Meramec Caverns

Hubby Tony took a vacation day today so we could play. Early in the week we discussed possible day trips we could take, and decided on Meramec Caverns. It is only an hour away from the house, and despite driving past the exit on the highway too many times to count, neither of us had ever been there.

Meramec Caverns is the largest cave west of the Mississippi. French explorers were the first white men to experience the area. For more than 100 years it was a saltpeter mine, and the cavern was fought over during the Civil War.

After the war people started holding dances inside the cave. In the 1930s Lester Dill bought it to develop into a show cave. He was able to find unknown sections, including a room where artifacts from Jesse James and his gang were found. In the 1950s Dill had advertisements for the Caverns painted on barns in 14 states and it became "America's Cave".

Stalagtites and stalagmites in one of the rooms

Our tour lasted 90 minutes. The tour group included an extended family group with a lot of  children, and I was a little concerned they wouldn't remember to social distance, but both they and all the adults in the group did a good job. The cave's well-lit walkways were easy to navigate, but a bit slippery from all the humidity in the air.

When we got out of the car the temperature outside was 80 degrees, but as soon as we entered the cave area the temperature dropped, and I was glad to put on the jacket I brought with me. In the bathroom I saw a cute graphic over a mirror and stopped to take a selfie:

After the tour was over Tony and I drove to a cafe, where my sampler platter of egg salad, tuna salad, and chicken salad with vegetables, fruit, and crudites tasted as good as it looked.

When we came out of the restaurant large drops of rain were starting to come down. The rain got stronger and followed us all the way home, forcing us to scrap our plan to stop for more sightseeing and shopping.

Five years ago today: Distracticat