Deep under San Antonio lies a long-forgotten piece of history.
Robber Baron Cave was a tourist attraction until it was sealed off decades ago.
But with the help of a scientist doing new research, Randy Beamer takes you deep inside the historic cave.
Joe Mitchell and I are all suited up in caving gear, with boots, elbow and knee pads, gloves, and miner's helmets with lights on top. On Joe it looks natural. Me -- not so much. Maybe it's because Joe is a scientist in his day job and his passion is "caving."
Caving is what the hardcore call the sport and science of exploring caves -- which some still call spelunking. But Joe is about to be more of a tour guide, giving me a history and science lesson of a cave he's been researching for some time.
In fact, Joe just re-drew the map of San Antonio's Robber Baron Cave, using old surveys, measurements he's taken himself, and new computer software. And he continues digging into the unusual history of it using newly available documents -- many of them old newspaper archives digitally scanned and made searchable by computer.
Over a picnic table in the landscaped lot above the entrance, Joe points out different features of the cave which lies 40-60 feet beneath our feet. Here at the edge of the sinkhole leading down to the cave opening, was a concession stand decades ago.
A black and white photo documents that you could buy hot dogs and sodas there, back in the days when you could also pay 50 cents for a "tour."
But most people in San Antonio have never heard of it because since the 1930's the different owners have done their best to block off the entrance with metal gates, trash, even a concrete bunker. That bunker was finally blasted away a few years back and a non-profit group called the Texas Cave Management Association now operates it as a preserve.
And before you ask -- no -- it's still not open to the general public and not likely to be - ever. That's largely because of the threat of vandalism and people getting lost inside the maze of natural tunnels.
So there are more gates to keep out the curious, which Joe Mitchell unlocks to let me squeeze in. Just inside the entrance is an area about the size of a small office.
I'm optimistic, thinking this might not trigger any claustrophobia in me.
Joe assures me there are smaller challenges ahead. "We can show you a lot tighter areas in the cave,"Mitchell says. "There are passages just big enough for your body to go through and no bigger."
I had to ask.
A short time later I'm looking at a passage they describe as 18 inches high and three feet wide. To me that looks like a gross overestimation, but I'm committed to get the full caving experience.
I ask for any last bit of advice before hoisting myself into the shrinking void. "Thrash and flail," I thought I heard Joe say.
Excuse me? "Thrash and flail," he repeats, laughing. "It means get through however you can."
