Tunnel Cave, MO

[pulaskicaver]

Come on up and help survey anytime Pam!

[Phil Winkler]

James,

Thanks for that info. Yep, I remember all of that once you mention it. My take on Pulaski Co and FLW was it is a great place to live if you like the outdoors. My daughter grew up there and then graduated from the University of the Ozarks in Branson. She gave up caving even tho she has a great NSS number of 16000.

[pulaskicaver]

Definately a place for outdoor oriented folks...tho it does have a multiplex theatre now. Now that's progress!

I left Waynesville in 1987 after graduating high school. Started mapping caves in '82 with the MSM Spelunkers while I was still in Junior High.

Did you ever cave with Tom Tucker? Seems like he may have been working on the first Cox Cave map about the time you were there.

[Phil Winkler]

James,

Didn't know Tom. I was a young soldier then and just starting caving. My companions were other soldiers I could talk into going. I moonlighted in the lab at Pulaski Co Hospital up on the hill so I did get to know many local medics; Ogden Dewitt, his Dad, Dr. Nichols, Esther the Tester, etc., etc. Oh, and Mr. Berry of Berry's Cave fame, too.

I first heard of the NSS from a group of MSM cavers coming out of Berry's Cave one afternoon. I then joined the NSS after returning from Vietnam a year or so later.

What was the smallish cave close to town known for its cave pearls? Also mentioned in Bretz.

[pulaskicaver]

The only cave I recall Bretz mentioning with cave pearls is Skaggs Cave. It is located a few miles from Tunnel Cave's upper enrance along the old waynesvile -crocker road. It was mapped by SEMO grotto back in the 80's and found to be over a mile long. The seemingly "Carlsbad Size" speleothems in his book are actually quite small in person. I always thought that was funny. But it looked impressive in the book.

There is a highly decorated cave that may once have had cave pearls called Campground Cave which is in the city limits of Waynesville. You can see the entrance from a gravel road. Unfortuately it has been vandalized quite a bit. It's 2,000 ft long.

JC

[Phil Winkler]

JC,

Skaggs' rings a bell, but the cave pearl cave I am thinking of was actually near homes, etc. on the hill overlooking Waynesville. It was to the right of the road coming from St. Roberts (old road?) as you came down the hill into WV just before you turned right on 17. You would turn right into the hillside and go up a road. The cave sat about 40-50 ft off a road with a smallish walk-in entrance. Vandalized a bit back then, but cave pearls were in abundance.

[pulaskicaver]

Phil-

I am not familiar with a cave in that location. Maybe it will turn out be a new one to the MSS cave database? If so, thanks!

Perhaps you are referring to Bell Bluff Cave...the same bluff where they always have the nativity scene every year. There is a long, steep drive up the hill to Bell Bluff and there are several homes up there. And it does obverlook the Waynesville valley. The entrance is small to medium sized and the view from there is spectacular. (If you think Waynesville is spectacular as I do) ha

JC

[minerals]

Pulaski Caver - look what I stumbled into - Cox Cave, and yes I did map it in the late 60's. You're in great cave country. I'd look in my files to see which cave your friend is asking about, but they're out in Montana, and I'm not. A mile in Tunnel Cave? It's a neat cave, but I guess I didn't realize it was that long. Good caving, tom

[Phil Winkler]

Tom and JC,

No. I was thinking about Skagg's Cave after all. It just is a bit foggy in my mind how I got to it.

Doesn't Bretz mention cave pearls in his description of it?

Oh, my daughter graduated from WHS in 1990 so you likely did not know each other.

Next question: If you cross the river south/west of Waynesville and drive up the valley (this is opposite the R17 side) you can then walk up a pasture on the left. Maybe 500 yds in to the pasture there is a low rise on the left with a cave entrance with a large standing water pool in it. Cows frequent this place in the summer for all the usual reasons. Owls have been known to roost near the entrance and make a very loud noise when they are flying out.

In the back of the cave is a large room with nice formations, but getting there requires a long hands and knees crawl through meadering passage.

I visited it solo on a Xmas Day in 1973 or so. After about 30 min of crawling back and forth I came to a red & white lettered sign placed at face height that said: "How sweet it is!".

I laughed and turned around and went home.

Do you know the cave? It is also likely in Bretz.

[Teresa]

Bretz does make a big deal about cave pearls in Skaggs.
More recent reports made a big deal about how the pearls had been vandalized, and were all gone. However, many are still there--non-geologists don't know what Bretz described as 'pearls' and are looking for the wrong thing. The cave is now gated, with access permitted but controlled by the MCKC.

Mr. Winkler, if you have not been to Pulaski County since the early 1970s, you would hardly recognize the place. It as become quite urbanized, as the Fort and its "support services" have greatly expanded. This is a good thing and a bad thing. Parts of it are now indistinguishable from suburbia, and other points look like a backlot version of Vegas on a shoestring budget, but don't spare the mercury lights and neon. Downtown Waynesville is pretty much as it always has been, but out along I-44--whoo-boy! Almost like the real world now. Yes, I visited there in the early 1960s, the 1970s, and drove through it just last summer. The glow on the night sky will blind you.

[Phil Winkler]

Teresa,

Thanks for the info. What's the MCKC?

I visited briefly in 1990 to attend a high school graduation and was amazed at all the development in the St. Robert area then. I did not get to drive around very much unfortunately.

[Teresa]

MCKC is Missouri Caves and Karst Conservancy.

http://www.mocavesandkarst.org

Not an NSS affilate, but it is crawling with NSS members.

[Phil Winkler]

Teresa,

Very cool. MCKC is similar to SCCI then. I enjoyed reading about Skagg's Cave, too. I remember exploring it, but don't remember how to get to it or where it is in relation to anything out there. Is it in the town limits of WV? Off 17?

[Teresa]

The cave is north of town towards Crocker, and off a gravel road. That doesn't narrow it down too much because Pulaski County still has many caves and gravel roads.

A good part of the money to obtain the cave was donated by an ex-Ft. Wood soldier named Ron Jaeger or Jaegers. He liked the cave and offered to help the MCKC to purchase it.

[Caver1402]

I thought the name sounded familiar ... I had to go check the titles on my pics from my last MO visit. I helped Spike and Goska survey a little bit of Tunnel Spring this past October. I *think* our survey brought the total length just over the 2 mi marker, but I can't be sure ... Spike would know. I do have the cave right, don't I? I wouldn't want to sound like more of a doofus than I am.