07/15/2024
I've been holding onto these pictures for far too long. I took these pictures last summer while visiting my Mom. One of the highlights of the trip was when we took the ride along tour of the Fantastic Caverns, located near Springfield, Missouri. We had such a great guide named Larry, who let me ride shotgun on the tour. I really nerded out and got to ask him all sorts of 1 on 1 questions throughout the tour. 🤓
Since I was conveniently riding in the front seat I was able to take my toy picture from the top of the hood of the Willy's Jeep we were riding in. This specific Krusty the Clown fig was originally found in Denver and now resides in Detroit Michigan with my amazing friend . The last I had heard Krusty joined some sort of wizards cult in his Lego city... 🤷♂️
The second (non-toy) picture is of "the garden", which was located in the twilight zone of the cave. Because the twilight zone maintains a high level of humidity, holds consistant temperatures and has very little light, it was the perfect environment to grow mushrooms! During the great depression, the owner of the cave grew mushrooms down here for nutritional and financial support during those difficult times. Larry didn't know what kind of mushrooms were grown here, though I presume it was probably Agaricus bisporus.
