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After we bought the 100 acres, we went to the farm every time that we could. We started pulling vines off the mill and the old store that sits 100 feet from the mill. It was where the miller would sell some of the grain he had milled. The boys were fascinated about the cave that was right across the creek. We did not want them to go into it until we had it checked out by some spelunkers (those who explore caves). I contacted some local spelunkers and they agreed to come and “explore” our cave. The boys were all excited and looking forward to going in. They were going to come up on a Saturday and meet us in a nearby town at 9:30 AM. I came up with the idea of going up on Friday and camping the night and driving into town the next morning to meet them. We decided to take our car and our small 4-wheel drive truck. We loaded them up with a tent and some other camping gear and headed off to the farm. What an exciting time – our first camping trip on the property. Did I mention that Peggy was NOT a big camping person? I must have forgotten. Well, we got up to the farm and it was around 5:30, but it was getting dark real fast. We parked the car up by the mill and drove the truck down to some bottom land by the creek. At this time there were still cattle on the property as a local farmer had it leased from the previous owner. So we had to be careful where we stepped and where we were going to set up the tent. We had a small pup tent that would hold the four of us. We set it up by the lights of the truck. About 7:30 it was pitch dark that far out in the country so we decided to go to bed. As we laid there for a few minutes Peggy said, “Henry I want to go home! Just take me to the car and I will drive back home!” Home was an hour and an half away and she had never driven those roads in the dark. There was no way I was going to let her go. She asked several more times, but I always managed to calm her down. Finally we all fell asleep. Some time during the night I heard a gun shot. Oh great! Just what I needed for Peggy to hear! Fortunately, she did not hear it. I must say that Peggy was a trooper and hung in there great. About 4 in the morning I woke up to rain. I started thinking could I get the truck out of here or would it be stuck? Would the creek rise and flood its’ bank and flood our tent? My mind was going crazy. By 4:30 everybody was awake and we decided to get up and get in the truck. Once we were up we made a plan to head into town so off we went. I never knew that Hardees was open at 5:30 in the morning. We went in and ordered some breakfast. By 6:00 we were ready to leave and explore some of the local area. One thing we decided was to go north about 30 minutes to a larger town in KY. By 6:30 we were touring the local Wal-Mart. Just what every family wants to do on a rainy Saturday morning at 6:30. After touring Wal-Mart we toured the town and then headed back to meet our spelunkers. We arrived back at the meeting spot at 9:00 and they showed up about 15 minutes later. Once back at the farm the weather had cleared and the spelunkers crawled into the cave. It had a small opening, but then opened up into a larger room. After they checked it out, we let the boys go in the cave with them. They loved it. The spelunkers had a camera and they took some wonderful pictures. Peggy and I got to see the inside without going in. (As a side note, I tried to go in another time with the boys. My body was too big to fit the small opening. I also found out that I was somewhat claustrophobic when I got to a point I could not turn my head to the left or right or lift it up or down.) There is a small stream that runs in the cave. The boys have been in it many times since the spelunkers were there. They enjoy taking others in and showing them God’s handy work. One “kid” that went in recently was Geoff the Great Igarashi. I still do not know how he made it through that opening. Next time I will tell you about our second campout. |
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