Lost River Cave and Valley has seen more changes than southcentral Kentuckys weather but the attractions changes all are for the better, Friends of Lost River President Whit Crawford said. When the attraction opens its 2000 tourist season April 1, it will have a new entrance, a new visitors center, more tour boats, longer hours, highway signs and its second full-time employee. Its been an incredible past 15 months, Crawford said. Weve gone from 1,500 visitors, no quality entrance, no functioning gift shop and no offices, to last years 13,000 visitors and becoming a runner-up for Kentucky Chamber of Commerces Innovation Award for Tourism. Chris Paynter has been hired as the attractions daily office manager and will be responsible for daily operation of the tours, gift shop and visitors center, Crawford said. The cave and valleys transformation began 10 years ago when Friends of Lost River decided to restore the area after years of neglect, Crawford said. Those restoration efforts culminated with record attendance and the hiring of the attractions first full-time employee. The new entrance wall includes a water wheel, a time capsule and an exhibit-lined walkway that leads to the original cave entrance and the new visitors center, operations Director Karl Niles said. The walkway will have an additional water wheel and two gristmills, which were used in the flour-making process in the late 1800s, Niles said. The $30,000 project is being funded by donations. Staff members still must complete the landscaping, parking lot and sidewalk and have begun moving into the house that will contain the visitors center, offices, an exhibit room and gift shop, Niles said. We went from a 15-foot-by-15-foot tourist cabin to a 1,500-square-foot brick house adjacent to the parking area, he said, adding that Friends of Lost River and several investors bought an acre of land adjoining the house and expect another acre to be donated later. Using three boats donated by Mammoth Cave National Park, the organization also has extended its boat tour, Niles said. Called Echoes of Lost River I, lI and III, the boats will take visitors from the rivers blue hole to the cave, where they will board another boat to go below ground, though time and money constraints likely will keep the boat tour from opening with the attraction next month, he said. With hopes of doubling attendance this season, the cave and valley will remain open all year, Niles said. We have grown to the point that we can stay open year-round, he said. We anticipate at least 25,000 visitors in 2000.