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.
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