Lo and behold, bats, and in Sick Bat Cave of all places! These bats aren't of the Disney variety, black and beady-eyed, squawking around the cave opening. Once everyone makes it inside, Sue Kelly asks, "Anyone need CPR?"Ī delighted child exclaims, "Mom, there are bats in here!" Scrawled in angry black letters near the entrance: "YOU WILL DIE."Įntry to the next cave, Sick Bat, requires a 4-foot drop down slippery rocks.
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In red and blue spray paint inside the cave, previous visitors have left their marks: "Yvette," "Korn," "Burnouts 4 Life," plus the occasional profanity and enough marijuana references to cover a mural. You can tell by the gifts they left behind _ the Bud Light bottle label, the empty bag of Rold Gold Snack Mix, the flattened Marlboro Reds box. Men (and women) have definitely trod here. This natural wonder's name is self-explanatory. "I don't think I'll be doing that again any time soon," she says after she manages to come out.įor Triplett, the carpenter from New Port Richey and veteran of 50 caving expeditions, Peace Cave is "kind of lame." He is glad to move on to the next stop, the more challenging Vandals Cave. Though she is a slender woman, the space is tight, and she panics. Standing behind him, Sue hesitantly hoists herself through and immediately regrets it. He squeezes his 6-foot-2 frame into the space. Being short is a godsend, allowing easy access to narrow passages like one in Peace Cave.Īfter his son Hayden snakes through, Pete Kelly looks to his wife, Sue, and shrugs. Kids don't have to worry about bad backs or arthritic knees. The kids traipse around the nooks and crannies while the adults feel their way more cautiously. "I bet there are skulls in here," says John Corlett's son, Morgan. She won't tell you what lurks around the corner. "Right now it is 10 times darker than when you close your eyes at night. "Everyone turn your flashlights off," Emmert says, and everyone obeys. Farther inside, a clearing allows cavers to stand up, temporarily: Beyond this comfort zone the ceiling dips again. Inside, rocks jut from the ceiling, leaving a crawl space about 3 feet high. Slowly and steadily, each caver lowers into the hole, grasping tree roots or rocks for support. The mouth of the cave gapes from the ground. Little brothers.Ī spray-painted peace sign from long ago peels from a tree outside Peace Cave. "It's called a headlight," she replies, exasperated. Kelly's 8-year-old son, Hayden, points to the flashlight attached to his 12-year-old sister's hat. Members of the group straighten their caps and push backpacks and coolers off to the side. Under her breath, she adds, "Then again, I've been on three trips." "I've never seen a bear," Emmert assures everyone. Nothing to worry about, just little guys like rats, bats and cave crickets. She offers some tips: Crouch low, always hold a hand up to feel the ceiling and watch out for critters. Emmert doesn't elaborate on why it smells the way it does. A fifth, dubbed Potty Cave, is not on the itinerary. The plan is to hit four caves today: Peace, Vandal, Sick Bat and Danger. "This is Mother Nature we're fooling with." "This isn't Busch Gardens," adds Sue Kelly, who is from Tampa. "We're not in Kansas anymore," Land O'Lakes resident John Corlett says. Still, as the white MOSI van blazes through Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando counties, no one knows what to expect.Īfter an hour of driving, tour leader Amy Emmert, a 23-year-old USF biology major, pulls off near a country road and leads the clan into the forest.
Hitting your head against a rocky ceiling is nobody's idea of fun.Įveryone on this trip knows all of this. If you go, don't wear anything that you can't live without, because you're going to get really dirty, as in caked with mud.Įven if you aren't afraid of the dark, bring a flashlight. If tight, enclosed spaces leave you short of breath, you might want to try something else. Though these caves pale compared to Kentucky's Mammoth Cave, after a day of exploring you leave the forest with a sense of accomplishment.
“Oh my God, you’re Harry Du Bois,” Kim said.Anyone willing to crawl through tight underground spaces can tackle these Citrus County wonders. metaphorically.Įven without his signature disco-era clothes, body-glitter, and silver guitar, his bushy muttonchops and mullet were unmistakable, and how could Kim not recognize him? Kitsuragi had a poster and box of records all bearing this man’s likeness. Bongo_theBear, thepalewalker Fandoms: Disco Elysium (Video Game)
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