Arthur Singleton's Cave

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting to go caving again this summer, it finally happened!  A group of us from the Creation Museum, and a couple others came along: Kyle and Amanda, Matt and Amy, myself, Jimmy Rice, Katelyn Ketron, and then David Intal all finally got together as we traveled south.  Finally arriving at the parking for the cave I could hardly wait to get down and dirty in the cave.  So our group ate lunch, and then we headed in!

                         (Entrance to Arthur Singleton's Cave)
When we entered we were in a small room with some formations almost immediately.  To our right stretched the main section of the cave.  It was a crawling/stooping over rim stone pools, flowstone, and stalactites and stalagmites.

Kyle, Amanda, and Amy I guess were surprised by this being some of the easiest caving you can do.  But they did a really good job sticking with the crawling and continuing on, even though it wasn't their favorite thing to do.  I was impressed :)

After that section of crawling was over we arrived in a long passageway we could walk along.  Formations decorated the passage everywhere!

                                    (Jimmy, David, and Katelyn)
We followed this passage for a ways, missing the side passage which leads to the huge Empire Room.  Instead, after some ducking and weaving, we arrived at a cross passage where a small stream system flows.  While the group rested I checked out the cross section and decided this was the main water route when flooding occurs.  And correctly lined this up with the passage that leads to a siphon on the map.  There was a lot of organic debris that confirmed this.

So I rejoined the group and then most of us were in the group picture we took.

                                            (Josh, David, Jimmy, Amanda, Amy, Katelyn)
Then I decided that we would go back out to the main entrance.  I figured Amanda and Amy had pushed themselves enough.  So we all made our way back out.  Kyle joined them, and Katelyn couldn't stay with us guys to go one an adventure (she looked like a sad, dejected puppy because of that).

                                          (On the way out...)
Then us guys went up the left side to find the domes that were on the map.  We ended up going up what is called "One legged passage.  Crawling and crouching through gravel until we reached what is called Nadine's Bathtub".

                                        (On the way we ran into a fellow cave dweller)

                                      (Matt, in "One Legged Passage")
Jimmy was out in front and he plunged into Nadine's Bathtub first.  When he reached the other side and slithered out of the water we heard him exclaiming how beautiful it was up ahead and we had to follow!  So one by one we all took our turn going through the muddy bathtub.  When we came out we were faced with a couple domes.  Water trickled from the ceilings, and there was nice flowstone coming down the sides!  It was incredible!

(Matt, looking up in one of the domes)

David, Jimmy, and I climbed up some flowstone and got a nice vantage point from inside one of the domes.  After looking around, however, it was time to go.  So we all huddled near the entrance to Nadine's Bathtub, had a powwow, and then I went first.

                                      (Entrance to Nadine's Bathtub)

                                      (David, coming through the bathtub)
We took another couple minutes once all of us were through the bathtub, and then we made our way out of the cave and got changed.  Then it was time to leave and head back home :(

                                     (The fearless men: Matt, Josh, Jimmy, and David)

For all my photos from the trip: https://picasaweb.google.com/jholcomb8/20110802ArthurSingletonSCaveAugust22011