THAT’S MY JOB: Longhorn Cavern tour guide Jim Craig shares his knowledge and wonder
As a Longhorn Cavern tour guide, Jim Craig mixes his curiosity, personability, and wonderment into memorable experiences for visitors. In just three years, the 65-year-old has guided more than 2,500 cave tours at Longhorn Cavern State Park in Burnet County. Photos by Daniel Clifton
After guiding more than 2,500 tours of Longhorn Cavern, it would be easy for Jim Craig to simply “call it in” and coast through his job. But that’s just not how this 65-year-old retiree rolls.
Craig’s desire to connect with people and his sense of curiosity fuels each trip he takes into the depths of the earth at Longhorn Cavern State Park near Burnet. It’s not just about giving people their money’s worth when they take an underground tour; it’s about giving them an experience, something they’ll remember for days, weeks, and even years to come.
He does this with a mix of humor, personal connection, and knowledge fed by an insatiable curiosity.
Craig discovered his second career as a cave tour guide almost by accident. After retiring from the railroad and trucking industry, he and his wife moved to Burnet so they could be closer to their granddaughters. One day, they decided to take their dog for a walk and ended up at Longhorn Cavern State Park on Park Road 4.
Craig initially expected a second-rate tourist trap. What he found was a world-class wonder.
“I mean, this place is incredible,” he said. “So I walked inside and said, ‘Are you hiring?’”
Two days later, Craig began his training. About a week after that, he started leading tours.
Despite having led more than 2,500 tours over the past 3½ years, Craig sees something new every time he goes into the cave. About a year ago, he was on a tour when he wondered what it would look like under a black light. He took a high-powered, handheld black light down below, turned off all of the other lights, and stood in amazement.
“All the formations just explode off the wall,” he said.
The black light uncovered aspects of the cavern that couldn’t be seen any other way. In January, Longhorn Cavern State Park held the first black light tour. They are now regularly scheduled as the first tour every Saturday.
Even with the things Craig learns about the cave, what means the most is what he learns about the people. He doesn’t just show up five seconds before the tour; he gets to the guest meeting location well ahead of schedule to greet each person.
Craig uses this time to get to know everyone a bit more. Even a tidbit someone shares might be brought up later in the cave to make sure that person or small group feels included and important.
Here’s what Craig had to say about his job at Longhorn Cavern State Park.
Jim Craig, tour guide
People from all over the world come here. I had a tour over the Christmas holiday, and we had people from Thailand, Germany, and Kenya on the same tour. Just to see them enjoy the wonderment of the cave and have a great experience and walk away not just satisfied but just thrilled to have been here, that’s like currency to me.
If you have tours with 30 people, then every family, every unit, every couple—whatever—will get some personal “face time” as we’re walking. I’m not just talking to a sea of 30 people. I’m talking to 30 individuals, and that connection is what fuels me. Every person on that tour should feel like it’s a private tour.
I love the human element of this job. It’s what I look forward to. My worst day is when I show up on a Tuesday in December, and there’s no one for the tour at 10 o’clock, and I have to sit there and stare at the walls for two hours. I’m here for the interaction with people. During those two hours, I can’t just stand here, so I go down and explore.
The biggest thing for me, as a family guy, is making memories for families. You’ll see a mom, dad, and two little kids walking down from the top of the parking lot, and the kids are beyond excited. They can’t believe they’re doing this. This is their Disneyland, the highlight of their summer vacation. So I always go in with the idea that they should walk out with memories that they talk about for years.
I hate saying, ‘I don’t know,’ so when I get a question I don’t know the answer to and nobody here does, I go home and research it. The next time that I get that question—and I will get it again—I say I know exactly what the answer is because I spent two hours online researching this or I talked to a (University of Texas) geology professor and got the insights.
There’s 150 million things to see in the cavern, so there’s always something new to learn and see.
The difference between a cavern and cave? Well, there really is none. If you look in Webster’s (Dictionary), cave is short for cavern. But in everybody’s mindset, a cave is a single entrance; a cavern is a series of entrances, sinkholes, and a more complex cave. In reality, cave is just short for cavern.
Learn more about Longhorn Cavern State Park and its tours at visitlonghorncavern.com.