Our New Braunfels Day Trip, Part 2: Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch.

Before we headed underground to check out the amazing Natural Bridge Caverns, we spent the morning exploring the wildlife safari next door at Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. While Ava had been twice before, they were both when she was two or younger, and she really enjoyed rediscovering it and interacting with all of the different animals! It was obviously Jack's first time, and we've certainly added another animal lover to our family, because he ate it all up! From feeding the goats to seeing the parrots and monkeys and lemurs on foot, to all of the safari animals during the drive through portion, he was in awe:

When we first arrived, we needed to stretch our legs after the drive down, and so we hopped out and checked out the petting zoo and walking portion of the Wildlife Ranch. The petting zoo and feeding the goats was a huge hit with both kiddos!

After we managed to feed the goats what amounted to a bags worth of food, we then explored a bit more - visiting the twin baby giraffes that are only the ninth documented set born in the world (!!), and hopped into the car for the drive through experience!

The park itself is separated by region, and the first portion was comprised of deer, elk, buffalo, yak, antelope, giraffe, and other similar creatures, and definitely was a great way to kick off the sightseeing!

From there, we then visited the Tower Plains addition that was new since our last visit, and added a couple miles to the experience!

We then made our way into the Kenyan Preserve, complete with zebras, ostriches, and more! 

We love getting up close with the animals, the kids especially, and Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch is the perfect place to see zoo-like animals in an up close and personal, one-of-a-kind experience!

Natural Bridge Caverns: A "Natural" Wonder in Central Texas.

We may not have the mountains and redwoods I was raised amongst in Central Texas, but we have many other gorgeous natural wonders to behold. One of my favorite things about Austin is all the greenery and bodies of water, directly in the middle of the urban sprawl, but another of my favorite landscapes happens underground, in the caves at Natural Bridge Caverns.

We recently took a day trip down to New Braunfels to visit both of the attractions at Natural Bridge: the Wildlife Safari, which I'll post about later this week, and the Natural Bridge Caverns, an underground network of caverns and formations. While I took Ava to visit caverns a couple of summers ago, she was two years old, and barely remembered the trip. This time, however, she was the perfect age for it, and loved exploring!

We arrived just in time to squeeze into a tour that began a few minutes later (tours depart approximately every forty minutes), so I strapped Jack into the Ergo*, and off we went with one of their very knowledgeable and friendly tour guides (*Let me just say here that, if you're planning to visit with a baby or toddler, a baby carrier is absolutely necessary! No way could I have managed keeping my tiny one in check during the stairs and inclines, nor could I have kept him from attempting to touch everything, without having him in the Ergo.)!

The tour began with a quick history of their formation and discovery, as well as our tour guide going over the rules with regards to touching (not allowed) and whatnot. Then, with a step down and into the climate controlled doors (the caverns are kept at 70 degrees and 99% humidity - see 'fro pictures for evidence...), we were off!

I won't share too many photos from down under here, because I don't want to ruin it for those of you who have yet to visit, but let me just say that all of us were impressed with what we saw. Every time I would snap a photo, thinking that surely this was the most beautiful spot in the caves, I would then round a corner or ascend a staircase and then see something even more spectacular! Here are a few of my favorite formations:

^^Ava looks psyched, right? LOL. She is currently going through an, "I don't want to smile in pictures" phase that I could certainly do without, but we had a great time, and managed to get this one blurry, awful photo of the four of us while 180 feet underground. Eh, they're not all gems, but at least the experience was amazing! 

Aside from the tours, Natural Bridge Caverns also has a gift shop, a canopy playscape and zip line, gold panning and more - definitely fun to be had for the entire family! 

You can find Natural Bridge Caverns roughly an hour South of Austin and half an hour North of downtown San Antonio at 26495 Natural Bridge Caverns Rd, 78266. 

Experience Natural Bridge Caverns and Save $2 off Adult & $1 off Child Tickets!

Naturally Amazing! Experience one of the world's premier caverns, Natural Bridge Caverns, located in San Marcos, Texas - just a short drive south of Austin! Take the Discovery Tour and see what millions of others have seen - an incredible underground world of natural beauty. This 75-minute tour explores a half-mile of the largest and most spectacular show cavern in Texas. The Hidden Passages Tour gives guests an up-close view of rare and delicate cave formations illuminated by a state-of-the-art lighting system and includes a total darkness experience. Pan for gems, minerals and fossils like miners panned for gold at the Natural Bridge Mining Company. Take on the Canopy Challenge--a 4-level, 60 foot high challenge course and zip lines! Climb, navigate and hang while secured from a safety harness before you "zip" over the Hill Country on one of 4 zip lines. Recently opened, Discovery Village has new food, beverage and retail spaces along with a beautiful courtyard and 5,000 square foot outdoor maze. Picnic grounds are also available for use, so bring a lunch and come explore! Natural Bridge Caverns is open year-round starting at 9am, with special hours in spring and summer.

My Readers Save $2 off an Adult and $1 off a Child's Discovery Tour ticket. Valid only on the Discovery Tour, cannot be combined with any other offer. Limit 6 per coupon. For More information on Natural Bridge Caverns, please visit http://www.naturalbridgecaverns.com