An Unexpected Cave

We didn’t have any excursions planned for the morning, but as we made our way southward on US-52 toward Iowa we saw a sign for the Niagara Cave. We were ahead of schedule, so we decided to stop—and we were glad we did!



The cave was discovered when a farmer lost three pigs and sent his sons out to find them. The boys found a sinkhole, and inside that sinkhole they discovered not only the pigs, but a cave.

The cave tour had a lot of stairs and narrow passageways—as well as high humidity and a temperature of 48 F--so it wouldn’t be a great tour for everyone (Katherine’s exercise asthma set in on the return up the last staircase). It was a great tour, though. There’s a chapel, a wishing pool, and a lovely waterfall.



This is one of the most active caves we’ve ever visited, with water dripping everywhere. We had to watch our step and our heads (when tour operators caution visitors about low ceilings, are they more concerned with our noggins or with the development of the cave?), and the boys ended up with mud on the legs of their jeans anyway.