I had stayed overnight in a Bed&Breakfast in nearby Brownsville, so I could have an early start visiting the park. Arriving at 9 am at the visitor center, there still were plenty of tours to choose from. I picked the New Entrance tour, a 2-hour tour that uses a man-made entrance from the 1920s to get into the caves. The fee is 12 US dollars.

Getting in this way is quite strenuous, and not for the faint-hearted or those with a fear of heights. The passages are narrow and of course, it's often dark and slippery. I found much of the talk of the ranger geared to children, of which there were many on the tour, and only mildly interesting.

As I have said in other reviews: I'm not a fan of dripstone, but there a so many sites displaying dripstone on the List that I just have to see them again and again. The most interesting thing I heard or saw on this tour is the story of George Morrison, a local entrepreneur who in the 1920s had blown his own way into the cave system and conducted tours from there. He also built a hotel near this "New Entrance" and posted roadside signs to lure visitors away from the main entrance.

Later that day I did a short hike on the Turnhole Bend Trail. The National Park above ground is a pleasure to be in, certainly on a warm day. This walk took me to an overview of the Green River. Green it looks indeed, a mighty river that was responsible for carving out the cave system millions of years ago.