Fantastic Cavern

We had originally chosen Springfield because a new aquarium opened (as part of the Bass Pro Empire) and it's been getting great reviews. However, it's $40 a person to go! We debated, but in the end, we felt we got our animal fix at the zoo, so we decided to find something else to do. I've seen billboards for the Fantastic Caverns before, and when I suggested it, Nathan and Allison both got excited to go.

The cavern/cave was found in 1862 by a farmer who was rabbit hunting with his dog. His dog went into a rabbit hole and didn't come out. The farmer went in, saw that it wasn't a rabbit hole but a cave. John Knox, the owner of the property, kept the cave a secret for the next five years because during the civil warn, soldiers with sparse resources were known to enter caves and use bat guano for homemade gun powder.

Five years after the cave was initially found, in 1867, John Knox put an advertisement in the Springfield paper for someone to explore the cave. On February 27, almost two weeks later, the Springfield Women's Athletic Club explored the cave. These twelve ladies are considered the first explorers of the cave, since they carved their names into the rock as graffiti. 

 The ride through cave is the only one of it's kind in North America. I thought I would be claustrophobic, but it's very open with only a few low ceilings. It was cool and humid in the cave and our guide stopped every 100 feet or so to give us some details on the cave (the tour was an hour).

 

 There are two sinkholes in the cave. Seeing this made me a little nervous to be so far underground.

 This is a well pipe that was put in by a neighbor. The surveyor didn't do a great job and the pipe is now in the cave. On the bright-side, the staff are better able to determine stalactite growth based on the formation around the pipe (since they know how old the pipe is).

 The cave has been used for many things in the past. It was a gambling center and bar during prohibition, secret society meetings (KKK), a radio station was hosted here in the '50's called Farm -A-Rama, and Buck Owens held a charity concert in the cave where 700 people attended.

 Here is the "spiral staircase." The entire cave was well lit, although at one point our guide cut the lights so we could see what cave darkness really looked and felt like. Our guide told us that when the tour first opened in the 60's, most people came to see the GE light bulbs (since neighboring towns didn't yet have electricity).

 

 Low Ceilings.

 

 Here is our tour group. We were first in line so we were able to sit in the jeep with our guide.