Last Thursday, the 18th, we finally were able to go to the one place I wanted to visit in Kentucky; Mammoth Cave! Well…actually…both our youngest Nomad, Trevor, and I wanted to see it. When we were in Connecticut, that is the one stop we wanted to hit on our trip back to Missouri. And, let me tell you, it did not disappoint.
For those of you who do not know, Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system in the entire world. It has over 400 miles of explored caves and even more that are unexplored. In addition, the water that runs through the cave system at the lower levels causes the cave to continue to grow.
If you want to visit Mammoth Cave, it is located at 1 Mammoth Cave Parkway, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. It is not far from Bowling Green, a larger Kentucky city. Mammoth Cave Parkway did not come up on our GPS. If yours behaves similarly, here are the coordinates: Lat/Long: N 37° 11′ 13.115” ¦ W 86° 06′ 05.197”.
The park has many different tours throughout the year. We went during winter and they have fewer total tours than they do in summer. However, the quantity per tour is significantly less as well. We took the Domes and Dripstones Tour. We had about 28 people or so on that tour. We were told that during the summer, the quantity can get up to over 100! We didn’t mind going in the winter. Why? Because the temperature inside the cave is the same all year long (54° F / 12.2° C).
We took some time before our tour and went through the educational area at the visitors center. I highly recommend this. I would allow yourself about 30 to 45 minutes to meander through and learn about the cave’s history. Did you know that about 325 million years ago that Mammoth Cave (in Kentucky) was underwater and was located below the equator? They have found shark fossils in it! You read that correctly. Shark fossils!
Apparently the ocean laid down over 600 feet of limestone. When the area was no longer under ocean water, an ancient river deposited a sandstone and shale cap, which impermeable by water. Eventually there was no more ancient river or ocean over Kentucky. In some places the sandstone and shale cap cracked allowing rain water to penetrate to the limestone and began to hollow it out (started about 10 million years ago). This is what gives us Mammoth Cave today.
And, water still runs through it. That is correct. Water from sinkhole basins flow into the cave system, run through it and eventually dump out into the Green River. Believe it or not, there are underground rivers in Mammoth Cave complete with water life like eyeless fish and shrimp. There is even an underground lake called Crystal Lake. At one time you could go on a boat tour until it became too dangerous for both the water life and the humans.
You can find more interesting facts about Mammoth Cave by visiting their FAQ page.
After you go through the education section, go on out to where you are supposed to get on the bus that will take you to an entrance. This will likely be an outdoor area under a pavilion. A Park Ranger will tell you that if you are claustrophobic (fear of small or tight spaces), Nyctophobic (fear of the dark), or have physical challenges, you should be aware that you will be going in tight spaces, in the dark sometimes and will be walking a lot; including up and down stairs as well as many hills. Our tour started with a descent of over 300 steps! The Ranger will also, very calmly tell you that if a bat lands on you to be calm. They will get it off of you. Some of you, by now, will be freaked. Others of you will be like me and sitting on the edge of excitement!
We took a bus about 4 miles to the entrance to our tour. The Park Ranger gave us a few more helpful hints and instructions, like no flash photography allowed at all…no exceptions. My camera has a light sensor that illuminates before every picture. Could not turn it off. So, you will see my finger (sometimes) trying to cover up the light sensor so I could still take pictures. And I took a lot of them. Be forewarned of the heavy picture count of this post.
We descended over 300 stairs. They twisted and turned this way and that. We went over deep chasms that seemed to plummet forever and entered other rooms with high domes. At one point we entered a long tunnel called the New York Subway and it exited at, none other than, Grand Central Station. This was a big room with lots of benches. We stopped here for a bit and the Park Ranger told us more stories. Spoiler alert! They will turn out the lights and it will be one of the darkest rooms you have ever been in. You will NOT be able to see your hand right in front of your nose.
From Grand Central Station we walked up some stairs and meandered down long pathways, one of which was a room with, what seemed to be, no supports at all. The ceiling, although made of rock, looked like concrete. We eventually came to a part where we saw beautiful formations; stalactites and stalagmites. One such formation was an absolute wonder. It was called Frozen Niagara. You’ll notice a lot of New York references. At one point, this was all privately owned and the owners were from…you guessed it…New York.
After Frozen Niagara, we walked a little bit more and passed Crystal Lake. This was the underground lake that used to have a tour on it. It was closed due to previously mentioned reasons. Then we actually came to a revolving door. This was the exit of our tour. We were underground for about 2 hours or so. I really wish I could have explored more. I was ready to go on another tour. But the tours were minimal and we were hungry. So we decided to pack it up.
If you are someone who enjoys caving, at all, or exploring natural wonders in the least bit…you have to visit Mammoth Cave! It is a must on your bucket list. We really enjoyed ourselves. It was both educational and inspirational. I call that a great day. Safe Travels.
