Carter Caves State Park--My Favorite Places In Appalachia

Yesterday, August 29, 2017, my wife Candice and I took our seven year old nephew to Carter Caves State Park near Olive Hill for his first encounter with a cave.  He is visiting with us from Wisconsin for a few days and we have tried to expose him to a few learning opportunities he might not have had in the past.  We arrived at Carter Caves just in time for my nephew and I to buy tickets for a morning tour of the X Cave.  Candice is in a wheelchair and had to wait for us in the area of the Welcome Center where she browsed the gift shop and spent time talking to the young woman in charge at the time.  The X Cave is somewhat unique in that it was originally two parallel caves which were eventually united by erosion of the rock barrier between them. As discussed in the previous link, The X Cave has long been rumored to be haunted by two Cherokee lovers although I have never known of any actual evidence of that. Also, keep in mind that The X Cave has absolutely nothing to do with the video game Mine Craft and is a far more positive way to spend time.

The tour was guided by a young man named Wesley, whose last name we did not learn.  He was a graduate of Morehead State University, my own alma mater, and therefore was bright, well educated, and a thoroughly competent tour guide.  Wesley was especially erudite about individual characteristics of cave development, cave dwelling species, and of the park itself.  He took time to be attentive to my nephew who is particularly verbal and asked many questions.  It was also helpful that the only other people on our tour were an elderly couple who were also tolerant of my nephew.  Wesley pointed out many different and entertaining aspects of the cave, the species of bats living in it, the current danger to bats all over the country from a fungal disease which was carried from Europe by spelunkers, and any particular questions anyone on the tour might have.  This tour was short, lasting less than an hour but is still an enjoyable way to spend some time on a hot summer day or a cold winter day since the temperature is constantly comfortable underground.  

This was actually my third visit to The X Cave since I saw it the first time nearly sixty years ago when my sister and I went there with the family of a high school friend of hers.  I was only six or eight years old during that visit but I always remembered the unique construction of The X Cave.  At that time in the early 1960's, it was a fairly long trip from Beaver Creek in Knott County to the park in Carter County.  

Later that afternoon, my nephew and I took a tour of Cascade Cave which is actually located a few miles and minutes from the main park.  Cascade Cave is considerably larger with large high ceiling rooms, a flowing creek of some size, and a small population of bats.  There are four species of bats in the park and fifteen species in Kentucky as a whole.  Bats are particularly important to people because of their voracious appetites for harmful insects.  It is noble work for anyone to try to protect the bats of the world.  After exiting any of the caves in the park, it is necessary for you to walk across an anti-fungal device which uses a liquid fungicide to kill any spores of the disease which might have been carried from the caves.  Cascade Cave has an underground waterfall which our guide, not Wesley, told us is fueled by water from an unknown source.  He said that several times scientists have conducted dye tests and cannot accurately determine the source of the water which falls down a deep shaft into the bowels of the cave.  This cave was used at times in the past as a cattle barn in winter.  

There are also several other smaller caves in the park including Saltpeter Cave and Bat Cave. The park also has a full scale lodge with a restaurant, conference rooms, and motel rooms.  There are numerous hiking trails, miniature golf, a large RV campground, and other interesting elements which can be enjoyed on a visit to the park.  Tours and tourists at the caves drop swiftly in number after school resumes in the fall.  The early days of the week are generally less attended also.  I strongly suggest that you visit Carter Caves State Park even if you are not a spelunker or cave lover.  Go simply to enjoy nature in a quiet state park setting run by friendly, competent people. 

Thoughts About Writing Dialect

I am somewhat omnivorous in my reading within a few reasonable bounds.  I will read almost anything with the exception that I generally never read what I call "drugstore fiction".  By that, I mean that I will generally never read anything that can be found on the paperback racks at your local small store, dollar store, or other such general market businesses.  The one exception I make to that rule is that I do sometimes read the work of Dean Koontz who, at his best, is a better than average writer with intelligent, original, well constructed, plots which will hold the attention of most discriminating readers.  At his worst, Koontz is a typical drugstore fiction author.  Like most other authors who consistently crank out one or more books a year, he does not always produce his best work and sometimes, he, his agent, and publisher inflict some fairly low grade work on the ever receptive fan base he has developed over the years.  

I like to read with some variety although my first love will always be Appalachian literature, both fiction and non-fiction.  I am a native born, native educated, and proud Appalachian and I never apologize for it.  Several of the best writers America has ever produced came from Appalachia: Pearl S. Buck, Thomas Wolfe, Albert Stewart, Loyal Jones, P. J. Laska, Bob Snyder, and several others both living and dead. I do frequently find myself reading other literature from other areas, some in the social sciences where my degrees are rooted; history both Appalachian and World; poetry from the recognized masters; anthropology; and the natural sciences.  I often deliberately use a book from one of these areas to break up long term periods of nothing but Appalachian Literature. 

This post has been primarily caused by a little book I reread today from the fields of African American and children's literature, "Flossie & the Fox" by Patricia C. McKissack and illustrated by Rachel Isadora.  I had bought and read the book originally when I was employed as a mental health therapist in a juvenile treatment facility at a time when state licensing agencies were particularly focused on the consistent provision of culturally diverse group therapy and culturally diverse encounter experiences.  I dug it out of a pile of books today because my wife and I have had our seven year old nephew in our home for about two weeks and I am particularly focused on diminishing the amount of time he spends with what I consider to be his obsession with "Mine Craft" an internet based game whose value I seriously doubt.  "Flossie & the Fox" was published in 1986 and some readers and parents might consider it a bit dated.  The book is described by the author as "...a story from my youth, retold in the same rich and colorful dialect of the rural South."  It is an African American story about a young girl on a plantation who is sent to deliver some eggs to a neighbor of her mother's.  She is warned before she leaves home about a fox which has been stealing a lot of eggs and which cannot be caught by the local hounds.  In the story, she meets the fox and enters into a lengthy conversation, argument, or discussion with him in which she denies believing that he is actually a fox.  Told in rich African American dialect from the rural, agricultural south, the story moves quickly with humor, insight, and grace.  The little girl and one of the local hounds ensure that the eggs make it to their intended destination.  In spite of its age and particular cultural focus, it is a book which is worthy of any young reader's attention.  For those of us who are interested in southern or African American dialect, it is also interesting to the adult reader. It is a story about a young child learning self sufficiency, confidence, and inner strength.  I am glad my nephew's presence caused me to dig that little work out and reread it.  I freely recommend it to both you and your children or grandchildren.

It also reminded me of a fairly new friend of mine, an African American woman who grew up in poverty and lived to retire from the federal government.  She also happens to write some highly readable memoir material.  The dialect material in "Flossie & the Fox" might not be totally accurate in today's south.  But it is a rich window into the language spoken on plantations, farms, and small town streets in a dozen states running from Maryland to Florida and from Georgia to East Texas.  I rarely write in dialect and do not always see the value in using it.  Any culturally based dialect is worth saving for posterity whether it is Appalachian, African American, or Viet Namese American or any other.  Dialect written well and accurately can be a joy to read and learn.  Dialect written poorly and inaccurately can be a painful caricature of a culture and a people.  There is nothing in the world worse than bad dialect written by a person who knows little or nothing about what they are attempting to create.  Thank God that Patricia C. McKissack knew what she was writing about.