Cathedral Caverns in Alabama

I haven’t had a chance to visit all the caverns in Alabama—but I’m pretty sure that when I do they won’t compare to Cathedral Caverns which is located in Woodville, about 35 miles east of Huntsville.

Offering guided tours which focus on the history of the cave, Cathedral Caverns was the brain child of Jay Gurley who bought the property in 1952 and set to work preparing the cave for public tours which cost a total of 25 cents!

Originally called the Bat Cave, the name was changed when Gurley’s wife saw the beautiful stalagmite, stalactite and other cave formations and exclaimed that it looked like a cathedral.

The cavern changed hands several times over the years before it was purchased by the state of Alabama in the 1980’s and improved the cave by installing lighting and cement walkways. The cave reopened for tours in 2000 and today welcome visitors from around the world.

At 25 feet tall and 128 feet wide, Cathedral Caverns claims to have the widest entrance of any commercially operated cave in the world.

Cathedral Caverns is also home to the largest stalagmite in the world. Known as “Goliath"--it measures 45 feet tall and 243 feet in circumstance.

You’ll also see the largest flow stone wall, the frozen waterfall at Cathedral Caverns, which is 32 feet tall and 135 feet long.

Though we found all of those features interesting, we loved the Cathedral Forest. You can see a few shots of the amazing cave formations towards the end of this short video.

The cave stays around 61 degrees year round so make sure you pack a light sweatshirt and wear comfortable walking shoes. You’ll walk just short of 1 1/2 miles round trip on your 1 1/2 hour long tour. The path is paved and nearly 8 feet wide, with a few inclines and descents along the way. A few spots aren’t that well lit so if you think you’ll have a difficult time, make sure you stay close to the tour guide or pack a small flashlight.

The cave is very open, you don’t have to worry about getting stuck in tight places and most people on the tour should have plenty of head room, with the exception of one or two spots where the very tall should pay close attention.

For those of you that are interested in movie trivia, Disney’s 1990’s Tom and Huck was also shot in the cavern.

If you are looking for adventure, Cathedral Caverns has recently began offering a “Wild Cave” experience for ages 12 and up. You can call Cathedral Caverns directly for additional information at 256-728-8193.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Cathedral Caverns State Park is open year round. You can find their current prices, tour schedule and directions to the park at their website.

637 Cave Rd. Woodville, AL 35776 256-789-8193

Huntsville

Russell Cave National Monument: One of the Best Hikes in Northern Alabama

Last week, the kids and I accompanied one of the homeschool groups that we belong to on a naturalist led hike at Russell Cave National Monument. You’ve heard me mention this amazing attraction several times before because not only is it one of my favorite places to visit in Northern Alabama, it is now on my list of favorite fall hikes.

We arrived at Russell Cave National Monument, viewed the small museum display and began our tour by watching a short 7 minute movie. The video gave a brief history of the cave while focusing on the  story of its joint excavation by the National Geographic Society and Smithsonian Institution.  

Next we took a quick walk along the broadwalk to the cave entrance. Once inside, one of the Park Ranger’s, who is also the Park Historian shared more of the history of the cave with us.  We heard about the nomadic people that once frequented the Russell Cave following food and seeking shelter during the cold winter months; a great lesson in the early people of Alabama. We learned about the hunting practices of the Indians at Russell Cave, how they would hunt deer by camouflaging themselves with deer skins and antlers. Apparently, they were pretty believable because they have found at least one hunter killed by an arrow while dressed for the hunt and believe he died as a result of an accidental shooting.

It was also interesting to learn that they would fish by throwing the powder from crushed Buckeyes into the stream leading to the cave. The powder, which is poisonous to humans would paralyze the fish and they would float to the top of the water allowing the Indians to scoop them out one by one.  

We also learned about the excavation of the cave. Did you know that archaeologists do when they find fossilized poo? They can warm the feces which will soften it and then they go through it to see what people at that time, thousands of years ago, ate. Sounds like a smelly job to me.  Gross tidbit of information, but memorable.

A weapons demonstration followed the cave talk and ended with the opportunity to try out an atlatl, bow & arrow and blow gun.

The atlatl was hooked to the spear, increasing its power up to three times.

