas. The highway continues past the Seward Airport and Exit Glacier road, before entering the unincorporated community of Bear Creek. Just after entering Bear Creek, a series of tracks belonging to the Alaska Railroad comes alongside the roadway. These railroad tracks continue on with the Seward Highway until Moose Pass, return near a junction with the Portage Glacier Highway, and remain until the highway becomes a freeway, in southern Anchorage. The Seward Highway proceeds through central Bear Creek, passing Bear Lake, until entering Chugach National Forest.
Chugach National Forest.
The Seward Highway enters the Chugach National Forest just after its start. The highway enters the Chugach National Forest while it is still part of the Bear Creek community, so it gives the appearance of still being inside that census-designated place. After a mile or so (1.6 km) though, the area surrounding the highway begins to look more like a national forest. The Alaska Railroad weaves back and forth under the highway, which causes the highway to traverse a series of small bridges. For a few miles after the bridges, the Seward Highway is a four-lane road, but then merges back to two lane. After passing through about of forest, the highway passes Primrose Spur Road, and enters Primrose. For the next five or so miles (8 km), the route runs alongside Kenai Lake. At the northern end of Kenai Lake, the route passes through Crown Point, and provides access to a large campground. The highway runs alongside the Trail Creek for about , before passing the settlement of Moose Pass. The road continues, passing along Upper Trail Lake for a few miles, before returning to the dense forest, and passing a large mountain range. After a few more miles, the road passes the Tern Lake Junction, and intersects with Alaska Route 1 (AK-1) (also known as the Sterling Highway), where Alaska Route 9 terminates, and the Seward Highway is designated to AK-1.
It is at this point that the road begins to climb into the actual mountains to approach Turnagain Pass. For several miles, the roadway continues through large, Alaskan pine forests. After approximately , the highway passes Summit Lake, and provides access to another large campground. The road then continues through a large mountain range on either side of the highway. After about , the route intersects the Hope Highway, which provides access to the city of Hope, and the highway reenters forest. The roadway continues through forest for a brief period, and again enters the mountains. The route continues through the mountains for about more, before reaching the Turnagain Arm. Just after reaching the Turnagain Arm, the highway enters the city limits of Anchorage (and remains within Anchorage proper for the remainder of its route). After intersecting the Portage Glacier Highway the Alaska Railroad tracks again come alongside the route. The highway continues through the Chugach National Forest for approximately , passing the Turnagain Arm to the west, and the Kenai Mountains to the east. It then exits the Chugach National Forest, having spent approximately inside its boundaries.
Girdwood to Anchorage.
After the highway exits the National Forest, it continues for about through pine forest, before passing the community of Girdwood. After about a mile, the highway enters Chugach State Park. The road continues through forest for about more, before passing the small skiing village of Bird. The route reenters the park for about a mile, before entering the village of Indian, and then reentering the forest. The Seward Highway passes along the coast of Cook Inlet for about , with the Kenai Mountains running along the northern side. The highway then proceeds to enter the central part of Anchorage. The highway intersects Old Seward Highway, before becoming a four-lane freeway. The freeway's first exit is, in fact, for Old Seward Highway. The freeway continues past several neighborhoods, a plant nursery, and Rabbit Creek Elementary School.
At an exit for De Armoun Road, the highway's frontage road begins. The freeway continues past dozens of neighborhoods, a few small businesses, and provides exits for a few small roads, including the Minnesota Drive Expressway. After the exit for Abbott Road, part of the frontage road terminates. The route then passes through a more commercial area of Anchorage, passing several warehouses. At the freeway's final exit, for Tudor Road, the rest of the frontage roads either begin or terminate. The freeway ends at the highway's intersection with East 36th Avenue. About a half a mile (1 km) later, the highway splits into Ingra Street (northbound), and Gambell Street (southbound). The Seward Highway officially reaches its northern terminus at an intersection with 5th Avenue. AK-1 continues on for a short period as 5th Avenue, before becoming known as the Glenn Highway.
History.
An stretch of the Seward Highway, traveling from Seward to Kenai Lake was completed in 1923. Another segment of the highway, running between Moose Pass and Hope, was completed in 1928. The Mile 18 bridge, nicknamed "The Missing Link", which would connect the Seward and Moose Pass portions, was not completed until 1946, which was a major cause of the delayed completion of the highway. The roadway was completed on October 19, 1951, connecting Seward to the major city of Anchorage by road for the first time (Seward was previously reached by sea, rail, or air). The entire length of the highway was paved in 1952. During the 1964 Alaska earthquake, about of the Seward Highway sank below the high water mark of Turnagain Arm; the highway and its bridges were raised and rebuilt in 1964–66.
The highway was designated a National Forest Scenic Byway by the United States Forest Service on September 8, 1989. Later, the State of Alaska added it to the State Scenic Byway system on January 29, 1993. The final designation was added on June 15, 2000, when the Seward Highway was named an All-American Road as part of the National Scenic Byway program by the United States Secretary of Transportation. The length of the highway traveling from the AK-1 and AK-9 intersection to the northern terminus is designated as Interstate A-3 by the National Highway System.
