Endless Caverns: An Underground Journey into the Show Caves of Appalachia by Reichert Powell

Reichert Powell's "Endless Caverns:  An Underground Journey into the Shows Caves of Appalachia" was a very enjoyable book to read.  I have had an interest in show caves lately, and this was just a fun read about caves in a specific region.

I know when I have visited show caves, I really like the behind the scenes stories about what goes on at a cave.  I had an interesting conversation with a cave owner not long ago about the things that sell well (and that don't sell well) in their gift shop.  I really enjoyed reading Gary Roberson's "The Longest Year" about his establishing and setting up his Indiana show cave.  I also talked to a former cave manager recently about how they promote and advertise.

So, when I stumbled upon "Endless Caverns" I was pretty excited to check it out.

Powell basically talks about several show caves, mostly in and around Eastern Tennessee.  He gets into a lot of history of the caves.  I enjoyed reading about specific people who came along, often early on in the cave's "show" career.  Most caves have a person or two who really put everything they can into developing the cave.

The author talks a lot about how some caves are made into show caves, but maybe later on, they close up...  and kinda become wild caves again.  Some are literally buried or flooded to the point that they will likely never be accessible again.  Some find their way into a sort of limbo state.  They may sorta be open sometimes, or by special arrangement.

This book really made me want to go out and visit all of them,  Caves are simply cool anyway, but I am so fascinated by the roadside attraction aspect of showcaves.

Theres a lot more than simple show cave histories in the book though.  There is family drama, Johnny Cash, bats......  The book is a lot of fun.