   

Though we enjoyed each aspect of the field trip, our favorite part was the hike along the nature trail. Not only is the naturalist that we accompanied very knowledgeable, but we were also pleased with ourselves for finishing this short hike after the ordeal we faced the first time we attempted it. (You really do need to go read that, and let me just say that 80ish degrees in the fall is much different than 80ish degrees in late spring here in Alabama! ) 

The trail is still mainly up, up and up, but the fall foliage was certainly a site to see, especially when you were at the top and able to look down over the trail to see the rock outcroppings strewn along the path below. It was quite beautiful. I will warn you that though this is a paved hike, it is steep heading up and heading down so be prepared to give yourself plenty of time to rest along the way. You’ll be happy to know that after every major incline, you’ll find benches available so you can rest and catch your breath if needed. Though the park service says this is a 1.2 mile hike, I can’t count the times I heard someone gasping, this is only a mile?  I found it interesting that The Falcon Guide: Hiking Alabama  claims that the hike is a bit longer at 2 miles in length and it certainly feels longer yet. 

This was an incredible outing and though we’ve enjoyed the times we’ve been there on our own as a family, it was that much better going with friends.

The kids and I recently began reading about Alabama state history, now that we are official residents and I’ve decided that we will incorporate many field trips into our study. Russell Cave National Monument was a great place to start.  

If you stopped by for Field Trip Friday, make sure to read this post to find out about the changes taking place and don’t forget to stop back next week for the 1st monthly edition of Field Trip Friday!

Until next week~ Happy Field Trippin’!

Field Trip Friday: Russell Cave National Monument

I hope that you'll consider joining me each Friday as I share the field trips we've enjoyed as a family or as an organized group. I'd love to see where you've been and what you're learning!

This week the National Parks are offering Entrance Free Days. In honor of this amazing deal, I've decided to share one of the many National Parks that we have enjoyed visiting in the past.

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, this may sound familiar. It was posted on my original blog.

We finally had a beautiful day with no rain in the forecast and decided that we’d head outside and take an educational field trip and save the book work for the rainy days that we’ll have next week. We chose to visit Russell Cave National Monument to learn about prehistoric peoples. This cave is unique because it offers one of the longest and most complete archeological records in the eastern United States. The cave was first excavated by the Tennessee Archeological Society and later by the Smithsonian Institute with financing by the National Geographic Society.

The site was discovered to have been used much like a nomadic hotel by Native Americans, who mainly occupied the cave during the cold winter months and moved on in the warm weather to hunt and farm in other locations. Russell Cave was established as a national park by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, after the land was donated by the National Geographic Society to the American people.

Our visit began in the Visitor’s Center which also has a small museum exhibit telling the story of Russell Cave and displays some of the artifacts uncovered in the excavation. We also watched a short 8 minute movie that told mainly about the excavation process and the formation of the cave.

Next, we took a short, easy walk to the cave. Of course the kids beat me to the cave opening as I had to stop along the way and enjoy the beautiful scenery. The entrance to the cave was shrouded in mist and looked very enchanting. My son commented that the area could have been used in a Lord of the Rings movie. Although the entire cave is 7-10 miles in length, only the mouth of the cave is assessable to visitors. My children didn’t mind this since they were aware of that fact prior to our arrival. Had they found out once we were there that they wouldn’t be exploring the recesses of the cave, they would have been very disappointed.

After viewing the cave, I thought it would be fun if we'd go on the nature trail. My daughter was not a happy camper. She thought it was too hot to hike and yes, it was a rather warm 80 degrees or so, but the trail was wooded and there was a slight breeze. We soon discovered that the trail pretty much goes up, up and up. Every time we thought we’d made it to the top, we turned another corner and there was more trail to climb. My daughter was so upset, that we finally decided to turn around and head back down, although that was not an easy feat. It seems that heading down was tricky because the trail is paved and moss covered, making for a slippery combination along the shaded part of the walkway.

Chelsea fell first with Joshua also slipping when our overzealous puppy yanked a bit too hard on his leash. Then, Chelsea fell a second time and since Nickolaus was walking closely behind her, he actually stepped on her as she went down! Now my poor daughter is really unhappy and feels tortured since she didn’t want to go on this walk in the first place and what does her mean mother do to console her? I took a picture of her! How awful is that?

The walk wasn’t a total waste, along the way we saw lizards, butterflies, and even a sinkhole. Thankfully, we concluded our hike with no further mishaps and arrived back at our vehicle drenched in sweat. We couldn’t get back to the camper and bath house fast enough!

