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Cave
Lovers: 5 US Cave Dweller Destinations
If you enjoy caving there are some great
destinations in the US for cave lovers. One of the best locations
in fact, is an entire state. The state of Missouri is well
known for caves and caverns, many of which are rumored to
have been used as outlaw hideouts during the days of the
Wild West and later the depression era. Several Missouri
caves are, according to legend, former hideouts of Jesse
and Frank James, and many people believe that bank robbery
gold is still buried in the hills. Pretty Boy Floyd during
the depression did most of his hiding out in the Ozarks near
Bolivar, Missouri, and often hid in Fantastic Caverns, a
popular tourist attraction today for the beauty of the rock
walls. A little south of Bolivar is the town of Branson,
a well known tourist destination today which had its early
start in tourism because of Marvel Cave, a great place full
of natural rock formations that reminds one of the cave in
Tom Sawyer, where Tom and Becky were lost. In the 1800’s
Marvel Cave was the scene of meetings of the Baldknobbers,
a vigilante group, but by the 1920’s it was a tourist attraction
and has been one ever since. Surrounded today by music shows
and other attractions, it is still popular for its beauty
and wonder.
Carlsbad
Caverns in New Mexico is another
cave dweller destination. More than a thousand years ago
the prehistoric people of
America went into the caverns for shelter and their cave
drawings are still near the entrance. Later in the 1800’s
settlers found the caverns after seeing hundreds of thousands
of bats coming up out of the entrance. Some began to mine
the bat guano to sell as fertilizer. One of these men was
a cowboy named Jim White who was fascinated by the caves
and began to explore. He began to take photographs to convince
skeptics, and when interest arose he began to take people
on tours which included being lowered 170 feet in a bucket
that had previously been used to haul bat guano. When the
US department of the Interior heard of the cave in 1923 they
sent an inspector named Robert Holley, who wrote of the caverns "...I
am wholly conscious of the feebleness of my efforts to convey
in the deep conflicting emotions, the feeling of fear and
awe, and the desire for an inspired understanding of the
Divine Creator's work which presents to the human eye such
a complex aggregate of natural wonders...." It wasn’t
long before Carlsbad Caverns became a national monument,
with White named the first ranger of the park. Thousands
of visitors go to Carlsbad every year, and are amazed at
the beauty of this natural resource.
Caving
as a sport has gained in popularity. Many people
enjoy the physical exertion and the challenge. Many others
are interested in exportation for the advancement of science.
Some of the last unexplored portions of the earth are caves.
If you are thinking of taking up the hobby of caving, remember
that safety is paramount. Cavers wear helmets to protect
their head from falls and falling rocks as well as the bumps
that are common. Most cavers mount a source of light on the
helmet to keep hands free, and really safe cavers will wear
two sources of light on the helmet. Halogen lamps and white
LEDs are both popular and carbide based systems are often
used on expeditions. Clothes worn in caves need to be warm
and many prefer wetsuits or polypropylene underwear for protection
from moisture. Boots, warm neoprene socks and knee pads are
also common.
Visiting caves, whether it is those that are fully explored
with tours for tourists, or those that have yet to be explored
by the more daring adventurer, is a hobby that makes a wonderful
vacation. For thousands of years man used caves as shelter.
Even today our tall buildings made of concrete are in many
ways man made caves. Humans have a natural inclination to
gravitate towards caves and caverns that are fulfilled by
exploring, so if you are interested in caving, try a caving
vacation, enjoy yourself, but don’t cave in.
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SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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