>> YOU KNOW IF THERE IS ONE TIME I AM NOT TOO CONCERNED ABOUT FASHION, IT'S WHEN ENTERING A CAVE.

WHO WILL SEE YOU, EXCEPT YOU ALL.

AND JOINING US IS DR. DAVID THOMAS, PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY, KNOWN AS THE CAVE DOCTOR.

AND COMING WITH HIM IS SOME ELITE STUDENT CAVERS, HAVE YOU SEEN THE MOVIE DECENT?

GOOD.

LET'S GO.

>> IN 2008, DR. DAVE THOMAS BEGAN HIS CAVE RESEARCH GETTING STUDENTS INVOLVED WITH SUBJECT MATTER SUCH AS CHEMOSYNTHESIS AND FROM THERE CAVES BECAME A SECONDARY CLASSROOM FOR HIS STUDENTS.

>> SO STUDENTS GOT INVOLVED WITH THIS, FIRST TO HELP ME DO THE CAVING.

WE WANT TO HAVE THREE PEOPLE ON THE CAVE TEAM.

AND THAT GOT A LOT OF THEM INVOLVED IN THE RESEARCH AS WELL.

SOME STUDENTS ARE INTERESTED IN THE MICROBIOLOGY, AND SOME ARE INTERESTED IN THE CAVE ANIMALS AND DOING THAT RESEARCH.

AS FAR AS THE WILD CAVE IS CONCERNED, WE TREAT THIS AS THE ANIMALS HOME.

AND WE ARE THE VISITORS AND TO KEEP THE CAVE CLEAN.

MOST OF THE CAVES WE EXPLORE ARE PRIVATELY OWNED.

BECAUSE PUBLIC LAND CAVES HAVE BEEN CLOSED DUE THIS THIS SYNDROME.

AND THE CAVE OWNERS LIKE TO KNOW WE ARE IN THERE AND TAKING OUT THE TRASH.

AND WE GET CAVE VISITORS AND MAKE IT A PARTY SPOT AND LEAVE A MESS.

AND WE HAVE CLEANED OUT THIS CAVE WELL.

AND OTHER CAVES WE WORK ON, EVERY TIME WE GO IN, THERE IS NEW TRASH TO TAKE OUT.

AND TRY TO LET THE STUDENTS KNOW, THIS IS A WILD SPOT AND WE WANT TO KEEP IT WILD.

AND SINCE THESE ARE PRIVATELY OWNED, WE WANT TO KEEP GOOD RELATIONS WITH CAVE OWNERS.

>> WHAT GETS YOUR ADRENALIN FLOWING ABOUT GOING INTO A CAVE.

I LOOK INTO VISITING AN ALIEN WORLD WITHOUT LEAVING PLANET EARTH.

>> THAT'S THE REASON I STARTED THIS, LOOKING FOR LIFE ON MARS, AND ELSEWHERE.

AND IT'S GOING INTO PLACES WHERE STUDENTS DON'T LIVE.

AND TO FIND NEW CAVES AND PASSAGES AND TO BE THE FIRST ONE THERE.

THAT HASN'T HAPPENED TO US YET.

>> CAVE POINT CAVE NEW MOUNTAIN VIEW IS TYPICAL OF A CAVE ONCE PART OF THE OCEAN.

>> WE HAVE FOSSILS AND THESE ARE ANCIENT RELATIVES OF THINGS SEA AMENITY.

AND THIS WAS ALL UNDER WATER A QUARTER OF A BILLION YEARS AGO.

>> YEP.

>> HUGE SHELL AND SOME FIRST MODERN EXPLORERS TO MAP OUT THIS CAVE, THIS CAVE A LOT OTHERS.

BACK IN 1962, JUST BEFORE THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, HUGH AND GRANTS WERE CONTRACTED TO VIEW CAVES IN THE AREA, AND WE NEVER HAD TO DO THAT, AND TO HAVE THAT INCIDENT HAPPENED WOULD BE BAD FOR EVERYONE ELSE.