On the hour drive back to home base, we discussed our day. On a scale of 1 to 10, they gave our trip a 9 for most tortured experience ever due to the hike- did I mention this hike is not a long hike? On a scale of 1 to 10, they gave the outing a 6for fun, though they agree it could have been higher, but they had to factor in the torturous hike. On a scale of 1 to 10 for educational value they rated it a rather low 6, but that may have been higher if a Ranger would have accompanied us to the cave, or if their would have been a presentaion going on. They may want to visit again with my husband, but would not drive an hour to see it again. So, there you have the official take of the day from the Traveling Prater kids! Be sure to stop by our fan page on Facebook, I'll be adding a few more pictures of our day.

On a side note, while we were there we met a really nice man from Seoul, Korea. He told me that he and his wife are touring the U.S. and will be stopping at each state. They have gone to many of the National Park sites. They have 20 states and 3 months to go. How neat is that?

Interesting tidbit: Russell Caves is located near Bridgeport where Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto and his crew chose to enter into what is now Alabama in June 1540.

Thanks for joining along on our trip this week! Now you can link up and share your own and please don't forget to tell others that you are a part of Field Trip Friday so they can get in on the fun!

For those of you who have participated, don't forget to snag this awesome button that Adori Graphics created just for you. Isn't it cute? Just don't forget to link it back here so Field Trip Friday can continue to grow! Until next week...Happy Field Trippin'!

Mammoth Caves National Park: A Trip Underground

This post has been moved from my original blog, titled Live the Adventure.

One of our favorite stops in Kentucky is Mammoth Caves National Park. Known as one of the oldest tourist attractions in the United States, this national treasure is part of the longest cave system in the world with over 365 miles of caves.


We have visited Mammoth Caves on numerous occasions to hike, camp and explore the caves. We've been on several of the tours, but our favorite so far has been the Historic Tour. The tour begins outside of the cave with a bit of information on what to expect inside. All I could remember from the ranger was that we'd travel through Fat Man's Misery- at which I was positive I'd get stuck- oh, we'd also travel through Tall Man's Agony. I pictured my tall boys hitting their heads upon the cave ceiling. Not to fear, I did not get stuck, but the boys almost did hit their heads! Although we laughed and snapped pictures with our cell phones while in the midst of Fat Man's Misery, twisting through the narrow knee high passageway, our laughs escalated as the floor seemed to rise beneath our feet and the ceiling dropped suddenly. We realized the path had led us to Tall Man's Agony. We proceeded through the passage in a stooped posture that I know looked as ridiculous as it felt. The remainder of our tour included climbing over 100 stairs to the Mammoth Dome and exiting at the same way we'd entered.

The Historic Tour follows a 2 mile trail through the cave that takes just over 2 hours to complete. I would consider this tour to be moderately strenuous due to the number of stairs (around 400) that you will encounter and the steep hill that you will climb at the conclusion of the tour to the Visitor's Center. This tour is best suited to children that are able to walk on their own for the duration. There were some young children (preschooler's) on the tour and most parent's ended up carrying their children most of the way. However, as our tour concluded, there were two little boys that appeared to be around 6 or so that had enough energy to run up the steep hill to the Visitor's Center while the rest of us were huffing and puffing along.

Mammoth Caves has tour options for all ability levels from a leisurely 1/4 mile jaunt through the cave to a very physical, strenuous 6 hour trek climbing cave walls and crawling through tight spaces for the more adventurous among us. Cave tours range from $5 to $48 per adult, with slightly lower prices for children and seniors, and are offered every day except Christmas. I would strongly urge you to reserve your tickets prior to your visit, especially if you are traveling during the summer or busier seasons. My husband and I first stopped at Mammoth Caves on our honeymoon 17 years ago and were disappointed when we found all tours sold out even though it was early in the day! You should also remember that this attraction is located in CST when you begin making your plans.

The national park has curriculum materials available on the website if you'd like to make a field trip out of your visit. In addition to the material on the website, I also found this book, The Cave Book, from the Wonders of Creation series to be a good resource to combat the evolutionary content presented. Children between the ages of 5-12 may also enjoy the Jr. Ranger Program. To participate, simply stop by the gift shop to purchase the ranger booklet for around $5 to see what requirements your child would need to meet to earn their own badge and certificate.

If you have a budding geologist on your hands, you may want to stop at nearby Big Mike's Rock & Gift Shop. We have stopped here on several occasions just to buy rocks! If you hang around long enough, it seems that they always offer some kind of a special on the rocks. This is a great place for cheap souvenirs!