Hayley insisted that we pose like this.
She tried to get Troy to do it too. He wasn't buying.
Turns out that Silver Dollar City was actually built on top of a giant cave network. The dude who discovered the cave thought it was filled with marble and brought many people here to mine the marble out of the cave.
But the miners discovered their bright-brained leader mistook marble for limestone. "Poop!" said the miner... which sparked an idea. In lieu of calling off the dig, they mined a pant load of guano (that's fancy miner-speak for "bat poop") and made it into gun powder. So the next time you get shot, think of how smart you'll feel when you know that you're not only bleeding but you're also covered in bat sh*t.
On that note, let's all go check out the cave.
There were 600 stairs throughout the cave.
Note the equidistant spaces between our heads.
HUGE natural waterfall within the cave. We could not go down to the floor of the waterfall because the floor has recently turned into quicksand. Seriously.
Troy was a little taller than the average cave dweller.
Oh look, a gunpowder-making machine.
Smile, you're in a giant cave!
No, this is not a crooked room. This is the scariest part of the cave. They put you on this slanted horror house "train" with walls that are all at a 45% angle. It crawls up the side of the cave to propel you back to ground level because the incline is too steep to walk up. I did not like this part. And Troy, well, he was just tired of me taking lame pictures.
No, this is not a crooked room. This is the scariest part of the cave. They put you on this slanted horror house "train" with walls that are all at a 45% angle. It crawls up the side of the cave to propel you back to ground level because the incline is too steep to walk up. I did not like this part. And Troy, well, he was just tired of me taking lame pictures.
HEY GUYS! WHO WANTS TO TAKE ANOTHER AWESOME PICTURE WHILE WE WAIT FOR THE TRAIN?!
It's a good thing this guy showed up on time.
Half way through the ride, these guys "robbed" our train. The kid sitting in front of us gave them some old natty popcorn.
I guess when you do the same gig 20 times a day, you start to memorize other people's roles. Half way through their skit the conductor said his own lines, along with those of the other two robbers. By far the funniest part of the train ride.
This is for you, Mom. Rather than complaining that we may not be able to afford to put you in a swanky guest house with a butler, just be happy that we'll have enough money to cover your feet.
So... cute... can't stop... taking... pictures...
The troublemakers.
The goofball.
What's really confusing me is that we had a Silver Dollar City in Tennessee with an identical train robber gag (no bat cave, though). Dolly Parton bought it in the 80s and turned it into Dollywood. Now I'm imagining those out-of-work robbers wandering aimlessly throughout the South. Then one day, with a particularly nasty hangover, they discover they have squandered all their stolen money at a raucous saloon near a bat shit mine, and decide it's as good a place as any to start the new Silver Dollar City. (Rebecca)
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