More Mammoth . . . Waiting on Weather, UPS, & Walmart

Mammoth Cave, KY – April 13-19, 2014

OK, it’s going to be in the 80’s today and we are dry camping. We open all the windows, leave the vent fans on and head into Cave City, KY and settle into McDonald’s for the afternoon. Nice table with electric plug so we both can use our computers. Luckily it cools down at night so sleeping is comfortable.

Crazy weather, one day we are sitting out in the sun and the next we are huddled inside next to the heater.

Weather forecast is for more cold and even snow to the north & west of us (the directions we want to go next). We decide to hang out here even though it will be cold and take care of a few things that need done. EJ needs to have a lens replaced in her new glasses and there is a Walmart in Glasgow, Ky, so we give them a call. They say 3-5 days so we opt to take a chance and hope for 3 not 5 days.

We also had a spare inverter (an unexpected warranty benefit) show up at our house and want to have it sent here. We asked our neighbor to do a UPS run and hope it will get here in time.

So off to Glasgow we go. Here’s something we hope to see more of along our travels. Diesel is cheaper than regular!

We did a little exploring and found something you don’t see everyday. This formation is in someone's backyard.

The rain and cold weather are coming our way. It’s going to be low 30’s to mid 50’s the next few days.

Since we will be hanging around awhile, on Tuesday we decided to do another cave tour. It will actually be warmer in the caves than outside. It was 32.8 degrees this morning. Our 2 hour tour started at 1:45 and it hadn’t warmed up much.

This time we took the Historic Tour. Very different from the previous one. This was 2 miles with 300 ft decent and a lot less stairs. More open space except for Fat Man’s Misery (a very narrow, low passage).

They mined saltpeter in the caves to use in gun powder for the War of 1812. After that it became a tourist destination and several folks left their names.

It is really hard to imagine what it was like using oil lamps and exploring these caves. It is one of natures true wonders.

Back to camp in time for sunset, campfire and a beautiful moon rise.

The next few days we hung around camp and tried to stay warm. Mocha found her spot and seems very relaxed and Taz is enjoying her supper from her bed.

Frank got his inverter delivered right to the RV on Wednesday. The infamous water pump gremlin showed up on Thursday, but never fear, spare one on hand. Now we have to find a place to turn in the bad one for another spare.  Frank changed the generator oil on Friday since it had warmed up some..

Saturday, we got the call, EJ’s lens is here, yeah. Five days still wasn’t bad. Made the trek to Glasgow and took the Park Ridge road back to camp. Frank spotted this turkey heading into the woods.

It was a beautiful day. Temps are warming up. Now that the last of our waiting is done we will be heading out tomorrow. Twelve nights when we only thought we would spend 2 or 3 puts our westward journey a little behind. We expected to have to determine our route based on weather conditions, but Old Man Winter just doesn’t want to let go. Quite the opposite from last year when we kept seeking cooler weather.

It will be an early morning as we plan on attending the Easter sunrise service in the amphitheater before we head out. Our stay here has been great and we took advantage of having one last campfire. Frank even brought Taz out to let her enjoy it too.

We’ll be off to the midwest “I” states next.

Meandering Around Mammoth

Mammoth Cave, KY – April 10-12, 2014

After last night’s storm, we woke up to a beautiful morning. The sun is out, Big Guy is in a secluded location, a local squirrel is keeping a watchful eye over our campsite, and a robin is teasing us into thinking spring is here.

Being out of shape, the “Domes and Dripstones” tour left us feeling like a day off was in order. So we agreed that we’d no tours today and instead meander over to some of the nearby communities. EJ spied this picture book farm along the way.

And we found this little hideaway sitting in the woods.

According to the App “Where to Eat”, Horse Cave had a rock shop coffee shop combination. We found it and the for sale sign in the front window. We continue to wander around from city (town?) to city before we found an authentic “locals” restaurant. And they had curly fries!! On the way back to the campground we found this old stone structure.

Feeling pretty spunky after sitting in the car for a couple of hours, we thought it would be a good idea to stretch our legs a little. Forgetting about how much ours legs protested yesterday, we were feeling pretty good and decided we needed some more exercise.

Deer sightings are common in Mammoth Park. The one on the left looks pretty hungry.

The Green River runs through the Park and used to have numerous ferries owned by private individuals that charged a toll to cross the river. This is the only remaining operational ferry in the park. It only handles 2 cars at a time, is held in place by cables and is a side wheeler.

Next to the relief station was a short trail to where an underground river surfaced to join the Green River. It’s called Echo River Spring.

The Park is pretty serious about unauthorized entry into the caves. Notice this entrance has a steel grate covering it.

EJ serenely surveys the River Styx, another underground river that surfaces to join the Green River.

All these hikes have led us lower and lower to the bottom of the valley where the Green River flows. And as we all know what goes down, must come up, one way or another. We scour the map for a less challenging way back to the top, but there is none. We’re not feeling so spunky now.

After we struggle back to the top, we decide there’s just enough energy left for one more short hike. The walk to Sand Cave was a short one and it was via a nice level wooden boardwalk. This cave is famous, or infamous, for being the death place of Floyd Collins. On January 30, 1925 Floyd was searching for a new entrance to the underground network of caves when he crawled into a very small passageway and got stuck by a cave in. Rescue efforts were futile and he died of exposure. Two months later, his body was recovered.

EJ and I decided that we wouldn’t be doing any unauthorized cave exploring.

Movin’ to Mammoth

Mammoth Cave, KY – April 8-9, 2014

Tuesday morning, April 8, we finally made up our minds to head for Mammoth Cave National Park for two reasons. One, we had never been there before and two, EJ gets another stamp in her National Park Passport book.

It was a fairly uneventful trip until we were about half way there. That’s when we found ourselves on a narrow country road where the lanes were barely large enough to accommodate Big Guy. We had about 6 inches to spare on either side, not counting the mirrors. Fortunately we only encountered one eighteen wheeler coming towards us which certainly produced a monumental pucker factor but also let us know that low bridges wouldn’t be a problem. If an eighteen wheeler can make it, so can we.

We pulled into Mammoth Cave Campground in the rain and there was no one at the guard gate. After a couple of circles around the campground we selected a spot with the fewest puddles and it happened to be next to the restroom. Convenient when you’re trying to conserve water and holding tank usage.Most NP’s are dry camp only. This was going to be one of the coldest nights we experienced so far so special accommodations needed to be made for the cats.

The next day was bright and sunny, but the cats couldn’t be bothered.

You know, we really thought we bought that love seat for us.

We decided to take the “Domes and Dripstones” tour. But first, the National Park Passport must get stamped.

We listen to Ranger Linda tell us about all the things that children aren’t supposed to do. Her talk would have been about half as long without that part.

Afterwards they loaded us onto these green buses.

Then they hauled us off to this door in the ground. That’s Ranger Dave on the right making sure no one escapes.

And finally, the this part of the Cave…

No flash photo’s allowed.

The cave was formed by underground rivers which now are further underground because the water table has dropped leaving the caves mostly dry. It was pretty amazing. This tour was rated as moderate, but we were both feeling the burn. It was 300 ft down and of course we had to come back up. They said it was only 3/4 of a mile, but it took two hours.

I can’t believe we were just 300 feet underground…

Yeah Frank. Where are those French Fries we ordered?!

On the way back to the campground we pass the old Mammoth passenger train and a couple of furry residents.

‘So Long’ from the Historic entrance to Mammoth Cave.