点评:Took my cousin's girls to this for an outdoor adventure before they returned to school. I researched this and felt this was one of the better places for viewing these bats in staggering numbers. They sent an e-mail with the recommend arrival time and we got caught with slow service at dinner and arrived a little late. They posted clear instructions on the gate, and we had no problem finding the cave parking location. The ranch road is paved for some of the way and nicely graded even after recent rains so a passenger car or my minivan had no issues getting there. As noted there are rocks that are positioned in a semicircle that function for chairs in a pinch. I would consider having bug spray in the car as the gnats were pretty rough until sunset. As sunset approaches these bugs settle in and they were a non-issue by the time the bats took flight which was a little late according to our guide. We had a great bat flight with a peregrine falcon and different several hawks hunting the first bats leaving the cave, but a late flight time and darkness limited that aerial show for us. Consider bringing binoculars if you have them not for the bats (they are close), for these birds that swoop in to get the bats. We had a steady stream of bats that they estimate continues for several hours after it starts. Our guide was informative and very knowledgeable. As a retired professional biologist, I can say I was impressed with his subject matter expertise, and I asked a few questions that may have stumped a less informed guide. The girls had a good experience and even asked to stay a bit longer than the bulk of the crowd to just enjoy the spectacle. I felt it was a great success since they did not grab their phones except to take photos, until we started walking to the parking lot. There is a little short paved walk that is pretty steep up from the parking lot but most people can make it as long as they take their time. Well worth it in my opinion. I am confident this is one of the better places for viewing this bewildering nightly bat flight in the Texas.
翻译:在表妹们返校之前,我带她们来这里体验了一次户外探险。我事先做过调查,觉得这里是观赏大量蝙蝠的最佳地点之一。他们发来邮件告知建议的到达时间,但我们晚餐时服务较慢,结果抵达得稍晚了一些。大门处有清晰的指引说明,我们很顺利就找到了停车场。牧场里的道路有一部分铺了柏油,即便最近下过雨,路面也依然平整,因此轿车或我的小型厢式车都能顺利到达。如前所述,那里有一些呈半圆形排列的石头,紧急情况下可以当作椅子使用。我建议在车上备些驱虫剂,因为在日落前蠓虫相当多。日落之后这些小虫子就安静下来了;等蝙蝠开始飞行时,它们就不再构成困扰了——不过据向导说,蝙蝠起飞的时间稍微有点晚。我们观赏到了一场精彩的捕猎场景:一只游隼和好几只鹰正在追逐刚从洞穴中飞出来的蝙蝠。不过由于时间已晚且天色变暗,我们没能看到完整的空中奇观。如果您手头有望远镜,不妨带上——并非为了看蝙蝠(它们就在近处),而是为了观察那些飞下来捕捉蝙蝠的猛禽。据估计,蝙蝠的飞出过程会持续数小时。我们的导游知识渊博,讲解也十分有趣。作为一名退休的专业生物学家,我必须说我对他的专业素养印象深刻。我还问了几个问题,这些问题或许会难倒那些知识储备不足的导游。孩子们的体验也很不错,甚至主动要求比大多数游客多待一会儿,只为好好欣赏眼前的景象。我觉得这次活动非常成功——除了拍照之外,他们根本没有掏出手机,直到我们开始走向停车场。从停车场上去有一段很短但相当陡峭的铺砌小径,不过只要慢慢走,大多数人都能顺利上去。在我看来,这一切都是值得的。我敢肯定,这里是德克萨斯州观赏夜间蝙蝠群飞现象的绝佳地点之一。