May 4 – 7, 2022
Leaving the Asheville area, we followed I-40 west to Knoxville, then took 75 north to London, KY, and finally Cumberland Parkway west to our fourth stop – Cave City. Can you guess what we’re going to see here?
Cave Country RV Park
Our campground of choice here was Cave Country RV Park. Our site was a level, gravel pull-thru with a grassy living area. Although long enough for both truck and RV (barely), we were told we could park the truck in a small (probably tent) space directly across from our site. We loved that! The campground was nicely maintained and relatively quiet. There was a railroad track directly behind the RV park, but we didn’t find the noise bothersome. We did have one surprise. Directly next to us was an identical RV (same brand, same size, same paint scheme) – something we rarely encounter in our travels. Of course we made sure we were at our RV before entering.
Mammoth Cave National Park
The main reason we stopped here was to visit Mammoth Cave National Park. Mammoth is the world’s longest known cave system with over 420 miles of explored tunnels. I had been here before but it had been quite some time ago.
A Brief History of the Cave
Indigenous peoples lived and hunted in Kentucky between 2,000 and 4,000 years ago in the Late Archaic Period (3000 — 1000 B.C.). These early explorers traveled miles within Mammoth Cave, using cane plants as torches, in order to collect the minerals mirabilite, epsomite and gypsum. How they used the minerals is still a matter of speculation, although it is hypothesized that they were valued for medicinal and/or ceremonial uses.
In addition to mining, American Indians lived in rock shelters or large cave entrances during parts of the year. Dry conditions in the cave have preserved vast quantities of artifacts,including some of the earliest evidence of organized agriculture in the eastern United States. These part-time residents ate a variety of wild plants including hickory nuts, sweet flag, lily, dandelion, wild strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and acorns. When they could, they supplemented this plant-based diet with deer, turkey, raccoon, other small mammals, mussels and fish.
One of the most fascinating discoveries made by archeologists indicates that some of the American Indians utilized the cave to prepare bodies for burial. Researchers found parts of 41 human skeletons at the Salts Cave campsite in the cave. The sizes of the skeletons indicate that there were newborns and adults, of both genders. Their bones were broken, split and marked in the same way as deer bones.
Exploration for minerals continued during the Early Woodland Period (1000 — 200 B.C.), but for reasons not yet understood, ceased soon afterward. According to legend, about 2,000 years later, in 1797, a hunter named Houchin rediscovered the cave while chasing a bear. Frontiersmen quickly realized that Mammoth Cave contained saltpeter (used in making gunpowder), and during the War of 1812, Hyman Gratz and Charles Wilkens established a commercial saltpeter leaching factory there. Vats and wooden pipes that were used in the operation are still visible today just inside the mouth of Mammoth Cave. Take the Historic Tour or the Violet City Lantern Tour to see these artifacts.
Beginning in 1838, the public began to appreciate the geologic, cultural and biological importance of Mammoth Cave. Capitalizing on this interest, Franklin Gorin, the owner at the time, initiated a regular guide force led by a 17-year-old slave Stephen Bishop. Before his death at the age of 36, Bishop achieved worldwide fame for his discoveries and knowledge of the cave, as well as for his wit and charm. Bishop had begun a tradition of excellence among cave guides that included the well-known Bransford Family and that tradition continues to this day.
In 1839, a new owner—Dr. John Croghan—extensively developed and explored the cave, exploiting it commercially as one of the great wonders of the world. He built roads, improved buildings and constructed a large hotel to lodge tourists.
Dr. Croghan’s work on Mammoth Cave, along with others like him, ultimately helped America define a national identity at a time when the country sought desperately to dignify its industrial and military might. America seemed to lack the ancient places and cultural antiquities that Europe boasted and the promotion of places like Mammoth Cave helped fill that void. Big was beautiful: Mammoth Cave, Grand Canyon, Giant Sequoia. Superlatives like these, rooted in nature, would come to epitomize the American spirit.
