Gillen Family: Skyline Caverns

We took the kids to Skyline Caverns on Friday the 4th. It was a long drive over there, seriously, I don't think traffic on 495 or 66 is EVER good.On the way there Katelynn started crying that she had to go potty. Well there was nothing but construction and really no place to stop on 495, so I figured as soon as we hit 66 in 2 miles we'll get off and she can go. 30 minutes later we pulled into McDonald's. I stopped at the door so Chris could run her in while I parked. A few minutes later they came back and Chris said I had to take her in. Apparently since telling Katelynn the difference between girl and boy bathrooms she can only use the girl potty's. LOL

We got her a kids meal for being such a good girl and holding it in for so long. Her and Denver inhaled the nuggets and fries. Even though we told them a girl toy they gave us a boy toy so it just went into the glovebox.

We got back on the road and not even 5 miles later Katelynn starts crying, "I've got to poop!" Chris told her, no we were just at a bathroom and you went now you'll have to wait. Katelynn will sometimes say things to get us to stop or to prolong going to bed, so I wasn't sure if she had to or not...well 5 minutes later she was crying really good and getting really upset, so I stopped in Marshall, VA. Talk about memories! Anyway, it was another McDonald's (I imagine McDonald's could someday mean something bad to her - LOL). And, yes, she did poop, and she sighed and said all better now. Awe, the poor little thing. The rest of the trip there was uneventful.
Both kids were happy to be out of the car and moving around. We got our tickets for the tour and waited for it to start. Katelynn found a butterfly in the parking lot!

Thankfully I remembered to pack the kids jackets. It was chilly in the caverns.

There were only 2 other people on the tour with us. I don't think they get a lot of business here. The caverns were okay, nothing spectacular. Katelynn absolutely loved it though and talks about going back.

There was a small waterfall inside...

I had trouble getting some areas to come out right. This was a reflection type pool - the surface was like a mirror and you could see the ceiling. It was actually pretty neat.

My pictures just didn't work right there - too much flash above, and not enough below.

This stone they want you to touch. It shows how all the oils from our skins affect the caverns. Compared to everything else it looked really shiny.

The "Eagle."

This was another reflection type pool. They had lots of lights on this one...

Some quick family shots...

I can't remember what this stuff was called. The tour guide told us that these caverns were the only one's that had these things on display. They were beautiful. My pictures don't do them justice. They were like white crystals hanging from the ceiling. Some spots made it look like someone had thrown powdered sugar on the ceiling though...

260+ feet beneath the surface.

There was a section where water ran through like a stream. Our tour guide said this is where they found a bear's tooth and some other type artifacts. Katelynn thought it was neat!

After touring the caverns we walked across the parking lot and went through their hall of mirrors. It was cheesy and fun all at the same time.

You were supposed to wander through until you found the golden egg. Mirrors in front of the egg made you think there were more then one. Katelynn loved it. Chris had to hold Denver because he kept running into the mirrors - LOL

Afterwards we did the little half-mile walk they had on the property. They had a train ride too, but, unfortunately, it wasn't operating because of the rain.