The tour is about 45 minutes long, and they have a pretty good system. When we arrived, we paid for the tour and received a ticket with our tour group number written on it. The tour before us had just left, so we had about a 20 minute wait. We used the time to browse the gift shop. Schaun has a rock collection so we found the perfect item for him to pick up after the tour – a selection of small polished rocks where you could fill a small bag with the rocks of your choice.
After a short wait, our tour number was called and our group assembled. There were maybe 15 people in our group. Our tour guide led us down the stairs (71 stairs) and into the opening of the cave.
Pictures won’t do it justice. The formations in the cave were pretty awesome.
Our tour guide was great. Explained a lot about how the cave was formed and its history.
One of my favorite parts of the tour was where the guide talked about what total darkness was, and how a cave is one of the few places where that is attainable. She asked us to cover anything that might give off light, had us close our eyes and then she turned the lights off. When we opened our eyes – nothing! Wow. That was an experience.
Another of my favorite parts was hearing the story of a man who lived for the last 19 years of his life back in the 1800s in this cave. That area above our heads was where he had his bed and possessions. (Although I googled him this morning and found that he had a pretty sad life – he was known as the Pennsylvania Hermit.)
They call this spot the crystal lake.
There were a lot of random tidbits about the various rooms in the cave system as the tour guide led us around. It was really interesting and we all enjoyed it.
After the tour we went back to the gift shop so Schaun could pick out some rocks for his collection. We were home by lunchtime, and then enjoyed an afternoon at the pool.
Another fun day, and we have more planned for today!
These are memories that Schaun will remember and share for the rest of his life.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
I bet it was total dark when the lights were turned off...not even being able to see your hands in front of you. I can't imagine anyone living in the cave there for 19 years.
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