Mammoth Cave National Park October 11

We left Gun Creek Campground in Whittington, Illinois Friday morning, October 11th, and drove 227 miles to the Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky for a short, three-night stay. This campground has no hookups at all, so we would be living on water from our fresh water tank and fully charged “house” and device batteries.

Like our ancestors of old, when it got dark we went to sleep, lol!

We were here two years ago at Mammoth Cave National Park on almost the same dates; October 12 – 17th. You can read about that stay here and here. I messed up during that visit and did not try to get our tickets early enough, so we missed being able to take the cave tours we wanted. But I learned my lesson this time and we got our tickets as soon as they became available.

About Mammoth Cave National Park

Mammoth Cave National Park was established by Congress on July 1, 1941 and is currently comprised of 52,830 Bluegrass State acres of surface land. In 2023, 654,450 visitors passed through their gates. That is much less than the more than 2 million visitors that came into the park each year in 1991-94 and 1998.

Mammoth Cave is the world’s longest known cave, stretching 426 mapped miles as of 2022. Especially remarkable is that those 426 miles of cave extend out only 7 miles and are only 400 feet deep. Meaning the cave system is serpentine in nature, curling back, over and under itself. Some passages are huge in length, width and height, while others are short, narrow and tight; some of the passages are just large enough for a person to squeeze through on their stomach. Definitely not for those with claustrophobic issues.

The cave system is home to more than twelve unusual species, such as the rare Albino Shrimp, Kentucky Eyeless Cave Shrimp, Southern Cave Fish, and Indiana Eyeless Crayfish. There are also a variety of bats such as the Indiana Bat and the Eastern Pipistrelle Bat. The Kentucky Cave Shrimp, Indiana Bat and Gray Bat are all listed as endangered and limited numbers survive in the caves.

Frozen Niagara Tour

Saturday morning Cindy and I took the Frozen Niagara Tour. This cave tour does not include tight or claustrophobic areas, so it was a good tour for Cindy to take. We enjoyed it but, you know, the tour description says it lasts 90 minutes however they count in the 30 minutes on the bus from the Visitor Center and back so the tour itself really only lasts 60 minutes at most.

Although we missed getting to see our friends Kirk and Laura, I was glad that they didn’t take a chance driving through possibly storm-damaged roads to get here for a short 60-minute tour.

The bus dropped us off at the lobby of the Mammoth Lodge and, after looking over their gift shop offerings, Cindy and I decided we were hungry. So we ducked into the Green River Grill and Bar for some lunch. Cindy ordered the “Kentucky Hot Brown” which is smoked Kentucky ham, smashed turkey, bacon, tomatoes and cheese sauce served open-faced on a slice of Sourdough Bread. When it arrived we were talking and after a couple of bites Cindy said to me, “I don’t taste any ham and that was what I REALLY wanted.” I got the server’s attention and told her my wife couldn’t taste any ham. “Oh my” she said, “I forgot to tell you we’re out of ham. I am SO sorry. I’ll take 20% off your bill unless you’d like to order something else.”

I thought it was a nice offer; taking 20% off the entire order and not just Cindy’s meal item. Cindy decided to stick with the hamless Kentucky Hot Brown and I made sure to tip the server on what the entire amount would have been (and a little extra) for her great attitude.

Later in the afternoon we returned to the Visitor Center for a Heritage Trail tour and cemetery visit given by a very knowledgeable ranger.

Historic Cave Tour

Sunday, October 13th, we had a slow start to our day. In the mid-morning I grilled burgers and bacon on the Blackstone Griddle. Then, in the mid-afternoon, I went on the Historic Cave tour alone. This tour is too long (both in time and distance) and has too many tight spaces for Cindy to really be able to enjoy it and I was fortunate to be able to get the last available ticket for this tour. They have one section of the cave where the ceiling is so low it’s called “Tall Man’s Agony” and another where the walls are so tight it’s called “Fat Man’s Misery.” Both gave me trouble, lol!

But I was able to get some good photos and I’m glad I decided to go on this cave tour and explore the early history of Mammoth Cave.

And, oh joy, we endured three days of acorns falling from high above us and hitting the roof of Nomad like gun shots. Poor Bella gets really nervous when we’re somewhere where the acorns attack us day and night.

As an extra added bonus, we left with those hitchhikers we hate; stink bugs. Now we’ll have them with us for months before we’re able to drive them out or kill them all.

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