Tunnel of Crystals

Ohio History

Looking Back

As we entered the fourth room, I turned back for this breath-taking snapshot. It was even more impressive in person than the photo (ok, I know the colors are a bit off...). I read some of the names for the underground chambers on the website - everything from "Fantasyland" (that sure fits) to the inventive title"Big Room." I wonder how hard that was to think up? The largest "room" covers almost a half acre, filled with hundreds of crystal formations, each so unique and complex in its design.

 

The Ohio Caverns currently have over 2 miles of surveyed passageways. The Natural Wonders Tour covers the mile most dense with crystals, while the Historic Tour takes visitors to the portion first discovered and opened decades ago. By the way, more about that history in a minute . . .   

Happy Thanksgiving!

Do-It-Yourself Decorating

Autumn Arrangement

 Here's to a wonderful Thanksgiving to all my dear readers! The fall colors in this bright bouquet seemed just right for this year's celebration. I recently made this arrangement from a bunch of odd flowers my mom picked up from our grocery store. It brightened the room of my grandpa who is in the nursing home recovering from hip surgery. This cheerful bouquet reminds me of a passage from Psalm 95:1-2 to bless this Thanksgiving season:

 

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

 

Iron Oxide Crystals

Ohio History

Crystal Combos

As we advanced into the third underground "room" of crystals, our tour guide pointed out the unique "dual formations" in the Caverns. They are combinations of iron oxide sediment at the top and regular calcium crystals at the bottom. These multi-colored formations are thus a mixture of rusty brown and pure white. Can you see both stalactite and column dual formations in the picture above? According to the Caverns' website, these formations are quite rare but Ohio Caverns features a large number of them.

Iron Loopholes

There was plenty of other iron in the underground caves as well. The orange color in the left side and center of this picture is actually hundreds of teeny crystals formed by the iron oxide. And in the back center I believe is a solid iron column, though it's hard to tell. These orange hues were so pretty - it was hard to believe it's the same process that leaves orange hard water stains all over the shower walls!

Crystal King

Ohio History

Champion Crystal

This is the prize crystal of the Ohio Caverns, accurately named Crystal King. Measuring almost five feet long, the crystal stalactite is estimated to weight over 400 pounds. It was amazing to imagine that much weight hanging from such a small top! It is said to be the largest free-hanging crystal stalactite in Ohio, unique in its pure-white color and perfect formation. Crystal King hung back in a rock wall recess, and though we couldn't see it, there is a corresponding stalagmite in a pit far below. According to the Ohio Caverns website, the crystal drips once every 7 to 8 minutes...we didn't stay that long to watch!

White Light

And now enjoy the no-flash, "natural" lighting view of Crystal King. The shadows and highlights are something else. Also, at this point we were as far underground as the tour would take us, about 103 feet. I can be impressed now that I'm not actually in the cave anymore!

Crystal Shapes

Ohio History

Hidden Pictures

Moving into the second "room" of crystals, we began to spot some interesting varied shapes. Don't you just want to light that birthday candle in the center of the photo above? I see an arm and hand reaching down to the left of the candle, and a little orange egg on the right. But did you spot the water spigot on the far right side? This amazing crystal was hardly three inches tall, yet it looks so real! Except for the missing handle...

Light Effects

Ohio History

Crystal Silhouettes

Flash photography brings out the most beautiful colors and detail in the Ohio Caverns rock and crystals. But it also misses some of that "underground mystique." So here are a couple pictures using only the lights featured in the cave. Our tour guide assured us it was all white light, and any colors we saw were natural to the crystals. I love the silhouettes in the picture above. Doesn't it just feel a tiny bit like you're looking into the mouth of a shark?

I couldn't help thinking about a carrot when I took the picture below. I'm pretty sure that crystal is less than 12" long but it sure looks amazing.

Looking Up

Anatomy of a Crystal

Ohio History

Stalactite vs. Stalagmite

Here are a couple larger crystals, still on those rock shelves I described. Do you know the difference between a stalactite and a stalagmite? Truth to be told, I didn't until our tour; now I don't think I shall ever forget them. As our tour guide said, stalactites hang tight from the ceiling; stalagmites might reach the roof someday. So the stalactites hang down; the stalagmites grow up. I wonder how long it will take the one above to reach the ceiling. Will the stalactite reach the floor first?

Columns of Crystal

There was one more kind of crystal formation we saw as well: columns. I suppose the little columns in the picture above are stalactites that have reached the floor (or stalagmites that have reached the roof?). In this particular picture it almost looks like someone has squirted caulk all around the top of the crystals and it's oozing and dripping out! Or is that well-done upside-down meringues?

Rooms of Crystal

Ohio History

Crystal Shelf

 After a good 10 or 15 minutes of walking through rock-walled tunnels, we got our first glimpse of real crystals. The tour we took, called the Natural Wonders tours, traversed through four different "rooms" inhabited by hundreds of crystals. So above is the first "room." The crystals hung from low rocky roofs and grew from corresponding rock "shelves" about four to five feet high. The space between the two rock ledges ranged from two feet to six inches. It felt like looking into a kaleidoscope: rainbow-colored rock backdropped hundreds of miniature white "icicles." A mesmerizing view, to say the least.

