On our drive to Florida in late August, we stopped at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. Without thinking, we quickly signed up for a guided cave tour of the New
Entrance. The bus was leaving in a minute and if we didn't catch this
tour, we would have to wait around for 2 hours before the next tour
started.
On the bus ride, we read the brochure and learned about the recommendations: hiking shoes (we only had sandals), warm clothes (luckily, we had sweatshirts but no long pants), take bathroom breaks before boarding the bus (didn't have time), bring water (forgot about that), not be claustrophobic or afraid of the dark (didn't think that would be a problem) and be able to climb 500 steps (shouldn't be a problem).
The stairs weren't too much of a problem, except that Chloe needed to be carried because her little legs could keep up.
The tight passageways freaked the kids out a lot more than we expected.
Charlie and Lucy were troopers though and made it down all the stairs.
When he got to the bottom, Charlie had overcome his fears and was quite excited to go spelunking.
Overlooking the bottemless pit.
The girls were eager to explore especially after the ranger shared his flashlight with them!
The water droplets you see are ground water seeping into the cave from a small opening. If it were actually raining outside, it would be pouring in through that same little hole.
Stalactites
Stalagmites (formed from the ground up), Stalactites (formed from the ceiling down) and columns (where the two meet up)
Charlie and Lucy with the Ranger
Frozen Niagara.
To lure tourists into the caves, the previous owner came up with some colourful, picturesque names for different room in the cave. The caves are all the same, bland colour but you can see how he came up with the names.
This room had Sand Castles and The Great Wall of China on the cave floor.
Bambi and friend were spotted as we left the National Park.
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