In July 2016, Alaska DOT&PF officials posted updated speed limits on a section of the Seward Highway south of Anchorage between Hope Junction to the top of Turnagain Pass. The limit in the right lane is , while that in the left lane is . The project is designed to enhance safety and improve congestion by enforcing passing lane usage.
In 2017, Alaska DOT&PF announced a four-year Milepost 75–90 Rehabilitation Project, scheduled to begin in 2018, to make major safety improvements to a busy crash-prone section of the Seward Highway from Girdwood to beyond the Portage curve toward Turnagain Pass ending at Ingram Creek. In July 2015 a tour bus crash at milepost 79 killed one man and critically injured several others, causing a 10-hour traffic jam. During the summer months, up to 15,000 vehicles use this stretch of Seward Highway daily.
Interstate Highway System.
Seward Highway is part of the unsigned part of the Interstate Highway System as Interstate A-3.
U.S. Bicycle Route 97.
United States Bicycle Route 97 is a U.S. Bicycle Route located along Alaska Route 1. The bike route runs alongside the Seward Highway along the entire length of the highway. The bike route was created in 2011.
Old Seward Highway.
The Old Seward Highway is a nearly former routing of the Seward Highway. The road is located entirely within the corporate limits of Anchorage, with a southern terminus near the Potter Section House, and a northern terminus in the Midtown neighborhood. Both of this highway's termini are points on the Seward Highway. The highway was created in 1951, along with most of the current Seward Highway.
The Old Seward Highway begins at an intersection with Potter Valley Road, less than 500 feet from Potter Valley Road's own terminus with the (new) Seward Highway. From there, Old Seward Highway curves along the east side of Potter Marsh opposite the New Seward Highway (on the west side) before intersecting Rabbit Creek Road, again less than a 1/4 mile from the New Seward Highway, which is at this point a four-lane freeway. From there, Old Seward Highway travels northwest over the New Seward Highway and through the neighborhood of Oceanview. The route bends north, running parallel to the New Seward Highway. The roadway intersects O'Malley Road and continues northward through the Campbell/Taku neighborhood. The road proceeds north into Midtown, traveling through the neighborhood to the highway's northern terminus, an intersection with 33rd Avenue near the Moose's Tooth Pub and Pizzeria. An exit ramp from the New Seward Highway serves as the beginning of the southbound lanes.
The Old Seward Highway was created in 1951, as part of the original routing of the Seward Highway. Beginning in 1976, the state of Alaska designated three projects to reroute a large portion of the Seward Highway. This rerouting would bypass the section of the highway that is now the Old Seward Highway. The final portion of the rerouting was completed in early June 1998.


Caverna do Maroaga Environmental Protection Area

The Caverna do Maroaga Environmental Protection Area () is an environmental protection area in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. It contains caves and waterfalls that have tourist potential if the infrastructure were provided.
Location.
The Caverna do Maroaga Environmental Protection Area is in the municipality of Presidente Figueiredo, Amazonas.
It has an area of .
The APA protects the southwest shore of the reservoir of the Balbina Dam, covering the area between highway BR-174 and the reservoir, and including land on both sides of the AM-240 highway that leads from BR-174 to the dam structure in the south.
The Uatumã River, which drains the dam, forms the eastern boundary of the APA.
The Uatumã Biological Reserve protects the land on the northeast side of the reservoir.
The APA adjoins the Waimiri Atroari Indigenous Territory to the north.
The APA includes parts of the basins of the Urubu, Uatumã and Abonari rivers, and contains two sub-tributaries of the Pardo River, the Canoas and Canastra streams.
The Rio Urubu State Forest is to the south of the APA.
History.
The Caverna do Maroaga Environmental Protection Area (APA) was created by state decree 12.836 of 9 March 1990.
The APA was created to preserve the speleological heritage of the municipality, with or without direct use by tourists.
The boundaries were adjusted by decree 16.364 of 7 December 1994.
It became part of the Central Amazon Ecological Corridor, established in 2002.
The deliberative council was created on 1 January 2009, and its regulations were approved on 18 January 2010.
Environment.
The caves in the area are in the oldest geological formation of the north of the Brazilian Amazon.
The cave that gives the APA its name is itself named after a Waimiri-Atroari leader who is said to have taken refuge there in the 1960s during construction of BR-174.
There is evidence of prehistoric people in the Maroaga cave.
Vegetation is dense rainforest with emergent trees typical of terra firma.
There is also open campina forest and igapó forest.
96% of the vegetation is dense rainforest, 3% open rainforest and 1% campinarana-rainforest contact.
Flora include species of orchids and bromeliads.
There is a diverse vertebrate fauna including Guyanan red howler ("Alouatta macconnelli"), red-handed tamarin ("Saguinus midas"), jaguar ("Panthera onca"), margay ("Leopardus wiedii"), neotropical otter ("Lontra longicaudis"), giant otter ("Pteronura brasiliensis"), harpy eagle ("Harpia harpyja") and Guianan cock-of-the-rock ("Rupicola rupicola").
