Mammoth+Cave+Encounter

=Mammoth Cave Encounter=

By: Katy Weis
The forest air was all around me. My feet moved towards the small door. Breathing in again, the air was stuffy and humid. I looked around- my eyes studied the rock and tiny wrought-iron stairs going down, down, down. The rock looked like it was persperating, covered with sticky water. My hair dampened. Looking up, I saw small raindrops falling down to 'plop!' on someone's head. Medium sized spotlights pinpointed interesting rock formations, but I was glad when we reached the bottom. A dry, safe haven down two hundred fifty-something feet from sea level. It was like that on the way up as well, thankfully. Suddenly, my nose filled with the scent of damp air. My eyes captured every moment of sparkling water falling down from the ceiling. My ears heard the noise of 'ooh!'s and 'ahh!'s. This is what I'll call the stalactite é stalagmite room. The natural spikes came from up and down. They hurled themselves over a small ledge and froze together, making a rock Niagra Falls. When all pictures were taken, we marched up the stairs into the cool air once more.