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A question of the ages:

Deep in the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest, an underground enchantment awaits visitors. Although tourists are now a natural species of the area, vastly sprawling caverns carved their way into the hillside with minimal attention until the 1930's. Unfortunately, the cave entrance offered a 75 foot drop as a welcome mat into the caverns. Because of this deadly welcome, the technology to explore the cave in depth did not come about until 1960. Before 1960, the first documented visit was in 1934 and another exploration occurred in 1955. It was during this 1955 exploration that explorers discovered secrets deep within the walls of the caverns. Today, visitors can view the mystery that has baffled scientists.

Upon first arriving at Blanchard Springs Caverns, tourists enter a building that mirrors other buildings around the country where tourists flock. A counter of brochures, a gift shop, and a museum add to the sameness of other destinations seeking visitors. One thing separates the building from its counterparts-a pair of elevators in the center of the room. Since the building is merely one-storey, there is only one way for the elevators to travel-down! Descending over 200 feet into the ground, visitors exit the elevator to the awe-inspiring greatness of the "Cathedral Room." This room is so-named for its vast size and a column of stone that rises over six-stories tall.

The "Cathedral Room" is the beginning of the "Dripstone Tour." This tour is offered year round and allows visitors to gape upon every kind of cave formation a limestone cavern can invent; however, the tour guides are quick to warn the guests not to touch any of the beauty that adorns the cave. Blanchard Springs Caverns is one of the few "living caves," and for this reason, its "life" is protected from oily skinned humans who could destroy the growth. Since the words "don't touch!" is like an invitation to "touch!" a stone is provided to ease the curiosity of those oily skinned visitors.

Besides the "Dripstone Tour," guests are offered a chance to visit the "Discovery Trail." The "Discovery Trail Tour" is only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day because during the winter, thousands upon thousands of bats are hibernating in this area of the cave. During the summer, in order to travel this path, the elevator descends another hundred feet below ground into the second level of the cave. Here, the mysteries of the cave are open for examination. That 75 foot drop welcome mat is

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