When you grow up in a state like Missouri like I did, caves have a certain familiar allure. You expect them to be around. Any gray and white towering bluff next to a highway or a river bend might be hiding something grand inside.

Midwestern folklore also has a familiar allure for Missourians.

Daniel Boone, Mark Twain, George Washington Carver.

These are our local heroes, and we make our own fun out of commodifying their lives and adventures.

You know, tours of the hometown, gift shops.

I've yet to actually see a Lewis or Clark bobblehead for sale, but it's definitely something we'd do.

I'm Abigail Kiel and this is Atlas Obscura,

a celebration of the world's strange incredible and wondrous

places. Today I'm taking you to a place that embodies both these aspects of my

home state, the caves and the lore.

Merrimack Caverns is a giant limestone cave just an hour outside of St. Louis.

It's home to a combination of Kitch and world-classenery that sings a calming tune to my

Midwestern heart. We'll go deep right after this. you're going to. I've been fortunate enough to be in caves all over the world and our cave is really special.

Meet our guide to Mayor Matt Cavers for today.

I'm less truly, I'm Lester Lee.

I'm the grandson of the founder of Mayor Mack Evans,

Lester B. Dale.

And he knew of Mayor Mack, even as a boy and after he and my grandmother got married he always told my grandmother he was going to open up a big cave and take lots of people through it.

And that's exactly what he did.

Today, Les is the president and CEO of Merrimack Caverns.

The cave has been in his family since his grandfather purchased it back in 1933 and

running the cave has always been a full-on family affair. My son and my

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