Lulu and I were trapped in our Florida home for a week. First by the hottest week in the world on record - and second by our swimming pool project. I have vowed to stay home during the project to approve things as the workers work. I am not doing the work - but as Ron Reagan said - trust but verify.
Saturday was open - and I like to drive - so Lulu suggested the Florida State Park Caverns. They are 70 miles away - we have lived in Florida 20 years - and never visited them - and it is 65 degrees inside the caves - all year around.
The drive west on I-10 was pretty quiet - not much traffic. It parallels old US 90 - which goes thru all the towns. Usually we go zooming by Marianna on the way to Panama City Beach or Seaside. This time were cruised around the streets of the 6000 person county seat of Jackson County. It is also the home of Chipola College - a mostly commuter school for 2200 students.
We had lunch in Marianna.
The caverns and park were just north of town. You pay $4 to enter the state park - and then pay another $15 per person to do the one hour long cave tour.
The cave is a natural limestone formation - all of Florida is underlaid by limestone that has a giant river of water running through it. Even Tallahassee - 70 miles away - has the same aquifer or underground river. This water running thru the limestone forms the caves.
The cave is good for senior citizens - you only go down 65 feet underground. Once there - the paths are smooth - surprisingly dry - and well lighted. You must be careful to not bump your head on some of the formations.
The air is a pleasant 65 degrees. You spend about an hour in the cave in a group - listening to the guide. The guide kept the tour light hearted - often with caution warnings - following by a few cave jokes.
Many do not know that I actually had a job at one time. 20 years ago - I was an Earth Science teacher. I did that for 33 years. I used to take my students on tours to caves - sometimes going to wild caves - not the tourist kind. It reminds me that my Dad spent time underground for 25 years - in much more dangerous conditions. He mined Anthracite - hard coal. I wonder what he would have thought of a plan like this - paying $15 an hour to just walk around underground.
Back up on the surface it was 95 - when we got up there - we hurried to our car. With the Tesla you can turn the AC on before you get there. We sat in the car on a video call - with Keith and family in Paris.
In the heat I forgot to get a picture of the really neat museum built by the CCC - the Civilian Conservation Corps. In the 1930s - during the depression - our federal government offered jobs to work on park construction. The workers got $25 a month - $1 a day. $20 was sent home to family - $5 went to the worker. They used the limestone they removed from the cave to build the museum. They used the local pines to build the roof.
Even though we were just 70 miles from home - we were in the Central Time Zone. The clocks on our iPhones and the car changed automatically. So we left home and got there at the same time. On the way home - we had to add an hour and we missed supper :-)
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| Stelactites and Stelagmites |
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| Columns |
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| Underground lake. |
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