Ohio Caverns by Stormy on July 30, 2007
Businesses, they say, are only as good as their managers. If you want a quality operation, you go to people who know what they are doing and who love doing it. Such was the cave at Ohio Caverns.
As I was getting tickets to go into Ohio Caverns, I discovered that the cave manager, working the front desk, was an NSS member. He was very excited about his cave and made an assurance that it was a world different from my tour at Olentangy Indian Caverns. "Take the tour," he said, "and if you don't think it's better than Olentangy, come back and I'll refund your money." You have to be pretty sure of yourself to make a claim like that.
So off I went with a group of fourteen tourists and two guides. Needless to say, the first room put Olentangy Indian Caverns to shame and the formations only got better and better. We traveled through the Crystal Sea, the Catacombs and the Big Room. The Ohio Caverns Big Room doesn't even being to compare to Carlsbad's Big Room – all of Ohio Caverns would probably fit in there – but it had rather amazing formations such as the Old Town Pump and the Crystal King. One stalactite and stalagmite set was perfectly aligned and just 1/16 of an inch apart. Aaron, the tour guide, claimed that in about 40 years the two formations would merge to create a column. That's a claim I'm willing to believe!
I found the tour entertaining and informative and best of all, I did not feel the urge to shout "bullshit!" at the top of my lungs. The tour was indeed good cave science.
On the way out I checked in with the manager again and told him that I really did appreciate having a professional tour. It was time and money well spent.
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