http://www.smallincave.com (http://www.smallincave.com)
Smallin cave is in Ozark Mo and is open for business again. It is owned buy Wanetta Bright and her husband. Wanetta currently works for SDC at Marvel but is leaving us to run her own cave. Smallin looks like a cool place to visit.
I've cruised that Website before. You are right, it is a nice looking cave. I wish them well. It's hard to start a new business, and the cave has been a site to visit on and off for over a 100 years. I hope they get the crowds through they need to make it a successful venture.
Just wondering, has anyone visited this cave since it opened? How is it and the facilities that serve it? The operators are former SDC employees who worked at Marvel Cave, I think.
I personally have never been to this cave. In fact, this is my first time even hearing about this cave. It looks very interesting, and the first thing that caught my eye was how flat the walkways appeared inside. Sure, looks can be deceiving from photographs, but it seems just short of wheelchair accessible. It would be a great alternative for those who can't handle the many steps, and descents at Marvel Cave. I would be interested in hearing a trip review, or comments about it too! :)
There is a rich history to this cave. Schoolcraft, and English writer, visited on his famous tour of the Ozarks in the 19th Century. He wrote a book about his travels in the Ozarks. It was used in the Civil War for ammo storage. It was a place people traveled to in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for entertainment and picnic purposes. I'd love to visit sometime.
I almost went this summer when I was staying in Springfield, but I didn't get a chance. MSU kept me too awfully busy! I have it on my list of things to do in the Ozarks (and I only have a list of things to do @ home, and then one for the Ozarks...nowhere else gets that kind of treatment!) So it must be important!