From Mud to Cave

Ohio History

Crystal Water Droplets

Here are some of the first crystals we saw. They were tiny - only about an inch long - and hung above a rocky ledge at eye level. Did you spot the drop of water on the end of the foreground crystal? We watched (and used our imaginations) as each drop of water trickled down to leave its own tiny deposite of minerals, lengthening the crystal by . . . oh so little. The Ohio Caverns maintain a steady temperature of 54 degrees all year long, allowing a constant cycle of moisture. Indeed, although it felt both damp and chilly, this environment would be welcome in the freezing winter or summer heat!

Mud Division

 Our tour guide explained that when the caverns were first discovered, the tunnels were actually filled with mud anywhere from 3-6 feet deep. Many hours of man power drained the mud and poured the tunnels with concrete walkways. If you look closely at the picture above, you can see proof of the mud. Can you spot the crystal hanging from the ceiling a ways back that looks to have a bunch of mushroom roots at the bottom? Well, that was actually the base of the crystal, growing atop the mud. Now the mud is gone, but the crystal remains, no longer "planted" but now suspended.

Cavern Tunnels

Ohio History

Colorful Overhead Rock

As we opened the door and entered the rocky tunnel, the view changed dramatically. At first it seemed very dark, damp, and closed-in. Mounted lights shone from crannies in the solid rock walls, creating multiple shadows which blended into the deep darkness of tunnels leading every way off our path. However, as we became accustomed to being underground, we began to marvel at the rich colors of rock above our heads. The photo above is one such view. The camera flash brings out even richer colors than did the cavern lights.

A Tight Squeeze

The tunnels soon became even more challenging. This one was only about a foot wide at the center! Several others were so low we had to duck down as we passed through. It was amazing to feel so closed in underground and yet be part of such a large network of winding tunnels.

Ohio Caverns

Ohio History

Hidden Beauty

Ohio does not boast many amazing natural wonders: no powerful waterfalls, colorful canyons, snowcapped mountains, or scenery. However, there's more under the surface than meets the eye. In the photo above, what appears to be all-too-common sedimentary rock layers conceals one of the most intricate and unique natural features in Ohio. Behind and below that rocky wall, several miles of winding tunnels create elaborate underground caverns. Besides colorful rock formations, these caves are home to hundreds of snow-white crystal columns, ranging from 2" to 4' in length.

So let's head for that tunnel door and explore the Ohio Caverns!

Acorn's Escape

Backyard Poultry

Escape from the Coop

Destroying the grass isn't the only problem we had with our new pen. All those runs were made with wooden frames at the top. And to a chicken, a horizontal piece of wood equals a perch. Chickens have wings, after all, and they can easily fly five to six feet high if they have somewhere to land. So, essentially, we had fenced in our flock with a ring of perches. However, interestingly enough, six of the chickens did not even catch on to this idea at first. Only Acorn, the little adventurous acrobat, decided to try out the new perches. Did you spot Acorn in the photo above?

Acorn the Acrobat

Once up on the frame, a bird could easily tightrope it all the way around the run, and jump off the other side to . . . freedom! In fact, Acorn seemed to take great enjoyment simply in pacing the various bars on the tops of the runs, as though keeping watch on the rest of our flock. But soon enough it got down on the other side, off to make mischief elsewhere in our garden or flower beds. Still have a ways to go with this idea . . .

Chicken Courtyard

Backyard Poultry

The New Pen

Here's a view down into the open pen created by the runs. As you may have noticed, it's scattered generously with carrot and celery scraps from our kitchen. The chickens don't know what feast they have! Actually, that's true in more than one respect, since all that grass will not be there for long. It's very difficult to keep vegetation of any kind in a chicken pen because of their constant scratching and pecking. So we will see how long it takes seven chickens to demolish thick, healthy grass. Did you spot Peeper going for those dandelions?

New Chicken Pen

Backyard Poultry

Rearranging Runs

 Having failed at our wonderful plan to let all seven chickens run free on leashes, we turned to making a larger stationary pen for them. This way, the hens would have more room to run about all day, and we wouldn't have to drag a chicken run out to pasture and back at nightfall. It was quite simple: use all the runs as perimeter fencing and create an open courtyard in the middle. The poultry seemed to enjoying running in and out of all the chicken run doors!

Chicken Leash

Backyard Poultry

Chicken on a Leash

Dragging those chicken runs around was not getting to be any more fun the longer it went on. Neither was the size of the runs getting any larger. In fact, we were beginning to wish the chickens could have more space in which to run while we could do less work. Dogs and cats use leashes; horses and goats have tether ropes; even cows and sheep can be tied. What about chickens? So my sister and I proceeded to cut long, thin lengths from sheets ("leashes") and attach them to the handy chicken saddles the hens already wore. What could work better?

Leash Pinned to Chicken Saddle

Well...not so fast! Birds, it seems, are not nearly as accustomed to being restrained from behind as other animals. The poor test chicken (Pepper) proceeded to flap, struggle, run wildly about the yard, and nearly tear off its saddle! It certainly was not facilitating any grazing. Exercise, yes, but only in equal proportion to the person on the other end of the leash! So much for that idea...