While working our way north we decided to catch our breath for a few days at Mammoth Caves National Park. It is so much more than the cave. The park also includes a beautiful forest and great kayaking. We will be back to spend more time.
The cave is the longest in the world at over 400 miles, with more being discovered each year. We took the Domes and Dripstones Tour. It is a 2 hour tour that covers 3/4 of a mile, 500 steps, and several places where you need to scoot through sideways or duck. It was a lot of fun!
I joined a park ranger-led birding hike one morning. We saw all of the birds below and many more that were pretty camera shy. I was amazed at how quickly and easily the park ranger identified so many birds. I still need to do Google searches to identify almost all of the birds I see.
Pair of cowbirds
The wildflowers below were found along the path to the Historic Entrance to Mammoth Cave.
Lost River Cave is in nearby Bowling Green. The tour into the cave is by boat. The cave is at the end of a deep valley, and it routinely floods during heavy rains. There are several “blue holes” where the Lost River makes an above ground appearance and the water can be a beautiful blue if it hasn’t rained for awhile. These blue holes are very dangerous as the current is swift and will drag a swimmer (or as legend has it, a horse and wagon) down and trap them under an overhang about 4 feet down.
While traveling through Nashville we stopped and enjoyed an evening with Joe’s cousin Jeff Burriss and his wife Roma.
We had a great time in the Mammoth Cave area. Having grown up in West Virginia the terrain, flora, and fauna were all very familiar and felt like home. We were there a week or two early to really hit the spring peak of wildflowers, but it was still beautiful. We look forward to returning and experiencing a lot more of the area.