Move day from Blountstown to Marianna; just 20 miles if you drive directly but we had three choices of 60, 72 and a 100. Mike and I chose the middle route. We set out in a cold misty rain that finally relented after two hours. Saw several horse farms and cattle grazing closer to Marianna. We also passed a number of lakes full of lily pads. Very little wildlife except the occasional roadkill of possum and armadillo.
This year's event is called Caverns to Coast Tour and in the afternoon we learned why. We took a shuttle bus out to a State Park on the Northern edge of Marianna. We joined a guided underground (40-50 ft) walk through limestone caverns. We learned the difference between a cave which is an opening underground a cavern which has formations of precipitated rock, known as stalagmites and stalactites. Which is which, I am still confused. These caverns were discovered quite by accident in the 1930's when a tree blew over in a storm and its root ball opened a cavity. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) took on the project of creating a tourist attraction by removing rock to open passageways from the existing 2 feet to 4-6 feet in height over a five year period. They also left behind a rock sided visitor center that is still in use as a gift shop. We saw a few sleeping tiny bats. Here are just a few pictures:
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