The Ice Cave and Road Trip

There is a little short trail at Wildcat Mountain State Park that takes you to the Ice Cave.

If you take the trail you may be disappointed in the summer as there is no ice in the cave formation.  But there is in the winter and early spring.

The trail isn't difficult and runs alongside Billings Creek.

Ariel and I decided we'd explore the trail and take a peek at the cave formation on Labor Day.
We went when it still looked as though it was going to rain.

The trail is not a difficult one at all.  It winds through a heavy forested area and takes you to a rock formation that in my mind is not truly a cave but is called such in this area.

Alongside the trail if you keep your eyes open you can find little interesting things.  Since we'd had rain almost every day and lots of heat and humidity we were able to find coral fungi

Turkeyfan fungi

...and of course a tiny tree toad hidden in the mossy trunk of a tree right next to the ice cave...

The rock formation is really quite impressive and we spent quite a bit of time exploring the place.

The biggest challenge we had was getting proper photos of the area.  It was so dark, photos were difficult unless you used a tripod.

I did have one and was able to take a shot of us partially in the cave.

On our way back down the trail we took a side trip and discovered an incredible place ... we were able to get into Billings Creek and do a bit of wading.

The beauty of the rocks and the water were just mind blowing.  ...and I live in this area!
How could I have missed this gem all these years?

The water was cool and crisp and very refreshing.  We even saw crayfish!

I even had a grandchild who was fun enough to take a candid shot of the 'grandma Val'.

We left the Ice Cave trail and headed out for a bit of exploring.

We stopped and waded for a bit in the Kickapoo River.

We snacked while sitting in the back of the Subaru.  

I don't recall what Ariel said, but it was funny and she 'shot' me with the Fuji camera.  

We ended up with a bit of a road trip.

But it sure was fun having someone along who was as adventurous as I was.

Sure would be fun to do this again!