When I was a kid, my immediate family and I used to go to family reunions in Oklahoma. Most of the time these reunions were held at the Alabaster Caverns State Park. The 200 acre park is located near Alva, OK. Obviously, the coolest thing about the park is the guided cave tours.

One of the coolest things about that cave was that near the end (this was in the 80's) the tour guide, who also happened to be my great aunt, would tell the 40 people on the tour that there were 2 ways out of the cavern. You could use the marked pathway or there was an assistant guide that would lead you through a very narrow crack and out of the cave. She also added that halfway through the crack you would have to crawl on your hands and knees and that this exit was not for those who were claustrophobic. 

I was probably 9-11 years old at the time and deathly afraid of confined spaces, so I never did it. I am no longer claustrophobic (or acrophobic) and I want to go back one day and see if they will still let you exit through the narrow crack.

There was also a point in the tour where the guide would shut off all of the lights to let the tourists experience total darkness.

Also, I can remember my great aunt  pointing out a tiny rock on the other side of one of the caverns that we were in and then telling us that it was the size of a two story building.

These are great memories for me and I would like to hear your stories because caves fascinate me! Maybe I should try spelunking?

Great story man. No, sadly I have never even been in a cave and most likely never will. I have watched a lot of stuff on TV about caves though lol. I would like to see the crystal caves in person.

I took a guided tour of Mammoth Caves and it was probably one of the funnest things I've done in my life. They have a "Wild" guided tour that lasts 6 hours and forces you to crawl through nooks and crannies, but there's no way my husband would ever fit through it.   I would give anything to take that tour though... and the best part is that they're super cheap!  Maybe some day I can do it without feeling guilt for making him wait. haha.

However, I have always, ALWAYS wanted to genuinely explore a cave.  Forget the guides.... just let me at the rocky tunnels!  Spelunking?  My witty friend... let's do it together!

You should take a look at my Mammoth Cave thread:  Minecraft - Been there, Done that.

GenesisJunkie : There is something about touring a cave that feels like an adventure or other-worldly. I just watched a video tour of the Crystal Caves from their website. I think it would be cool to check them out. 

Singelli : That was a great post about the Mammoth Caves. Spelunking with Singelli? Sounds cool!

By myself ? No . On a field trip ? Yes . The Green Grotto Caves in Jamaica are kinda cool . We went through a series of caverns and stuff . Once we went to a part that had no light whatsoever . Man was that eerie But I enjoyed it . There were a lot of bats though . And with bats comes guano

No. I never explored a cave in real life. But Uhhh..those exploring a cave in minecraft count? (Because your still "exploring caves".)

A user of this : All this talk of caves has got me wanting to explore one. Colorado isn't too far from me either...

Mr. Zed : Have you ever put a cave in one of your stories? They always say to write what you know.

supercool22 : Uhhh, I'm gonna say "no". I've explored caves in minecraft too and it's cool but not the same.

thephantombrain : Nope . But there is going to be one . It was going to be pitch black and even with the aid of a torch no light can exist in it . I was also going to have a scene where Zed and Roger have a sword fight in a Large dark rum barrel which was also dark . Though light could exist in it . But if the torch fell then KABOOM . So that is going to be interesting  

I have gone into vertical caves called "Hell Holes" because they are essentially going straight down. You have to be very careful not to slip but it's really cool once you make it to the bottom. It was a nice open area but very dark of course! But then you have to climb all the way back up if you want to get out XD

Except for one of those public ones were there really isn't anything spectacular, no. I'd love to, though. Caves are fascinating, and full of mysteries. I have in minecraft, though.

I have been to caves twice. Once when I was very little and once last year. Both times were cool since the caves had really open spaces and it was well lit. I'm afraid of confined spaces, so I would never intentionally explore a cave since I might get lost and end up trying to squeeze through crevices to escape.

I do recall visiting a museum within the grade of third and I do believe it had led into an actual cave, which had been pretty intriguing to myself. I am not certain if it was a real cave or not (the museum was in an area where a lot of miners used to mine back then), but if it is not real, would that continue to matter?

Well yes but they never were all that deep to begin with. But a cave is a cave.

It has been a while since I have been in one, but yes, I have been in a cave before, I was in a cave in Yosemite national park when I was like 6 or 7 or so and I remember all the stalactites and it was really quite the site to see. I don't think I have ever visited a cave since then though.  I have taken many field trips in school before, but most of them were to museums. Nevertheless, I have visited a cave before. 

When I went to north Georgia, we went into a gold mine and we walked around. It was really cool

Recently, my friends and I found a very small hole in a huge rock in Central Park. One friend lied down and looked in with a flashlight and saw that there was a huge room in the rock. We squeezed in and saw that there was a very small pathway hole that went deeper into the rock but went down under the ground about 10 feet. The place was cool, but very creepy with the flashlight.

I went into caves in Italy. It was very big and there was only a small part to walk around but it was a nice experience. I like to see stalactites and stalagmites and it's also really cool to see old mine tracks,minerals or high ceilings. I've been here in caves as well but there aren't many caves here as we don't have real mountains or deep sea caves.