*
>> Door County is a
tourist Mecca,
but there's one attraction
very few people get to see.
>> It comes underneath
this sidewalk and
out to where you see
this manhole right in
the center of the street.
>> And it's older than any
attraction on
the Door Peninsula.
>> This particular
nursing home has something
that's unique in the entire
nation.
Stay right there and you're
going to get a beautiful view.
>> Hidden below the nursing home
is Gary Soule's passion,
and Door County's
least know natural treasure.
>> I think it's the lure
of the unknown.
That's the entrance
to the tunnel.
>> And the entrance to
Door County's third
longest cave.
It's was an accidental discovery
made in 1972 when the
nursing home added a basement.
>> And believe it or not
the roof of the cave is only
6-1/2 feet down below
the dining room wing.
>> A discovery Gary Soule helped
preserve
after a 50 foot
center section of the cave
was removed during construction.
>> This is a low spot
that you crawl through.
>> Crawling, crouching and
willing his way
past huge boulders
Gary dives headfirst
into the unknown.
With the light of his headlamp
luring him into the darkness.
>> You have to go sideways.
It's not the most pleasant
cave to crawl in.
>> It's not what we
call a show cave
where we have tourists
going through it.
>> It's called
the Dorchester Cave
and measures 345 feet,
but it is not open
to the public.
>> It is a crawl way type
cave, but it because of the
unusual fossils in there
that make it geologically
very unique.
>> This cavern was created
more than 60,000 years ago
by an earthquake.
>> Where it not only did it
split apart three to four
feet but also one side dropped
down a little bit.
>> One side of the cave wall
perfectly mirrors the other.
>> There's no bones in here,
obviously, not even any
bats because it has
no natural entrance.
>> No natural entrance,
which means if it hadn't been
for the construction
this cave might never
have been discovered.
Gary has spent a lifetime
exploring caverns around
the world and even discovered
the Diamond Room of
Paradise Pit cave in southern
Door County.
>> I started back in 1961,
it was April 14th.
I happened to see Mammoth Cave
in Kentucky.
I took the historic tour
and I've been hooked for over
half a century now.
>> Hooked, despite
a few close calls.
>> Right here in Door County was
probably the worst one I had.
We were at a tight area
I had to keep
my hands to my side and
was wiggling forward,
and all of a sudden
as I looked up here's
a live skunk.
And let me tell ya, if you
want to learn how to
reverse cave in a hurry,
you'll learn real fast.
>> Door County's largest cave
near Egg Harbor holds
one of Gary's most
memorable experiences.
>> I had heard about
this cave immediately.
Got excited, my dad
brought me up.
I was still a kid.
>> It was a well-known
natural curiosity.
And I got to what we call
the Cathedral Room
and it was so exciting,
because unlike a show cave
where you're told
where you have to go and that,
everything was wide open
to explore.
>> Gary longest journey
into Horseshoe Bay Cave
took 13-hours round trip
and he believes there is
still more to explore.
To preserve the cave a
gate was erected in 1986
at the request of
the land owners.
>> Unfortunately, I do have
to admit, a lot of the
unique formations and that
in the front part of this cave
have been destroyed by vandals,
names on the walls,
but it's starting to restore
itself a little bit.
>> The gate also protects this
critical bat habitat,
allowing the winged creatures
to fly in
while keeping humans out.
>> There's like 1,200 bats
in this cave, and that's
probably the largest bat
hibernaculum of any cave
in Wisconsin.
>> Gary is exploring
the possibility of re-opening
Horseshoe Bay Cave
to the public.
>> More people have been
on the moon than have been
in sections of this cave.
>> There are ongoing discussions
to develop this cave into a
tourist attraction,
including public tours at the
entrance in the bluff near
Murphy County Park.
>> They're the last area
in the county that's
still unexplored.
For every known cave
there's one unknown cave.
>> Caves are truly
the last frontier.
Yet, any one of us could
discover a hidden
underground world
right beneath our very feet.
And that's that
lure of the unknown that