Campbell Cave, Menifee County, Kentucky

March 2022

Gate style: BENT

This was a very tricky project all around. First was the remote and rugged location of the cave. We even broke a UTV! Secondly, the cave entrance was extremely narrow, and we had to maximize flight space for the endangered Virginia Big-eared Bats that roost there in the summer. We ended up utilizing a rock overhang above the entrance and built out the gate around that. All photos © Jim Kennedy.

Expanded metal grating was laid down to prevent vandals from tunneling under the gate.
You can see one completed side of the gate in the left rear, and the start of the other side in the foreground.
Drilling for the anchor pins was a real joy. Not!
There are signs, but those only keep out the law-abiding people.
Amber finishes welding the torsion bars in place.
The bats-eye view from inside shows just how much flight space we preserved.
Jim poses next to the finished gate. A rare shot, indeed!