BUT WE GOT FROM THAT A SURVEY OF A LOT OF CAVES IN THE AREA.

>> IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG FOR US TO COME UPON SOME COMMON CAVE INSECTS SUCH AS CAVE SPIDERS AND CAVE CONTRADICTS -- CRICKETS THAT DON'T CHIRP.

>> OH, IT GETS BETTER.

>> WELL, WE SAW SPIDERS AND CAVE CRICKETS AND NOW WE NEED SALAMANDERS AND BATS.

>> THIS IS A BAT, IT'S A COMMON CAVE BAT IN THIS AREA.

THEY ARE VERY SMALL, AND YOU SEE THE SCALE HERE, MY FINGER.

THEY ARE LIKE LITTLE FLYING FOOTBALLS.

AND THESE THIS SPECIES WAS CALLED A COMMON GENUS BUT THEY ARE A COMMON BAT.

THIS IS A CAVE SALAMANDER, ALONG WITH THE DARK SIDE, THESE ARE THE TWO MOST COMMON SPECIES IN THE CAVE.

SOMETIMES WE WILL COUNT AS MANY AS 15 IN THE PASSAGE.

>> USED FOR HALLOWEEN.

>> WE HAVE SIX BATS AND THREE SALAMANDERS, SEVEN BATS NOW.

YOU GUYS THROW ME OUT.

SEVEN BATS, AND TWO CAVE SALAMANDERS AND THREE DARK-SIDED SALAMANDERS.

WE HAD 15 BATS LAST TIME WE WERE IN HERE TWO WEEKS AGO.

SH, BATS ARE SLEEPING.

>> WE HAVE A DATE HERE OF 1878.

AND YOU WILL SEE SEVERAL DATES LIKE THAT IN THIS CAVE.

DURING THE 1800S, BECAUSE THE SETTLERS IN THE AREA KNEW ABOUT THIS CAVE AND CAME INTO IT OFTEN.

IT WAS BASICALLY A PARTY CAVE FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE.

>> REMEMBER THE CARDS?

>> PLAYING CARDS.

[LAUGHTER] >> ON THIS ROCK FORMATION BECAUSE OF THE BEHAVIORS OF ARKANSAS AND SYMBOLIC.

>> PRETTY NEAT, I LOVE THE BEAUTY OF CAVES AND YOU GET A LITTLE OF AN ADRENALIN RUSH SOMETIMES DOING THIS STUFF.

I HAVE BEEN CAVING SINCE 2007 AND IT'S GREAT TO HAVE A CAVE IN YOUR BACKYARD.

>> I LOVE THE ADVENTURE OF IT.

I THOUGHT EXPLORING CAVES WAS REALLY UNIQUE, AND I LOVE THE ADVENTURE AND SEEING THE VARIOUS FORMATIONS IN CAVES.

AND SEEING THINGS YOU WOULD NEVER SEE.

>> IT REALLY IS NEAT, ISN'T IT.

>> YEAH, AND THE MICROBIOLOGY OF IT, AND THE BACTERIA AND THE MICROSCOPIC ORGANISMS THAT YOU NEVER WOULD THINK WERE THERE AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS.

>> I ENJOY HOW EACH CAVE IS DIFFERENT AND THE DIFFERENT FORMATIONS AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT.

AND WITH THE RESEARCH WE ARE DOING THIS SEMESTER, WE ARE LOOKING AT THE POPULATION SPECIES AND SEEING DIFFERENT ANIMALS AND SEEING SPIDERS AND OTHER.

WE SAW A LOT OF SALAMANDERS.

SO EACH CAVE IS DIFFERENT.

SO IT'S REALLY COOL TO SEE THE DIFFERENCES OF EACH CAVE.

AND THAT'S JUST IN ARKANSAS.

MAYBE GOING TO A DIFFERENT STATE OR SOMETHING, THAT WOULD BE COOL TO SEE HOW THEIR CAVES DIFFER.

