Hall of Fame caves

[BROUSER]

Have you talked to Matt recently? They found another room in Riverbluff Cave. I can't remember if my wife or my brother told me about it. Wife works with Matt on the Natural History Museum board, and brother doing the geology degree thing at Missouri State, I think he was in the cave this past weekend. Oh, and by-the-by, I hear Doling cave is getting new security structure, supposed to be more bat-friendly.

[Underdog]

That ladder is sexy.

[Sertile]

No, I haven't spoken with Matt in some time. I'm not sure if I have his email right (and if you know it, would you mind PM'ing me?), because I wrote him about volunteering at the Riverbluff excavations (I have a background in archaeology) and he hasn't replied.

Don't even speak to me of Doling Cave. Sequiota Cave is much more dangerous and has a CONSIDERABLY larger bat population, yet it's open to the public. There's absolutely no reason to have that gate there in the first place.

[Willard]

No, I haven't spoken with Matt in some time. I'm not sure if I have his email right (and if you know it, would you mind PM'ing me?), because I wrote him about volunteering at the Riverbluff excavations (I have a background in archaeology) and he hasn't replied.

Don't even speak to me of Doling Cave. Sequiota Cave is much more dangerous and has a CONSIDERABLY larger bat population, yet it's open to the public. There's absolutely no reason to have that gate there in the first place.

If I remember right, there was an artical some time ago about them finding an endangered species of bat in Doling Cave... If that's the case then that's the reason for the gate. If they find an endangered species in Sequiota Cave they'll block access to that one as well.

[Sertile]

Well I've yet to see a bat in Doling Cave, and those bars have been there a long time, but anything's possible.

[BROUSER]

I can get Matt's e-mail, but don't expect a reply any time soon. Every time my brother talks to him he tells him to give him a call with any help he might need, but I think Matt has all the help he needs right now. And if you know him, you know how he is about HIS cave. I know you can find an e-mail for him at one of the Grotto Club/Cave group websites, I've seen it. I should see him before too long, supposed to have an pre-opening get together for board members at the new facility out there that they are building now. And I have seen a bat in Doling, not too far from the entrance. I think the issue is not necessarily how dangerous the cave is, but how accessible. I think if Doling was open it would have considerably more traffic than Sequiota. Hey, if you are into archaeology, the cave that might most interest you is Hays Cave down by Hurley. A lot of stoneworking went on there. I know of at least one cache that has been found, and the evidence is all over. Not an extensive cave, but a huge, dry entrance.

[bluecookies]

Have you talked to Matt recently? They found another room in Riverbluff Cave

That doesn't really suprise me. Isn't that the show cave in the extreme SW part of Missouri that those old folks run. The cave is almost more of tunnels than that of just big open rooms. It had looked like tons of passages that just ended without really exploring.

[BROUSER]

Nope, Riverbluff is the cave with the ancient bear shit in it. And other finds. It's the one the guys broke into and then went to jail for, after they defaced some formations and stepped on an ice age snake skeleton.
http://www.riverbluffcave.com/

[bluecookies]

oh thats right, I'm thinking of Bluff Dwellers cave... yeah I think I heard about the new room with Riverbluff on the news a few weeks ago

[Sertile]

So what was in the new room at Riverbluff? Anything yet?

[BROUSER]

I haven't heard of anything yet. When I went down a couple of years ago, there were whole sections they hadn't even gone into except for the initial mapping. I think they are keeping pretty busy still excavating around where they found the turtles, there is a lot of stuff there. I'll get an update from my wife. I don't even know if they have gone into the new room yet, just found the opening under a ledge that had been silted up.

[BROUSER]

Update Riverbluff Cave finds in new room:
Bugs. Ice Age bugs. So far. Matt's not real excited about those. They have hired a full time employee to sit in the building they are putting in. Messed up deal. Parks Dept. required it. Their only function I think is to maintain the grounds, some limited funding maybe, but they have put in all kinds of qualifiers for the little they are giving. That deal is so political. The cave grounds belong to the county, but the parks dept got in somehow and are managing to throw up roadblocks on getting anything else done. They don't even have it in the budget to pay the employee, that money is coming from the Natural History Museum for the first month.