#148 Lost River Cave 9-12-09

We heard about this cave that you actually ride a boat into and it was right on the way to Nashville, our next stop. It is definitely a tourist trap, but it is different than any of the other caves we’ve been to. There was even a place to park RV’s.

The first stop on the tour was a “blue hole,” it looked more green than blue, but the picture shows more blue than green. The pool is supposed to have been over 300 feet deep. But, with modern equipment they found the pool is only 15 feet deep, but the underground river takes any thing that falls in down river and is lost forever! Thus it has the name as the bottomless hole. An entire wagon, horse and two confederate soldiers were lost in this very pool.

This was our guide. He really had an Eastern Tennessee accent, and was really funny to listen to. His name was Christian. He had a lot of stories about the cave and surrounding area.

We were really surprised to find out about the underground nite club. Be sure and read the sign. What an amazing story.

Frank is sitting on the original stage that was used by the bands that played when this was a nite club.

The original cover was wood, but this has been restored and uses metal, which will last longer. It is a big area.

Check out the original bar in the far corner. Behind it is a door that goes back into the cave. That is where all the liquor was kept cool. In order to get down to the cave there were a steep set of stairs to come down.

Before we went into the cave we had to read the safety rules. I liked the part about tipping the guide, but not the boat! Of course, our guide told us that if the boat did tip, to just stand up. The water is only about knee deep!

We had to bend down in order to get into the cave. The beginning is only about 4 feet high. You look like you are heading down a tunnel with the light at the end. It was pretty cool to be in a boat inside a cave on a river.

Only one place where there was any flow stone. Our guide took us almost to the end where the “dam” is located. It is not a very professional dam because it is still subject to flooding and has to be rebuilt often. Also the owners are going to extend the ride further down the river.

Jesse James actually used this cave. Christian showed us how people toured the cave before the boats. They actually walked up to where Jesse James camped out. As you can see below, there was plenty of fresh running water.

Because there was always running water, this place was also used to power a mill. It kept getting washed out and eventually was closed.

I know this was a tourist trap, but it was really interesting and very well done. We really enjoyed Christian. The tour took about an hour and we took off towards Nashville at about 1:30 pm.

We stopped at the Visitor Center in TN, just over the state line.

We met another traveler who travels with his dogs!

The white dog with the dark beard is the old dog. He is 16 years old. The black dog with the light whiskers is only a year and a half old. They both stay right on the bike, even when the owner is not there. They were so cute!

On to Nashville!