I WOULD ENJOY THAT.

>> WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?

>> I AM A SENIOR, AND GOING AND DEALING WITH GRADUATE SCHOOLWORK, AND I WANT TO GO INTO MARINE BIOLOGY AND DEAL WITH MARINE ANIMALS, AND THAT WILL BE COOL AS WELL.

AND GETTING TO DO ALL OF THAT IS REALLY COOL.

>> I LIKE ALL THE ANIMALS WE FIND IN HERE.

AND I LIKE THE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OF IT TOO.

SOME OF KIDS IT INVOLVES A LOT OF CRAWLING AND ARM-CRAWLING.

>> YEAH, I NOTICED THAT, THAT WOULD BE A GOOD PET.

IT REALLY IS FASCINATING WHAT YOU FIND IN HERE.

AND IT'S, I GUESS, WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR YOUR CAREER AND FUTURE?

>> WELL, I GRADUATE IN 2014 WITH A DEGREE IN BIOLOGY, AND I WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL FOR ANIMAL BEHAVIOR.

I CAN PLAY WITH BATS ALL DAY.

>> AFTER A WHILE WE HAD TO MAKE A DECISION.

AND THE TRIP -- END THE TRIP NOW OR EXPLORE INTO THE DEEPER PART OF THE CAVE, AND WE DECIDED TO GO FOR IT.

>> WHAT YOU LOOK AT HERE IS HALF FULL OF WATER.

AND BECAUSE WE HAD A DRY SUMMER AND FALL, WE CAN CRAWL BACK IN HERE.

USUALLY YOU CAN GET HALFWAY THROUGH THE CRAWL SPACE UNLESS YOU CAN BREATHE UNDER WATER.

>> SO GET DOWN AND DIRTY WE DID, AND THIS IS WHAT WILD CAVING IS ABOUT.

SINCE THIS PASSAGE WAY IS SO TIGHT, VIDEOGRAPHER HAD TO INCHS WITH WAY THROUGH AS BEST HE COULD.

AFTER WHAT SEEMED HALF AN HOUR ARE THIS, WE REACHED THE END OF THE CAVE.

>> DOUBLE DOLLAR SIGN THERE WITH TWO SHELLS.

BACK IN THE 50S AND 60S, IT WAS CONSIDERED ACCEPTABLE TO DO THIS.

AND HERE IS HUGH SHELL AND HAS HIS NUMBER OF 5348.

IN COMPARISON, AND MY NUMBER IS IN THE 50,000S, SO THIS IS QUITE A WHILE AGO.

>> YEAH, YOU HAVEN'T DONE ANY WILD CAVING UNTIL YOU HAVE DONE JUST THAT.

THE ARMY CRAWL THROUGH A WILD CAVE.

NOW THAT'S EXPLORING A WILD CAVE, I TELL YOU WHAT.

FOR SURE.

>> FREE AT LAST!

FREE AT LAST!

>> A MARSH IS ONE OF NATURE'S RAREST AND THIS RICHARDSON BOTTOM, NORTH OF LAKE OUACHITA, DEFINITELY A UNIQUE FIND.

RICHARDSON BOTTOMS IS OFF OF HIGH -- HIGHWAY 298, AND IN THE ROUGH, AND ATTEMPTING THIS IN THE FAMILY SEDAN IS NOT A GOOD IDEA.

A HIGH-CLEARANCE VEHICLE WOULD BE BETTER.

AFTER 2.5 MILES YOU WILL SEE ANOTHER SIGN BEFORE ENTERING THE MARSH AREA.

RICHARDSON BOTTOMS OF NAMED AFTER ONE OF THE EARLY FAMILIES WHO SETTLED HERE.

THE MARSH ITSELF WAS CREATED WHEN BEAVERS DAMNED -- DAMMED UP A SMALL STREAM.

>> I GUESS WHEN THE BEAVERS DAMMED THIS UP AND IT'S WHAT A UNIQUE PLACE.

