Mammoth Cave

It isn't often that James and I act on a whim. However, over the summer we had spent a weekend at Nolin Lake with friends and family and on our way back into the city we had our chance. We had spent the entire weekend boating and camping, swimming and eating, all of that great outdoorsy stuff that I am still getting used to. It was one of the hottest weekends in heat wave that seemed to last all season. If I remember correctly the temperature was at least 96. The Kentucky heat isn't dry and arid either, it is heavy and thick. It hangs around you and makes it hard to breathe. The only logical thing to do is drink and lay in cool lake water - which, even then, felt like a hot bath.

On our drive back from Nolin we passed signs for Mammoth Cave, a national park we had both visited as kids. The park is known for one main reason - the longest cave system known in the world. So why not?

We pulled off the main road and followed a one lane road all the way through the expansive forest only to find, at the end of the drive, the ferry that takes you across the Green River and into the park, was closed. We could have given up there, but after veering off track and already 45 minutes into the adventure, we decided to stick with it. So we turned around and circled the forest. The good thing about this is that the animals in the area are protected and thus unafraid of vehicles and people. I guarantee you will see at least 3 deer, 5 wild turkeys, and maybe some other critters if you visit.

Finally we had made it. Since neither of us had been to the cave in over a decade we wandered through the visitors center and ate lunch at one of the little cafes. Next, we went and bought our cave tour tickets. We opted for one of the shorter tours, probably because both of us were wondering how we could be underground for longer than 2 hours without going insane. Soon enough we headed down a steep embankment towards the natural entrance, a huge hole in the forest floor. Cold air gushed out of the hole and got colder as we went. Ahhhh. What a great idea that had been. We were informed that all caves maintain a natural temperature between about 55 and 65 year round. Amazing. Natural AC.

We wandered through the tour, and I don't want to give too much away, so that you can experience it for yourself, but we learned quite a bit. At one point our tour guide switched off the lights to let us know what absolute darkness actually looks like. Not something I really ever want to see (or not see, I guess...) ever again. With the lights out she asked if anyone had questions so far... The giant of a man standing next to me then asked the one thing I had been thinking the whole time... "What happens if there's an earthquake?" Our guide switched on the lights just in time for him to see me glaring at him  and the collective group uttering a single sigh/groan/squeal. Lucky for us, the answer was a little more positive than "you're all screwed." Kentucky has earthquakes quite often, not the giant California shakers, but smaller 5.somethings usually. Since these earthquakes take place on the surface of the earth we were safe 300 feet down. The tremors don't even register that far deep. Whew. Still...

People have been tagging the cave for hundreds of years!

We then crawled through "tall man's misery" and squeezed through "fat man's misery"(both of which left the scaredy-giant in conniptions), and climbed hundreds of stairs in the grand Rotunda. We saw all kinds of amazing cave-things: markings from candles that cave explorers hundreds of year before us left, old-school graffiti, the bottom-less pit (that you have to walk over), and the paths that the water had taken to carve out the entire amazing system.

James didn't have any trouble in fat man's misery.

But even I had trouble in tall man's misery. 

After our tour we were forced back out into the seething heat with a whole new appreciation for this landmark. We would definitely recommend anyone visiting Kentucky to make the journey to check it out! Even for claustrophobic giants, it was a good time. Just try not to think about the thousands of tons of crushing weight bearing down on your heads...

This photo was taken 300 feet below the surface of earth!