Caving - the civilised way

On the way to Herkimer we stopped for a tour of Howes Caverns. They were discovered towards the end of the 19th century by a fellow who noticed his cows all gathered around one spot, then when he checked it out he noticed the cool air coming out of a small hole. He ended up excavating the cavern a little and discovering something like 1200 feet of cave system. Originaly folks entered the cave from the basement of his house. The original tour was about 8 hours long and people took their lunch along in paper bags. Our tour was just 1 1/2 hours.

There is even a boat ride for about 15 minutes on the underground river which was fun.


A bit tricky to see, but here are some cave formations none the less. Not as spectacular as some caves, but interesting.



It was pretty chilly inside the cave - about 50degrees F, the boys were glad I MADE them take their hoodies...but you know how it is, they'll complain next time that they don't need them too.




The chn and their friend P on the boat ride on the underground river.


For some reason the caverns are a popular spot for weddings, here the children stand at the wedding alter and just in front of them on the ground is this heart - lit from below.



In the Cavern building was this motor bike, not sure why but it was pretty cool looking - the boys thought so any way.