>> RICHARDSON BOTTOMS IN A PINE FOREST, AND IT'S A JEWEL IN NOWHERE.

AND THE BEAVERS BACK THE WATER UP AND IT PROVIDES A UNIQUE HABITAT FOR A DIFFERENT GROUP OF ANIMALS IN THE OUACHITA NATIONAL FOREST.

>> THIS UNIQUE WETLAND PROVIDES NURSERIES FOR FOUL AND BIRDS, SPRING AND SUMMER IS THE BEST TIME TO SEE THE WADING BIRDS, AND PERFECT HABITAT FOR TURTLES AND FROGS AND SALAMANDERS AND AN ABUNDANT OF INSECTS.

AND OTHER WILDLIFE IS DEER, BEAVERS AND DUCKS.

>> TELL US THE STORY OF ALL OF THESE BOXES OUT HERE, I TAKE ARE WOODDUCK BOXES?

>> THAT'S CORRECT AND THEY WERE PLACED WITH PINE CAVITIES AND WE SUBSTITUTED THE ABILITY OF CAVITIES BY PLACING THE NEST BOXES HERE.

>> AND THIS WHOLE AREA WOULD BE KNEE DEEP OR WAIST DEEP?

>> YEAH, ABOUT WAIST DEEP AND WE WOULD BE WEARING WADERS.

>> YEAH, IN THE SPRING.

>> INTO THE WINTER AND SPRING AND EARLY SUMMER, AND THEN GREENS UP AND A LOT OF ANIMALS UTILIZE THE PLANTS USED IN THE DRY SEASON.

>> AND YOU MENTIONED THE HOGS.

>> YEAH, IT LOOKS LIKE ROOTING AROUND AND THIS DAMP SOIL AND INVERTEBRATES FOR THEM TO MESS AROUND AND THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED HERE.

>> MAKING YOUR WAY UP A TRAIL TO AN ELEVATED AREA, OVERLOOKING THE MARSH, WILL GIVE YOU AN EXCELLENT VANTAGE POINT FOR TAKING PICTURES OF THE ENTIRE AREA.

>> THIS PIECE OF LAND WAS SWAPPED WITH A TIMBER COMPANY TO THE FOREST SERVICE AND AT THE TIME WE LOOKED AT IT.

AND THE FOREST SERVICE DECIDED THE BEST USE WOULD BE TO LEAVE IT ALONE, IT'S SO UNIQUE.

AND WHEN THE WATER LEVEL IS DOWN, YOU CAN SEE THE STUMPS OF THE PINES PLANTED HERE.

AND WE HAVE THE PLANTATIONS AND ONCE THEY ARE ALLOWED TO MATURE, THEY ARE REMOVED AND HARVESTED AND THIS AREA IS REPLANTED WITH SHORT-LEAF PINE.

AND THIS SURROUNDING AREA AS WELL.

>> AT TIME THAT THE BEAVERS DAMMED IT UP AND YOU HAD TO MAKE A DECISION TO REPLANT OR LEAVE IT ALONE.

>> THAT'S TRUE, AND THE DISTRICT RANGER, JOHN ARCHER, LOOKED AT IT AND SAID IT'S SO UNIQUE, AND WE DECIDED TO LEAVE IT ALONE.

AND LET MOTHER NATURE TAKE ITS COURSE, AND THE FORESTERS MADE A GOOD DECISION HERE.

>> THAT THEY DID, PROTECTING PLACES LIKE THIS, PROVIDES FOR A GREATER VARIETY OF ANIMALS IN THE NATIONAL FOREST.

BIODIVERSITY AT ITS BEST.

RICHARDSON BOTTOMS NORTH OF LAKE OUACHITA.

>> MANY OF YOU HAVE NO DOUBT COME TO EUREKA SPRINGS FOR THE UNIQUE SHOPPING, DINING OR THE UNIQUE HOMES OR GHOST TOURS.

HAVE YOU CHECKED OUT THE SPRINGS OF EUREKA SPRINGS?

