Water frozen in the chiller line put us a day behind schedule, and gave me a day to explore.  After chatting with two long-time local coworkers about nearby caves, hikes, and cultural scenery I settled on a loop exploring the NE corner of Alabama and a bit of Tennessee. 
Breakfast at the hotel with a couple spontaneous flower shots in the morning focused my mind on moisture, beauty, color, and observing fantasy in the ordinary. 

Cathedral Cavern was closed at 8am, so I continued on to Buggy Top trailhead.  A sign proclaimed caves were closed in that area due to White Nose Syndrome among bats.  I wandered off trail following a surprise fossil sighting but managed to reconnect with the trail before the 150’ overlook. 
Buggy Top is a grandiose cave entrance with a sizable stream flowing out (not closed to the public by the way).  I followed the stream until it disappeared under a rock fall area and then went side-passage exploring.  One of the nicest, driest, and largest caves I’ve explored.  I found myself in an odd shaped room full of water drips and fanciful formations.  An hour later I still found myself in that room mesmerized by the process of water movement underground.
I explored the second level of the passage and found a bat (healthy and happily hibernating).
Taking off for the other entrance I rejoined the creek on the other side of the rock fall, got myself thoroughly muddy and smiley, and spent a good amount of time in complete darkness Buried Blackness Titan-1 Missile Silo Ninja UE Mission and Two Hours of Blindness.
I exited through the second entrance created by a significant rockfall.  This also created a very interesting flow of warm air into the cave and cool air out of the cave, giving me a firsthand look the geothermal inductive heating/cooling process.
Secret Cove Cave was closed to the public, so I left that one alone and headed back to the car on a 2 mile walk/run.
Natural Arch was a quick (and surprisingly awesome) stop on the way up to Sewanee; much larger and more impressive than expected for something not in the SW US.

University of the South was really odd.  Beautiful, well built, and totally empty.  I imagine classes are out for the summer, which gave me a good chance to wander around and photograph some of the grounds unmolested. They seem to study Theology completely, which, if you’re into theology would be an amazing place to study.  Hunger got the better of me and I headed to a local café.
A quick nap, Lox Benedict, and some exploration of the physics of the self through story time left me ready for a homeward (hotelward) journey.  A wonderful day, a great chance to freely solo-explore this amazing part of the county. 

Stunning Day!