The Kentucky Caver Quarterly Proceedings of the
Bluegrass Grotto: the North Central Kentucky Area Chapter of the National Speleological Society
Page 22 [contents] ||   ||  ||  vol. 41. iss. 2, June 2006

(Peg and Oliver admire a Dunbar Cave passage.)

Oliver and I followed Peggy and the twenty or so folks of all ages on a trail along the algae-choked lake that is the dammed-up outfall of the cave stream. At the far end of the lake looms a beautiful limestone bluff, with the cave entrance at its base. A concrete floor extends from the cave entrance out to the lake edge. There are several disused stone-built rooms around the edge of the paved area: this was once the site of drinkin’ and dancin’ and carryin’ on, and for a shining country moment, the cave belonged to country legend Roy Acuff, who often brought his Grand Ole Opry pals over for radio shows.

Peg delivered a masterful ten-minute intro to the cave,
its human use history, cave conservation, regional history, bats, biota, safety, and exploration, as folks cooled down in the entrance area, and then we made it through the gate and clicked on our flashlights. We soon saw the River Styx, which underlies the cave system and is the subject of much interest for the active cavers, and we saw a sample archaeological excavation pit near the entrance.


("Ranger" Peggy Renwick introduces visitors to Dunbar Cave)

Peg ignored the side trip to the hokily-named Counterfeiters’ Den, and took us into the Ballroom. From there we bypassed the Civil Defense Room for the return trip and surged on into the Dinosaur Room, so named by Mr. Acuff too attract visitors to see the coral pieces embedded in the ceiling. (Heck, when Oliver was growing up along Indian Creek in western Ohio, we were certain that the coral pieces we found in the creek were dinosaur or dragon teeth.) These fairly big cave rooms are connected by trenches through passages from which the dirt was long ago excavated by pick axe.

Page 22 [contents] ||   ||  ||