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The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO
May 30, 2010
Explore dark side of Missouri: Show-Me State has 6,300 caves
By Derek Spellman
Globe Staff Writer
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Call it Missouri’s dark underbelly, er, underbellies.
In late 2008, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources reported the state had more than 6,300 known caves.
The Show-Me State is also known as the Cave State. There is even a new license plate to that effect.
Lester Turilli Sr., owner of Meramec Caverns and past president of the Missouri Caves Association, says Missouri ranks No. 1 in the number of “show caves” that are open to the public for touring. Those locations include not only his cave near Stanton but also sites in Springfield, Noel, Branson and Hannibal.
Visitors who descend into Missouri’s rocky bowels can see a collection of natural wonders that have been millenniums in the making.
They also get a good dose of natural air conditioning: The caves tend to have constant temperatures of 60 degrees or lower, which is why the summer months tend to be particularly brisk for visitation.
“They’re like family attractions, and they’re natural attractions,” Turilli said of caves.
Kirk Hansen, public information officer for Fantastic Caverns in Springfield, said caves are “the first tourist attractions that existed.”
In fact, Meramec Caverns has been explored, mined and fought over for nearly 300 years.
Yet the days of cave visitors ruggedly making their way through muddy banks and dark streams have in many places yielded to stairs, concrete walkways and electric lighting. At Fantastic Caverns, visitors can take the mile-long, 55-minute tour on a Jeep-drawn tram.
Hansen said Fantastic Caverns boasts the only such riding tour in North America.
Meramec Caverns, Fantastic Caverns and the rest offer stalactites and stalagmites, pencil-thin soda straw formations, cave pearls, massive columns and flowstone, each one unique.
Many of the show caves have their own bragging rights.
At Meramec Caverns, there’s the spot where the outlaw Jesse James and his band lay low from the law.
There’s the Wine Room with its ragonite formations that resemble bunches of grapes. There’s the Jungle Room, where the cave roof bristles with a forest of stalactites, some of which look as if they are coated in white chocolate. (A note to visitors: That is not white chocolate.)
And there is the Stage Curtain, where rock formations hang in thick ripples down a wall 70 feet high and 60 feet wide and look like, yes, curtains.
“If I have been (here), it’s been about 20 years,” visitor Dennis Killian said last week during a tour of Meramec Caverns. Killian, originally from the area, now lives in Seattle, Wash. He stopped by Meramec Caverns while visiting relatives.
“It’s always entertaining,” he said.
Tours also are offered at Bluff Dwellers Cavern and Browning Museum in Noel, said owner George Bunch.
Bluff Dwellers Cavern boasts formations called sawtooth drapes, soda straws and flowstone. It also has still pools and a 75-foot rimstone dam, which is formed in an underground lake.
“It’s a very nice cavern,” Bunch said.
The Browning Museum houses “a very extensive rock and mineral collection,” he said.
Missouri’s cave heritage is partly a byproduct of the abundance of limestone and dolomite that are concentrated in much of the southern part of the state, according to the Missouri Speleological Survey.
A number of caves, such as Meramec Caverns and Bluff Dwellers Cavern, have been family-owned for decades. Those two in particular were open to the public not long before or during the Great Depression.
“Traditionally, through the hard times the caves have done well,” Turilli said.
Popular stops
Meramec Caverns averages 150,000 visitors a year, according to owner Lester Turilli Sr. Fantastic Caverns averages about 140,000, according to Kirk Hansen, public information officer.
GOMO: Get Out More Often with these events this summer
If you liked wandering around Missouri’s dark side, you might enjoy these outdoor events.
June 3, 10, 17 and 24: Cave tours at Roaring River State Park near Cassville. People will meet at the picnic area across from the old CCC Lodge, and take a tour of a couple of smaller caves and learn how caves form.
Admission: Free. Details: Nature Center at Roaring River State Park, 417-847-3742.
June 4-5, 11-12, 18-19 and 25-26: Lantern tours at Meramec Caverns. The 80-minute tours through the popular cave take place by hand-held lantern.
Admission: $22 for those 12 and older; $11 for children 5-11; free for children under 5. Reservations are required. Details: 573-468-CAVE or www.americascave.com.
June 5: Wildflower Hike, 10 to 11 a.m., Prairie State Park in Barton County. Participants will see late spring flowers and scout for gems that the prairie has to offer. Topics will include wildflower identification, wildflower lore and uses of wildflowers.
Admission: Free. The park is at 128 N.W. 150th Lane, near Liberal. Details: 417-843-6711.
June 5: Ninth annual Kids Fishing Day, 8 a.m. to noon, Kellogg Lake in Carthage. The event is free for children 15 and under.
Details: Missouri Department of Conservation’s Joplin office, 417-629-3423.
June 5: Goin’ creekin’, 2 to 4 p.m., Wildcat Glades Conservation & Audubon Center, Wildcat Park. Participants are to wear old shoes and prepare to get wet exploring an Ozarks stream. Participants will capture, study and identify aquatic creatures.
Cost: $6. Details: 417-782-NATR or www.wildcatglades.audubon.org.
June 5: Midsummer night’s hike, 8 to 10 p.m., Wildcat Glades Conservation & Audubon Center, Wildcat Park. Participants will experience the wonders of the night during the two-hour hike.
Cost: $6. Details: 417-782-NATR or www.wildcatglades.audubon.org.
June 5: National Trails Day. The American Hiking Society observes National Trails Day. Missouri and Arkansas have thousands of miles of foot, bicycle and horse trails, including the 165-mile long Ozark Highlands Trail in northern Arkansas and the Katy Trail that follows the Missouri River and stretches more than 265 miles.
June 10: Firefly Frolic, 8 to 9 p.m., Missouri Department of Conservation Nature Center in Springfield.
Admission: Free. Reservations are required. Details: 417-888-4237.
June 11-13: Bat-O-Rama at Devil’s Den State Park, south of Fayetteville, Ark. This annual event features a variety of games, hikes and educational programs about the world’s only flying mammal.
Admission: Free. Details: 479-761-3325 or devilsden@arkansas.com.
June 12-13: Free fishing days in Missouri. The state has more than 1 million acres of surface water, and this is a chance to fish for free. Details: Missouri Department of Conservation’s Joplin office, 417-629-3423.
July 23 and July 31: Explorer Camp, 9 a.m. to noon, Prairie State Park in Barton County. The camp is an opportunity for children to earn the Explorer or Junior Naturalist patch by completing projects and attending interpretive programs.
Admission: Free. The park is at 128 N.W. 150th Lane, near Liberal. Details: 417-843-6711.
Aug. 21: Kids Fishing Day at Roaring River State Park near Cassville. Youngsters will fish for rainbow and brown trout at one of the state’s premier state parks. They will learn how to tie flies, fillet fish and more. Upper holes in the stream are reserved for children that day.
Details: Missouri Department of Conservation’s Joplin office, 417-629-3423.