26 September 2015 See It By Boat

For many years I have been tempted by the billboards seemingly everywhere in Pennsylvania to "See It By Boat." Each passing billboard called out to me. Today was the day for our visit.

We arrived just in time for a tour to be leaving.

The boats appear to be custom-built flat bottom boats built to provide two rows of seating with plenty of viewing room for the tour members.

We had a two-fer with guides. The woman driving the boat was in training while the son of the family owning the cave was along to help her with the navigation and any questions. He had spent his life in Penns Cave and many other caves so we were given guides with a wealth of knowledge.

Ali's been in many, many caves and knows more about geological structures than I will ever know. It doesn't stop me from enjoying each one and maybe even learning a little.

The cave has multiple entrances. For tours with visitors, the boat leaves the cave and enters a small pond with a wildlife park. We were there to see two elk locking horns while our boat was turning for the return trip.

After a quick turn, we were headed back into the cave.

In a blink, it was over. I had a great time. Ali seemed to enjoy the journey. She really seemed happy to talk caving with our tour guides after the tour. At last, we had seen it by boat. :) Sometimes, it's just fun to be a tourist!

We were too late to pick up our coin from the CCC trail, but we had fun visiting the last few CCC caches as we slowly made our way home.

We made a stop at Black Moshannon Lake for a few hides. The lake was really busy with visitors enjoying the water on a sunny fall day.

We closed out the CCC trail with a bear crossing the trail. It was just as I like to see them, in the distance and moving away.