This weekend my husband & I spontaneously decided to travel to Indiana. Mind you, this trip is 6 long hours of corn fields & ZERO farm animals from our humble abode. (7.5 if you decide to go through Indianapolis in rush hour – I don’t advise it.) Our long lost friend was relocated to this wonderful place, called Bedford, IN for her job. So, we packed some essentials (what do you really pack anyway?) we jump in the car, & get a move on. We didn’t really know what we’d find there – but it was quite the adventure.
Our first night we explored the town, had a wonderful dinner at Uplander’s brewery & found a nice bar called The Tap for some drinks & dessert. (a WONDERFUL dessert.) I’m no Instagram junkie, so these pics are as good as it gets for iPhone in the night images. I thought this little town of Bloomington, IN was really cute. That’s also where Indiana University happens to be. (and a large population of homeless which was quite surprising given the clientele of the area.)
The next morning we started our journey to the Morengo Caves. I wasn’t really sure quite what we were getting ourselves into, but I like adventure – and the natural world is really interesting, so we went.
This part of the tour was about a mile & an hour long. I’m wondering all sorts of things – how dark is it going to be? Is this guide with one flashlight about to take us through? Will it be cold. YES. it will. Caves take on the average temperature of their geographic location. Since the average temp is 52 in southern Indiana – the cave is 52 degrees all year round. (pro tip – wear a jacket) & as soon as we step inside – I’m wondering, will there be bats? What is a natural cave really like – as far as my knowledge of caves go, is only in books. Well, here we go, about to step into my very first cave.
Caves are made up of tons of formations — Did you know that every inch of a stalactite it takes 100 years to form? THATS INCREDIBLE. These caves are so old! Discovered in 1883 by two little kids exploring around, they went down a sinkhole and found this. Can you imagine? Exploring this little cave with one little candle? It’s miles big, and has several levels. Our guide is going to crawl for 6 hours on her hands & knees to explore the 3rd level. Count me out of that one. Can you say claustrophobic? Yikes. Pass. Hard pass.
It almost looks like the second image (above) is upside down… its a whole different world down there. Hundreds of feet below the surface.
You’re probably sick of pictures of caves. So I’ll spare you and post the rest of the images from our second tour tomorrow. Travel often. It’s good for the soul. Kisses.
eliseinwonderland.com 