4 ms·
Driving through KY on a roadtrip two years ago saw all the signs so decided to stop. We’d never heard of the caves. I’m retrospect I wish we’d known and booked
by hnbear 3y ago
Driving through KY on a roadtrip two years ago saw all the signs so decided to stop. We’d never heard of the caves.
I’m retrospect I wish we’d known and booked the longer tours, which all sell out early in the day.
I thought the kids would want 5 mins of walking around and then be bored, but they loved it all, and it prompted us to go to more caves on a different trip to WI.
There was even older conflict in Mammoth Caves too. Earlier fighting over control of the caves to extract saltpeter for gun powder, then a story about a businessman who imported mushrooms from France to grow in the caves, but was stymied by a rival who poured oil over them.
The whole area was beautiful and well worth the stop.
- scrapcode 3y agoI'm originally from that area and remember being absolutely captivated by the caves when I was younger. My father had a friend that was a spelunker that helped build walkway bridges in these systems before they opened. That was the first real example that I remember of knowing someone that had a cool job, that wasn't just construction, and was a concrete example that you really might be able to do jobs that you wanted to do.
- whycome 3y agoThere's something beautifully ironic about "not construction" --> "concrete example"
- tstrimple 3y agoIt seems like many caves have a rich history of exploitation and shenanigans. I heard similar stories about other larger cave systems that I’ve been able to visit.
- bombcar 3y agoThere are caves in WI?
- germinalphrase 3y agoQuite a few, actually. Not as spectacular as Mammoth, of course. Cave of the Mounds and Crystal Cave are both popular tours, but there are caves dotted all over the state (including access via the lake up on the north shore). Edit: link to the Wisconsin Speleological Society: https://www.wisconsincaves.org/home https://www.wisconsincaves.org/home