Hidden River Cave - 01

We took a trip down to Horse Cave, KY one rainy/drippy day. It is just over an hour south of Ft. Knox. We toured the Hidden River Cave - one of the most unusual cave tours we have taken. The entrance to the cave is in the "middle" of downtown, like the town was built around the cave. The entrance was a essentially a sinkhole about the size of a small house lot. You walk into a storefront to get your tickets and then out the back to go down this hole (first photo). There is some abandoned equipment from back in the early days of the town. The owners of the land were using the river for electricity generation. The cave was actually shut down due to terrible pollution problems as the cave was opened to the public from 1916 to 1943. People were essentially unaware of the delicate balance required for the cave to be healthy. The cave was shut down and the town complained of the smells coming from the cave due to the pollution. The American Cave Conservation Association took ownership of the cave around 1987 and worked to establish environmental standards in the area to correct these problems. My photos do little justice to the cave as postcards are made with large lights and tripod setups - neither allowed by just a tourist. These shots were taken as ISO12800, f/4.0, and 1/10 to 1/30 sec (really slow for hand held while paused for a walk).

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