A Cool Spot on a Hot Day

It's hot in southern Indiana. The kids and I are trying not to whine about it because 90 (about 32 C) really isn't that hot - it's just hot for us northerners who start to melt when the thermometer hits 80 (about 27 C.) Luckily, Grandma knew a perfect place to "chill out" on a hot afternoon: Bluespring Caverns.

We read the rules,

got our tickets, 

and walked down into the bottom of a large sinkhole. 

Once we were down in the lovely 52 degree (about 11 C) cave we got into a boat and were on our way.  Most of the tour of the cave is done by boat. In fact several sources list Bluespring Caverns, with its three miles of navigable river, as the longest known underground river in the United States. We spent about  an hour exploring it with Jacob, our guide. 

The kids really enjoyed the tour! In addition to seeing interesting formations (straws, flowstone, and stalactites,) we also saw lots of these and these. Sadly, my little camera just wasn't able to capture any decent photos of them in the low light.

We loved the tour of the cave, but the kids were more thrilled about what we discovered above ground.

In the gift shop each one of the kids chose a bag of sand, carried them outside and...

took them to the small sluice way where they could wash away the sand in search of treasures.

Oh my gosh did they ever have fun! Little by little they searched through the sand for rocks and gems.

I was impressed at the number of "treasures" hidden in each bag. Both S and K had considered spending their money on tiny little bags of polished rocks in the gift shop. For the same price as the little bag ($4.95) they ended up with many more rocks, an identification card, and about 30 minutes of fun. The didn't want to leave - they wanted to scoop up the sand from the bottom of the sluice to see if anyone had missed anything.

As you can see, they got quite a few treasures. And that was in only about one fourth of the sand in the bag. They're already asking if we can go back the next time we visit so we can buy the big bags.

*Blogger is giving me fits today. For some unknown reason it is refusing to justify text the way I want it to!. So if this post looks a little wonky, I apologize.