One of the first ’caves’ in Kansas City was developed by A. N. Brunson, founder of Brunson Instrument Company. The complex he started in 1955 and finished in 1960 is at 8000 East 23rd Street in Kansas City, at the 23rd Street interchange with I-435. This complex is still operating.

Two of the biggest underground complexes in KC are Geospace off of Hwy 291 in Independence and Hunt’s Subtropolis in N Kansas City, with the Subtopolis being the largest in the world at 5000+ acres. Subtropolis is located at Hwy 210 and Eldon Rd.

My first adventure going into the caves was when I took a flatbed load into a small cave complex in S KC to deliver shelving to a government archival storage facility. It was an adventure to say the least, maneuvering a long wheel base, long nosed classic xl and a 48’ spread axle flatbed around the tight turns and broad solid rock support pillars, to say nothing of the tight backing with a limestone wall in front of you!

I enjoyed the challenge of cave loading and delivering until after a wreck pinning me in the sleeper for a couple of hours in the dark, after which I developed claustrophobia. Going underground is not a good thing for claustrophobics! I hired a spotter to take my trailer in the next run to the caves, but knew, in doing my job, that I had to overcome the fear. Inadvertently, my boss helped me do that.

I picked up a load and when the broker gave me the directions to the receiver, he mentioned it was to a cave. I was scared and shaky, but they didn’t have spotters so I had no choice, I went in. Luckily, it was a newer cave on the KS side of KC and had broad roads and good lighting. When I came out, my boss dispatched me to pick up a load in Independence MO. The broker delivered the news, I was loading at Geospace caves! My load was supposedly ready before I went in, but I ended up spending over four hours underground. Talk about a crash cure for claustrophobia!

Many trucking companies go to the caves. I have delivered everything from paper to steel into the warehouses and factories underground. If you have to go to the caves, here are a few tips:

Most caves have a staging area: slide your trailer tandems all the way forward and leave them unlatched before you go inside…you will want to slide them back after you get backed in. Don’t forget to slide them all the way forward before you pull out from the dock. You can not go where you have to go with the tandems any place but all the way forward!

Clean your mirrors…some of the curves and turns you will be making will be around rough faced, white-washed limestone pillars with clearance space of inches. Even a water spot can distort your vision in your mirrors where you might mistake where the pillar is.

Make sure you write down the exact directions to your dock. Most caves have one way roads and few places to turn around. It is easy to become disorientated underground.

GO SLOW!! You will see the spotters and local drivers whipping around in there. They have short wheel based tractors and hyster trucks and know their way around the caves…you most likely do not.

Have your lights on and use your flashers.

Turn off your jakes.

Noises echo underground. You will hear loud noises and cannot tell where they come from. Don’t panic.

Take your time backing in if it is necessary. Most people who work underground are patient.

Get out and check when backing in if it is tight. The walls and pillars are not smooth and a jagged outcropping can tear a tire, fender or trailer.

Take a book to read. Cell phones, radios and TV’s don’t work underground.

If you have a pet, walk them before you go inside the cave, there is no place to do it inside.

Delivering or loading in the caves is definitely a challenge! It is kind of fun though. Seeing the light reflecting back at you from the sparkling rock overhead and around you, seeing the different types of rocks that the caves are carved from, and just the knowledge that you are many feet underground with a lot of other people is a definite change of pace and supplies an endless source for conversations over a cup of coffee.