One of favorite family things to do is to take a short trip to an unknown destination ( well, unknown only to Carson). A recent adventure took us a few short miles away to one of my favorite areas of Kentucky, Carter Caves State Park.
The drive there was filled with questions from the backseat, as to where we were headed., The guesses flowed and varied from Chuck E. Cheese, Central Park, the mall, Lexington, Disney World, Gatlinburg, PawPaw’s, Mcdonald’s, Thomas the Train, Bardstown and way too many to list.
We pulled into the parking lot of the Trading Post and started walking down the path toward the natural bridge. He still didn’t know where we were. All he knew was that he was hiking and there was a creek. We approached the entrance to the natural bridge and his eyes opened as wide as his mouth and out came “a cave!”
We had read one of my childhood books a few nights ago at bedtime. Caves and Their Mysteries, I spent countless hours pouring over those pages as a kid, dreaming of exploring the caves, dangling from ropes, wading through crystal pools of cool water, and shielding my face from the giant hoards of bats buzzing past me to escape to the outside world. This was my dream as a boy and I have always had a fascination with caves and have fulfilled many of those childhood dreams in my countless journeys.
The drive there was filled with questions from the backseat, as to where we were headed., The guesses flowed and varied from Chuck E. Cheese, Central Park, the mall, Lexington, Disney World, Gatlinburg, PawPaw’s, Mcdonald’s, Thomas the Train, Bardstown and way too many to list.
We pulled into the parking lot of the Trading Post and started walking down the path toward the natural bridge. He still didn’t know where we were. All he knew was that he was hiking and there was a creek. We approached the entrance to the natural bridge and his eyes opened as wide as his mouth and out came “a cave!”
We had read one of my childhood books a few nights ago at bedtime. Caves and Their Mysteries, I spent countless hours pouring over those pages as a kid, dreaming of exploring the caves, dangling from ropes, wading through crystal pools of cool water, and shielding my face from the giant hoards of bats buzzing past me to escape to the outside world. This was my dream as a boy and I have always had a fascination with caves and have fulfilled many of those childhood dreams in my countless journeys.
Back to Carson…We strolled through the bridge and walked the dirt path to the entrance of the Bat Cave. There is a small cave at the mouth just about 4 feet high and proportioned perfectly for a four year old. I pulled a Spiderman flashlight from my pocket and handed it to him. Off he went! That little cave only sunk into the side of that cliff about 60’, but he forged headlong into the darkness and disappeared without a second thought or fear.
We went there with the intent to just let him explore at his own pace and not push or entice him to go someplace that he didn’t want to go, and we were sure we weren’t going to pay to take a tour, only to have to leave in the middle if he “freaked out in the darkness.
He emerged from that cave and said “I love caves daddy”, that was a joy to hear.
He never ceases to amaze me with his enthusiasm for adventure, and like me, always asks what is around the next bend or over the next hill.
We had a picnic, played miniature golf and then he wanted to go to another cave.
As we exited the park, we stopped and walked to the entrance of Laurel Cave. Sharla waited on the bridge. Carson now had my headlamp on and was scrambling across the boulders into the darkness, I was trying to keep up and telling him to wait for me. The darkness enveloped us and he I could see a great smile on his face in the glow of his light, he stood motionless as he let large drops of water cascade down onto his head. His pants were muddy, his hands were dirty, he was tired but he was having a memorable day with mom and dad.
He already is planning a trip back and wants to go through the cave and out the other side!
For now, he is simply enjoying the wonders of nature, with not a inkling about karst topography, hydrodynamics and oolitic limestone….but I’m sure he will have questions soon.
1 comment:
A long time ago when a school kid we used to explore caves over behind Ironton (before they made US Rt 52 a 4 lane)when it came to cavNo way!
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