Meramec Caverns

Meramec Caverns is a 400 million plus year old cave that is located in Stanton, Missouri in the LoJolla Natural Park. It has been a part of the Missouri history dating back all the way to the Native Americans, who used the cave system as shelter, it then went on to be used to extract slatpeter which was used to make gun powder during the Civil War by the Union Army but is most famous for the man who helped run the Union Army out of the caves and then used it at a later time himself as a hideout and that was American outlaw, legend, hero to some  Jesse James and his brother Frank James.

Meramec has formed an enormous 7 story limestone cave with extremely beautiful stalactite and stalagmite formations greeting each other with a wonderful array of earth tones and pinks and whites. It really is quite breathtaking inside of there, but would be more so if you didn't have to tour with a thousand children and listen to a cheesy stoner kid tour guide. Even though I just said that, the kids were hilarious, all of the questions that they asked and repeating everything the tour guide said, at one point the tour guide asked Andy and I if we were OK in the back and Andy yelled out "We're good!" that was directly followed by several little sweet voice echoing Andy with a "we're good" and then another "we're good" and yet another "we're good". They were cute and we were blessed to have curious kids on our tour that were truly fascinated by what they saw. The tour guide was probably 21 or younger and was a very robust young man with extremely curly hair that went to just before his chin. I could just see this kid sitting in front of his TV, playing video games, drinking a two liter and eating Cheetos after a large toke from his bong. So  naturally, I loved the guy, he was really quite funny and sarcastic and I appreciated his patience with everyone taking photos and also the fact that he let Andy and I lag behind in the back to get some great photos. Now, that being said, as fun and touristy as it was I still would have loved to be the french miner that discovered it in 1722. Oh what a sight that would have been! Below are some of my favorite pictures inside of the cave.

Thanks for reading, til we meet again!