The Lost River Caverns

Today, Jay and I went to these caverns located in Hellertown, Pennsylvania. We’ve been through some caves before, which you can read about earlier in my blog, but every cave has something fun to offer. These caverns have some interesting history.

During the Civil War, both Confederate and Union soldiers used them for campsites. And in 1869, the Jesse James Gang hid in the caverns after robbing the Russellville Southern Deposit Bank! No walkways or lights back then, I can tell you. And it’s dark in there!

Before entering the caverns, there is an area with old rifles, rock samples, and other displays. I met Sweetums:

This is his friend, unnamed, though. Maybe part of the Jesse James Gang:

I’m pretty sure that fence isn’t going to hold him back. There was an advertisement for a missing dino. (He has little arms):

A pretty waterfall and plants filled the area, too. No swimming allowed:

We entered the caverns. The caverns are limestone, so you see a lot of this type of water caused growth as the limestone melts:

At one point, before they realized the damage caused by the oils in human beings, a chapel was created in the caverns, and this was where the bride and groom stood:

It’s around fifty degrees or less inside and a bit wet. This shelf developed above a formation that vaguely resembles a tortoise. It was so large, I couldn’t grab a photo:

I thought this looked like a cow utter. Anyone want to milk it? LOL:

Shockingly, there is a bit of plant life inside the caverns due to moisture and the type of plant, a member of the fern family:

This is one of the few places a stalactite met a stalagmite:

There is also an underground river flowing, which you can hear before you see it. Here it is along the walkway:

The reason for the name of the Caverns is that, despite testing, they don’t know where the underground river comes out!

Here is a very fragile white growth that they don’t get close to or examine for fear of breaking it:

We had a great day at the Caverns!

Next Up: Day 78 – Back to Biking and Kerri Meets a Publisher!