AFTER ALL THEY SAY IT'S THE CITY THAT WATER BUILT.

FIRST USED BY NATIVE AMERICANS FOR CENTURIES, THE SPRINGS OF EUREKA SPRINGS IN THE LATE 1800S, WITNESSED THE SAME RUSH AS THE GOLD RUSH DID.

FOLKS FROM ALL OVER CAME TO TAKE OF THE WATER, IN 1879, THE TOWN OF EUREKA SPRINGS WAS FOUNDED.

EUREKA MEANING, I FOUND IT.

>> BACK IN THE 1800S, MEDICAL SCIENCE HAD NOT IMPROVED THAT MUCH.

AND PEOPLE HAD ILLS AND ALE AILMENT -- AILMENTS AND ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS.

AND THE WORD GOT AROUND THAT THERE WAS A PLACE IN ARKANSAS THAT HAD MAGICAL WATERS, AND CALLED EUREKA SPRINGS.

AND PEOPLE DID ALL KINDS OF THINGS TO GET HERE THEY SOLD THEIR POSSESSIONS TO COME TO THIS PLACE TO TAKE THE WATERS.

AND IT WAS CREATED ON EAST SIDE OF TOWN AND THE NORTH SIDE.

AND THE PEOPLE CONGREGATED AROUND THE SPRINGS TO TAKE IN THE WATERS.

AND FOR SOME PEOPLE IT WAS SUPERSTITIOUS, I THINK, BUT THEY FELT BETTER.

AND SOME PEOPLE LIVED TO A RIPE OLD AGE AND SOME DID NOT.

BUT THE FOUNDATION OF THE TOWN, WAS BECAUSE OF THE SPRINGS AND THE WATER AND THE HEALING POWERS THAT PEOPLE THOUGHT WERE HERE.

AND IT'S A FASCINATING STORY OF HOW A TOWN COMES TOGETHER AND WHAT BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE.

>> THE RUSH TO EUREKA TO ITS HEALING SPRINGS LASTED INTO THE EARLY 1900S.

BUT BY THE 1920S, EUREKA SPRINGS ALMOST BECAME A GHOST TOWN.

IT WASN'T UNTIL 1981 WHEN THE EUREKA SPRINGS PARK AND RECREATION ORGANIZATION WHERE THIS GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS BEGAN TO RESTORE THE HISTORIC SPRINGS.

>> IN THE EARLY DAYS, PEOPLE WOULD COME AND THEY JUST WALKED FROM SPRING TO SPRING.

AND GOT WATER IN LITTLE TIN CUPS AND DRANK FROM THE SPRINGS.

THEY BATHED IN SOME SPRINGS.

AND JUST, YOU KNOW, EAT HEALTHY FOOD AND GO UP AND DOWN THE HILLS HERE.

AND THEN WITH ANTIBIOTICS AND THAT KIND OF THING, IT LOST THE POPULARITY AS A HEALTH SPA DESTINATION.

AND -- BUT STILL PEOPLE CAME, BECAUSE IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PLACE.

AND PEOPLE WERE ATTRACTED BY THE SPRINGS.

EVEN IF THEY DIDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE HEALING PROPERTIES.

ALTHOUGH I THINK MANY PEOPLE STILL FELT LIKE THEY DID.

>> AND SO TODAY AS IN THE EARLY DAYS, THE BEST WAY TO EXPERIENCE THE SPRINGS IS TO GET OUT OF YOUR VEHICLE AND JUST WALK THE TOWN.

THERE ARE AT LEAST A DOZEN SPRINGS THAT ARE WORTHWHILE TO SPEND SOME TIME AT.

ONE OF THEM IS SWEET SPRING, ACROSS FROM THE POST OFFICE.

EARLY RESIDENT CLAIMED THAT THE WATER TASTED SWEET, AND THEN A PATH THAT WILL TAKE TO YOU HARDING SPRING.

AND LEGEND HAS IT T SEE YOU NEXT TIME FOR EXPLORING ARKANSAS.