The Lost Sea

Of course we had to do all the touristy stuff when we visit. One of the first things we found out about upon arriving in TN was the Lost Sea Adventure. The story goes that a young boy was playing around out by himself. He got a little curious when he found a hole deep in the ground, so he followed it. When he came to the bottom he found a lake. A lake in the bottom of a cave with no trace of  running water around. He ran back to tell his family about it, but of course, none of them believed him. He was a little bit of a boy who cried wolf I guess. He finally convinced someone to come see for themselves but by that time he couldn't find it again. Well, about 70 years later, another guy happened upon it in approximately the same manner. They somehow found the original kid (now an 80 year old man) and contacted him to be one of the first ones down there and give him credit for discovering it.

This is what a full day of 100% humidity and hiking around in a cave will do to your hair. 

Stopped off at a famous hamburger joint and bakery on the way home. I see why they are the best joint around...

A replica of the 'boats' they used down in the water in the beginning.

This is called the "Ah Shit" part of the cave. Imagine what you would say when you're walking along - not paying attention - and you hit your head on this?

The Devil's Portal. They were telling a story about how they trick little kids to look in there and see if they see the Devil. One girl looked into it and started freaking out. At the end of the tour, the guide took her aside and asked her what she saw. She said she saw a man's face looking up at her.... probably the Devil, of course. Well, they went back and found later that there had been a maintenance guy down there during that tour, changing a light bulb. Ooops.

A true original moonshine still. They used to come down here so as not to get caught by the law. They also used to have a bar down here during Prohibition. The guy then said something about the pressure changes causes your body to react differently to alcohol. As in... the higher you climb on the way out, the drunker you get. Could be a bad situation. 

The Lost Sea at last. 

I guess some Tennessee fellow got the bright idea to throw a bunch of trout into the lake to see if they could find a way out of the cave. They never left... either because they didn't find a way out or because they continued to be fed multiple times daily. Who knows? 

We were told this was the only part of the cave that they encouraged you to touch. Shawna decided this is how she wanted to do it, so naturally I faked like my camera wasn't working to see how long I could get her to keep her lips on that nasty piece of rock that everyone else had touched after not washing their hands. Again, oops. :)

The man (kid) that discovered the Lost Sea.