Merimac Caves

Saint Louis was only three hours away from Lake of the Ozarks. Since we had to check out of our hotel in Saint Louis at 11:00 and we couldn't check into our condo in Lake of the Ozarks until after 4:00 we needed something to entertain us all. We saw a pamphlet advertising Merimac Caverns that was on our way to our next destination. Grant and I thought that would be a great place to stop stretch our legs and give us something fun to do besides sitting in a car the whole time. The cavern was also a welcome relief from the hot temperatures outside because inside the cavern it stays at a constant 60 degrees that is so much nicer then the 100 degrees outside. Back in Springfield we went to a small not as popular cavern; the cavern was nice but not catch your breath away like the Merimac Caverns. I am glad that we were able to take the kids to one of the many cavern tours that they have in Missouri. Nature is so beautiful and when you leave nature alone it does some magical things. Their is some history with the Merimac Caverns. History states that Jessie James used the cave to hide out during one of his many bank robberies. When they were exploring the cave they did find weapons and other items left behind from Jessie James. They have the items on display at the caverns so that was nice to see. Also during the civil war the Confederate troops would used the cave to make their gun powder so that was neat as well. The cave is seven stories tall and we got our exercise as we walked up hill, down hill, up stairs, down stairs during our hour long tour. However, it was the best exercise ever because the views and the formations that we saw were breath taking. The kids even enjoyed the cave and were so enthralled in it that they didn't even complain about the time it took. The only down thing was that we were not prepared for the temperature drop so we didn't have a jacket for Madeline but using body heat from Daddy we managed through the tour. Stopping at the cave was a nice treat and made what could be a mundane road trip into a magical one and was able to hold our kids over until we arrived at our next destination.