Dr. Croghan also established an underground tuberculosis hospital in the cave. He believed that the stable temperature and humidity and apparent dryness would have a curative effect on patients. Volunteer patients lived in the cave in small stone structures with canvas roofs. The experiment was a failure. Within a few months, a few of the invalids died and many others left the cave. Ironically, Dr. Croghan died six years after the experiment—a victim of tuberculosis. To view the structures where the patients lived, take the Violet City Lantern Tour.
Mammoth Cave was authorized as a national park in 1926 and was fully established in 1941. At that time, just 40 miles of passageway had been mapped. As surveying techniques improved, great strides were made in describing and understanding the overwhelming extent of the cave system. Several caves in the park were shown to be connected, and today, the cave system is known to extend well beyond the national park boundary. The park was named a World Heritage Site in 1981 and became the core area of an International Biosphere Reserve in 1990. With its 53,000 surface acres and underlying cave ecosystem, Mammoth Cave National Park is recognized as an international treasure.
Mammoth Cave History
Prior to our arrival we had made reservations for two of the many tours offered. So, the next day we drove the 30 minutes to the park for our first tour.
Mammoth Cave Historic Tour
This classic Mammoth Cave Tour visits many of the historic areas that originally made Mammoth Cave famous. Going through tunnels that humans have used for thousands of years, this tour not only explores huge rooms that gave Mammoth Cave its name, but also descends to much tighter places deep inside the cave. Please note that this tour ascends and descends hundreds of stairs and several steep inclines, which can be difficult for many visitors, as there are no alternative routes. This tour is ideal for people with an interest in history and a sense of adventure.
Mammoth Cave Tours
Prior to entering the cave on this two mile, two hour tour, the park ranger guide gave a briefing on what to expect. He warned us about the 540 stairs (mostly up at the end of the tour), the cramped area known as Fat Man’s Misery, the duck-walk required for Tall Man’s Misery, and the walk back up the hill after the tour. He invited the slower walkers to stay with him at the front of the group.
We entered through the historic entrance.
Due to the number and frequency of the various tours, the guides are required to stay on schedule as much as possible. As a result, I (as a slower walker these days) felt as though we were rushed along without much time to stop and soak in the experience. In their defense, since this is mainly a dry cave, there are not a lot of intricate formations to see.
Leaving the park, we decided to stop at a El Mazatlan (a Mexican restaurant) for a late lunch. After all, we burned a few calories climbing all of those stairs and it was Cinco de Mayo.
The next day we drove back to the park for our second cave tour.
Mammoth Cave Domes and Dripstones Tour
This classic tour visits areas of Mammoth Cave that have been used for nearly 100 years. This tour begins in a sinkhole, passes through huge domes, amazing breakdown, and ends in the dripstone section known as Frozen Niagara. Please note that this tour ascends and descends hundreds of stairs and several steep inclines, which can be difficult for many visitors, as there are no alternative routes. Focusing on the natural formation of the cave, this tour is ideal for people interested in science and wanting to see stalactites and stalagmites.
For this tour, we boarded a park bus that dropped us off at a different entrance. There, the park range guide gave us an overview of what to expect on this one mile, 500 stair (with 280 on the initial staircase descent), two hour tour. He warned that anyone not feeling physically fit for this tour should leave the group now. He told us about a 47 year old man who suffered a heart attack on this tour. The rangers tried to save him by administering CPR for 45 minutes until additional help arrived. Unfortunately they were unable to save him. A rather sobering tour introduction. I don’t believe anyone in the group (another large group of close to 50 people like our tour the day before) chose to leave.
The guide unlocked a steel door and we began the descent. Most of the sights were similar to our earlier tour – large rooms with flat ceilings. Only the very last portion of the tour presented fascinating formations. Unfortunately, since we were behind schedule, we were rushed through this section.
We stopped at Bucky Bees BBQ for some tasty bbq chicken on the way back to the RV. Later that evening we packed up and prepared to leave the next morning headed for stop number five.