The Guianan cock-of-the-rock is prized by wildlife traffickers.
The APA is notable for many species of bats.
Economy.
There are about 42 communities in the APA.
Agriculture is the main economic activity, including cultivation of banana, cassava, cocoa, rice, corn, cupuaçu and guaraná.
Other economic activities include cattle raising, logging, fishing and crafts for the Manaus market.
Commercially valuable tree species such as "Hymenolobium petraeum", bay, cedar and mahogany are used in construction and furniture manufacturing.
The many waterfalls and caves in the APA make it attractive to tourists.
The Porteira waterfall is a natural tourist attraction.
There is no security, surveillance, lodgings or restaurants near the waterfalls that form the main tourist attractions, and some environmental damage is caused by the visitors.


Cave Without a Name

The Cave Without a Name is a limestone solutional cave in the Texas Hill Country region of central Texas. It is a National Natural Landmark.
The cave is located from downtown San Antonio, and 10 miles northeast of Boerne off FM 474 and Kreutzberg Road. It has been commercially operated as a show cave and open for public tours since 1939. It is a member of the National Cave Association.
History.
Although the cave has been open to the environment for many tens of thousands of years, as evidenced by numerous prehistoric animal finds discovered there, known human contact with the cave began only in the early 20th century, when a small farm animal became trapped in the small external opening of the cave, known as a sinkhole. The cave went largely unnoticed again until the 1920s during the era of Prohibition when a small moonshine distillery was installed in the uppermost cavern. It again fell into obscurity until three local farm children rediscovered the sinkhole in 1935. These children are believed to be the first who actually entered the main chambers of the cave.
After the rediscovery, Jim Horn, the original owner of the property decided to open it as a commercial venture. The show cave received its name after its official opening in 1939, as verified by a news paper article that hangs in the Cave's gift shop, in a state-wide contest held in 1940. A young boy suggested that the cave "was too beautiful to have a name", and so he received the 250 dollar cash prize awarded. The second owner of the Cave Without A Name, Eugene Ebell, renamed the cave "Century Caverns" in the late 1950s, but after several years of grief from the locals, Mr. Ebell changed the name back to Cave Without A Name.
Cave Without a Name was declared a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service in February 2009.
Description.
Built in 1939, the stairwell into the cave has 126 steps descending to approximately 90 feet below the surface. The cave maintains a constant temperature of 66 degrees all year round. Within the cave there are two main areas. The main set of chambers open to the public make up the show cave, extending just over a quarter of a mile. This part of the cave consists of 6 large, well-lit rooms full of speleothems including stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, columns, and draperies. The second main area of the cave is an extensive set of caverns linked to the underground extension of the Guadalupe River. During a 1975 expedition of the Cave Without A Name, cavers mapped out over 2.7 miles of caverns, making it the 7th longest cave in Texas. The cave is currently being remapped by a team of researchers from Texas State University.
Due to the great natural acoustics created by 3 large solution domes on the ceiling of the large Queen's Throne room, the cave is host to 8-12 concerts each year, with attendances of up to 200 people. Some of the more common types of concerts consist of vocals, native American flute music, and Tibetan singing bowls. Some other unique features of the cave include the set of rimstone dams beneath the natural spring-fed pool, the draperies referred to by the cave's tour guides as "Texas-sized cave bacon", and a collection of stalagmites that resemble the nativity scene. In the winter months, the cave becomes home for between 5-10 dozen eastern pipistrelle bats. The seasonal inhabitants do not interfere with the tours as they only use the cave for hibernation. Another resident of the cave is a rare blind Texas salamander known as the Kendall County salamander that may only be found in the Cave Without A Name and another area cave, Cascade Caverns.
In addition to tours of the Cave Without A Name, , guests to the 187 acre property have access to over a mile of hiking trails, a scavenger hunt, gem panning, geocaches, picnic tables, camp grounds, and a sculpture garden. Some activities are at an additional fee. The gift shop has a large selection of rocks, stones and fossils for sale, including numerous Amethyst cathedrals, jewelry, and more. There is also a large selection of geodes, both cut and uncut as well as a geode cutter onsite.
Accident.
On April 30, 2007, Thomas Summers III died in a nearby, connected cave known as Dead Man's Cave. Thomas Summers was the manager of Cave Without a Name and the son of the third and current owner of the cave, Thomas Summers, II. He and another park employee Brent Holbert had gone into Dead Man's Cave to investigate why water from recent rains was not draining from Cave Without a Name. They swam into Dead Man's Cave where at times there was only two inches of breathing room. The two separated when Holbert decided not to go any further because of the danger and told Summers "let's get the hell out of here". Summers chose to go a few yards further and shortly thereafter Holbert reported hearing sounds of distress and after receiving no response from several shouts he exited the cave to call for help. Thomas Summers' body was recovered by cavers experienced in cave diving a few hours later. This is the 2nd documented death within the Cavern system.