The caverns were located next to a real old cemetery, and Anne-Marie and I walked through some of the older sections.
The dates on these two headstones are 1853 and 1847.
The Cemetery was in place before the caverns were discovered, and the gravel parking lot is placed as if to serve the cemetery and the gift shop both. The entrance to the cavern is inside the gift shop, and the grounds around look like a park and picnic area with no indication above ground other than a sign or two, that anything special is close by.
The cave was discovered in 1872 by two boys hunting with their dog, the dog chased a rabbit into some brush located in a small depression in the field. The dog wouldn’t return when called, and the boys explored the brush, found a small hole, and while digging the earth caved in and they fell in about 10ft. The dog and boys were OK and all got out without any problems. The early explorers of the cave didn’t have much discipline and there was a lot of graffiti done before the cave was purchased in 1931 by a local attorney and turned it into a commercial operation. The majority of the graffiti is prior to 1931, but a few more current visitors have also made their mark. The black painted name and date are easy to read, but the etching in the stone was done in 1893.
This cave was actually formed by the soft material deep under the limestone and dolomite, eroding away, and the roof of the void fall into it fracturing the rock above, up to the surface, and spreading wide enough for people to pass through. The depth is unknown and has only been explored to about 220ft below the surface, and this was done in a very dry year. The water level is constantly raising or receding, as much as 3 inches a day. The decent was shown on the maps as groups of stairs, and one would imagine walking upright, but only in a few areas could I stand upright and walk without a hand hold on an adjacent rock ledge. Their descriptions of sets of steps and leading to levels numbered 1-7 had me thinking that all were tall enough to stand upright and rest, but a few were just areas where we just didn’t have steps to descend, and we had to walk at a hunker for 10-20 feet to the next set of rock steps. The decent and climb out of the cave was closer to a hand assist scramble while leaning around rock outcroppings or walking at a hunker (half bent over). At 110 feet below the surface, and also known as level 7, we were able to see the water below. There was railing at this point, and a few others where there could be a falling hazard. The water has a green tint in the picture, and this is because of green light bulbs used to light some areas. The water is very clear and has a slow flow to the left of the picture,
This is the only area of Stalactites that we had access to. These little bumps are called soda straw stalactites, they are hollow and very fragile. There are larger ones, but some rock climbing skills are necessary to reach a viewing point.
The opening to the cave is small, and only a few bats use it. There are always a couple of bats to be found in the cavern, and this little one was hanging on the ceiling in the gift shop.
No comments:
Post a Comment