Honeymoon #3 — Marengo Cave
On our third morning, we headed over to Marengo, Indiana, the site of a huge cave! I have been in caves before on family vacations, but my memories of them were not fond. I remember dark, narrow, enclosed spaces cramped with a bunch of other tourists. Thus, I was a bit stressed about going to this cave. I told David of my fears so he was aware and prepared. I still wanted to see the cave and explore it because for one, there wasn’t much else to do in the area, and two, I knew David wanted to see it. Apprehensively, I told myself that everything would be okay, and I would trust my husband to keep me safe.
There are two different trails to choose from, and you can even choose to do both. We decided to just do one due to my nerves, and we went on the longer trail, the Dripstone Trail. I believe the other was called the Crystal Palace. The Dripstone Trail tour lasted an hour. Masks were required, and thankfully, all of our trail mates were wearing one (except for two who usually wore them below their noses). The looming pandemic and the potential of a narrow trip in the cave was not making me feel safe, but I knew that I would regret it if I did not at least try exploring this cave. Also, did you know that cave exploring has its own word?! It’s called spelunking! I knew this word existed, but I had thought that there was a letter ‘r’ after the ‘e.’ David quickly informed me that I was wrong, and after a quick Google search, I informed him that he was right. He was quite proud and happy to hear that he was right!
Back to spelunking, our young but extremely knowledgeable tour guide took us down a staircase and onto a trail to the entrance where a stray cat tried to follow us inside. The guide made sure the cat did not join us as she did not want the cat to get lost inside the cave, which was quite kind of her!
Inside the cave, we saw stalagmites and stalactites, as well as columns sticking up from the floor, as well as from the ceiling. We were a few hundred feet below ground. It was dark at times, but at other times, it was well lit. There were a few times where it was narrow, but for the most part, it was quite open and expansive! I was impressed! I was glad that I wasn’t feeling claustrophobic at all! It definitely helped to know that my husband was right by my side and would protect me if I did feel unsafe. There were some parts where I had to duck and bend my back so I wouldn’t hit my head, but mostly, I was able to stand straight up. I am 5 feet 10 inches tall, so I was afraid I would have to duck more often. I will say that at the end of the tour, my back was killing me, but I typically have lower back problems. Ah, the joys of growing older!
The cave is always 52 degrees Fahrenheit, which felt cold to me. Thankfully, I had a t-shirt, zip up hoodie, and light jacket on. I wore a winter hat and scarf as well! I tend to get cold quite easily, so I need to make sure I bundle up! I did appreciate the cave’s website for telling me the temperature, so I could adequately prepare!
The tour guide gave great information, as well as some funny jokes. I was amazed to learn that people used to hold church services inside the cave as well as square dancing events! That was incredible! They still hold some events in the cave such as weddings and concerts. We even got our picture taken inside the cave, and it came out pretty well! There were some areas that had shallow pools of water, but when you looked at it, it looked like the water was either super deep or it was a hole instead of water. It was really cool to see these natural visual effects!
I also enjoyed the story of how the cave was found! A young girl had overheard in school a few boys talking about a hole they found in the forest and that they were going to check it out the next day. The girl went home, talked to her younger brother, and the two of them went to the hole and climbed in. They only brought candles and managed to crawl in for about fifteen minutes before turning back. They kept the cave a secret for three days and then they told the landowner. I think it is amazing that a young woman went exploring into the cave! How brave! I do not think I would be brave enough to do that! Thank goodness she and her brother both got out of the cave alive! Just think what would have happened if they had taken a wrong turn and couldn’t find their way back. Or what if their candle blew out and they couldn’t see their way back? After the tour, we took a brief hike through the woods to see the original site of the hole that the kids ventured into. The hole had collapsed awhile ago.
I can’t believe that this cool cave exists naturally hundreds of feet below the surface of the Earth! Our world is just incredible and beautiful! I loved going on this adventure, and I was impressed with how open this cave was. It did not feel narrow or enclosed at all! I never felt claustrophobic, which surprised me! I did have to hold onto David’s hand a few times as the path was sometimes uneven and the path was dark, but other than that, I was not scared. I highly recommend you check out this underground natural beauty in southern Indiana! In fact, I believe there are a few other caves located in southern Indiana and northern Kentucky! Perhaps, I will do a cave tour; instead of a bar crawl, we could do a cave crawl! Who knows, maybe David and I will become spelunkers?!
*The views above are from me alone. I was not paid nor compensated in any way by the cave I reviewed in this post.
