Post by Sharon Faulkner on Oct 4, 2006 10:38:27 GMT -5
Rockwoods Cave a cool trip into darkness
Annette Chartier-Warren
For the Suburban Journals
10/04/2006 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Crawling on your belly on damp ground through a narrow opening into a musty smelling darkness that bats, crickets and salamanders call home might not be everyone's idea of a good time.
But so many people are curious about caving that Rockwoods Reservation naturalists work hard to educate the public about protecting the natural wonder of Rockwoods Cave in Wildwood.
Rockwoods Reservation naturalist program supervisor Nick Davis leads tours of the cave once a month for the general public, more often for schools, from spring to October. The last caving expedition for this season will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6.
After that, the bats will be taking their winter siesta. During the winter, human guests are not welcome in the cave because bats don't actually go into a deep hibernation as bears do. They're light sleepers.
Preservation of this mini-ecosystem, this other whole underground world, is important because it is totally different from what we see in the "light world." Therefore, Davis encourages visitors to respect and be aware of their surroundings when exploring a cave.
Of the more than 6,000 caves in Missouri, Rockwoods Cave is considered an open (Class I) cave. This means the cave has few sensitive features and no endangered species. Class II caves are restricted and Class III caves are closed due to dangers such as flooding, the presence of endangered species or other reasons. Most Missouri caves are located on private property and therefore are not open to the public. The caves that are open to visitors, such as Meramec Caverns, are called "show caves."
Rockwoods cave is an introductory crawl cave, not a show cave or the type of cave that requires ropes and technical gear for spelunking.
Complete Article
Annette Chartier-Warren
For the Suburban Journals
10/04/2006 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Crawling on your belly on damp ground through a narrow opening into a musty smelling darkness that bats, crickets and salamanders call home might not be everyone's idea of a good time.
But so many people are curious about caving that Rockwoods Reservation naturalists work hard to educate the public about protecting the natural wonder of Rockwoods Cave in Wildwood.
Rockwoods Reservation naturalist program supervisor Nick Davis leads tours of the cave once a month for the general public, more often for schools, from spring to October. The last caving expedition for this season will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6.
After that, the bats will be taking their winter siesta. During the winter, human guests are not welcome in the cave because bats don't actually go into a deep hibernation as bears do. They're light sleepers.
Preservation of this mini-ecosystem, this other whole underground world, is important because it is totally different from what we see in the "light world." Therefore, Davis encourages visitors to respect and be aware of their surroundings when exploring a cave.
Of the more than 6,000 caves in Missouri, Rockwoods Cave is considered an open (Class I) cave. This means the cave has few sensitive features and no endangered species. Class II caves are restricted and Class III caves are closed due to dangers such as flooding, the presence of endangered species or other reasons. Most Missouri caves are located on private property and therefore are not open to the public. The caves that are open to visitors, such as Meramec Caverns, are called "show caves."
Rockwoods cave is an introductory crawl cave, not a show cave or the type of cave that requires ropes and technical gear for spelunking.
Complete Article
