April 10-20, 2024
Mammoth Caves National Park was a great experience. It turned out to be much more than I had anticipated. I figured the cave would be great to see, but there was much more to it than the caves. I arrived on a Wednesday late in the afternoon after a longish drive from Land Between the Lakes. I checked in at a small kiosk that was attended by a park service ranger. He mentioned that they had a lot of rain lately and my site had some water on it, but I should be okay. I drove to my site and saw it was true. There was a paved driveway that was not under water, but both sides of it were water covered, anywhere from one to four inches I estimated. The campfire ring and picnic table were not accessible. I was able to get a different site for the five nights I had reserved.
That afternoon, around 5PM, I went to the visitor center and obtained information on cave tours. There were no options available to take a walk outside of the guided tours that were offered. There were many guided tours. It was then I learned that there are 426 miles of cave routes mapped out, with new caves found over time with no known end in sight.
It is a large visitor center with an exhibit that features historical information of the park and area, as well as foci on the impact on the park by women, African Americans, and Native Americans. There is substantial information as on the geology and animal life of the park and local area. I found it very informative and enjoyable. Topic-wise, it was very good, but it could use some updating as it seems it was put together many years ago.
I did the Domes & Dripstones Tour on Thursday morning. One takes a bus ride a few miles from the Visitor Center to what is known as the New Entrance. This entrance was created by a guy named Morrison, who had come to the area to look for oil, but found the caves could be used as a means of generating income. Apparently, he bought up a lot of land, assuming he could create an entrance and charge for tours. He blasted an entrance that eventually, as he had hoped, connected with the cave. Eventually, the park serve acquired the land and the entrance.
On the map, it looked like there were a few roads within the park that would make for good riding, and I found it to be true. After the tour, I went exploring the roads, first doing what I eventually called the Demming Ferry Loop. It was about 12 miles through forested land. It was both hilly and curvy. Two-thirds of it was on a road that was narrow, allowing two cars to pass but just barely. I did this loop several times. I also did an out and back on the road that led into the park from I-65. That was 16 miles round-trip on hilly terrain. All in all, if one were to ride all the roads within park boundaries, it would cover about 70 miles. I ended up with 200 miles riding while there for ten days. It was another step in the direction of adding hills to my riding. For many months I had been riding mostly flat terrain: the Danbury-Brewster Bike Trail, Fort Pickens in Florida and Davis Bayou in Mississippi, and Fort Massac in Illinois all had flat terrain. Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky added some hills, and Mammoth Caves ramped it up some.
The campground, which had 111 campsites on four loops, was sparsely populated on weekday and completely full on weekends. It really felt deserted on weekdays, was very quiet. I did daily walks, morning and evening, listening to birds and enjoying the woods. There are several trails in the campground-visitor center area. It is a mountain bike destination, as there are approximately 65 miles of trails open to bikes on another section of the park, as well as an eight-mile gravel rail-trail that goes from the campground south to City, which was once a destination and is now a historical site.
My Merlin app identified sixty-six different bird species. That is twenty more than any other park I’ve been at on this trip. The mornings, especially between 5:30 and 6:00 it seemed, the woods was alive with singing. The volume was amazing. My feathered friends stayed active all day. What a great and welcome treat, to hear them daily.
As usual, I met several other people traveling. My first few nights, there were two families tent-camping adjacent to me. They were from Ohio, a few hours’ drive one dad told me. Each family had four kids. Their campsites were loud, and it was in a good way. I loved to hear the kids laughing and playing, such imaginative banter involving the games they were having. Listening to children, their laughter and tone is like a kind of music. It is invigorating and joyful.
I talked briefly with a couple from Maine who had been on the road about a month and were heading back north. They had a low-profile tear-drop trailer, one good for sleep in and tall enough to sit in, but not stand up. I see a lot of this type of trailer. They are lightweight such that smaller cars can pull them. They had a Subaru Outback. I have seen several smaller car-trailer combinations, with cars with four-cylinder engines pulling trailers in the 1000-1300 pound range. It’s a wonderful alternative to tents. These trailers have a variety of options, many have a “kitchen” that is contained on the backside that is accessible only from the outside. They have stove, refrigerators-coolers, water, even microwave ovens in some cases. Many people have set up tents or other shelter type constructions that create a “living room,” as one person put it, right outside the door of the trailer.
Another camper, who appeared to be around 30, was traveling with an aerodynamic wedge fronted box-like storage trailer. He designed and built the entire interior himself over a one-year period. He lives in the northwest and is traveling for six months. He’s visited several places in the southwest before coming east to see the eclipse in Hot Springs, Arkansas, then to Mammoth. Next is the Smokies and Washington, DC, and then he’ll head up towards Maine. Coincidently, we have reservations at Acadia the same week in June. He then plans to drive across Canada back to Oregon. He’s doing all this while working full time as a computer programmer, utilizing Starlink for internet access.
Two sets of campers told me they were headed to New River Gorge from Mammoth. I am thinking I might do that, too. It is a relatively “new” national park, and I am not sure when I’ll be as close as I am right now to it. I had planned to go to the Smokies, as I have not been there in many years, but I am leaning toward New River Gorge next, instead.
This was a good campground from a practical perspective. It had showers and laundry. There was a lodge next to the Visitor Center. The Lodge had a Starbucks as well as several tables where one could sit and write and also use internet with free WiFi. Of course, the WiFi has its pros and cons 😉
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