My Old Kentucky Home

On the road for a family reunion in Chicago. Excited to see Jeff's cousins and their family and so many activities planned. We left home on Wednesday morning and dropped Sirius at Camp Green Dog. He did not seem happy and that made me sad. Left him sitting on his bed which is his comfort zone. We drove northwest past Columbia and Greenville and into North Carolina. Passed Asheville and the road was twisty with beautiful trees, hills and valleys. Soon we crossed into Tennessee and headed north to Knoxville.

We stopped for the night in Crossville, TN, a small town with lots of chain stores and restaurants. Had dinner at Ruby Tuesday and got to sleep early. We woke to a beautiful, sunny day and had breakfast at the hotel. I drove this morning as we headed north to Mammoth Cave National Park. We were mostly on two lane back roads with pretty scenery and lots of rolled hay bales. Just as we entered Kentucky I saw a horse with her foal nursing. It as wonderful. Just down the road a car pulled out of a driveway, right in front of me. now I had been going about 50 on this country road and the old guy in the Buick went 25 at best. Finally we got to a crossroad and I was able to pass him.

Arrived at the National Park around 11:00 and had a tour scheduled for 12:45.

We went to their excellent museum area and grabbed a quick lunch before boarding the bus to our cave entrance. Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system in the world, over 365 miles of surveyed passages and there are 27 entrances.  The caves are a water-formed labyrinth formed from limestone. They are designated a world Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve. We drove four miles to start the Dripstones and Domes tour. 117 people on three buses along with guides Ryan and Laurel. We entered and the cool air, 60 degrees, was very refreshing. Before long we were hot again descending about 280 steps down to 250 feet below the ground. Metal stairways with rails helped, but the wet floors and railings kept you busy staying on your feet.

The cave wasn't as pretty as others we have visited. We were pretty much busy walking and stopped in three different large rooms with benches to get some information from the Rangers. Luckily we walked up on ramps and steps and the exit was at a lower elevation that the entrance. Near the end we saw some nice stalagmites, stalactites and columns. One area called Niagara Falls had water pouring down 80 feet. An option here was to go down behind the falls and see some "curtains" and formations. They described it as an optional 50 steps down and 50 mandatory steps to get back up. I did it and not so special.

Happy back on the bus and a stop at the ice cream parlor for me to get a soft serve cone. Then we walked to the car where I changed into shorts and sandals from my long jeans and sneakers. We drove off for an hour and a half ride to Louisville. Interesting that the park is in the Central Time zone  while Louisville is on Eastern Time.

We checked into the Galt House Hotel right in downtown Louisville and have a nice room on the 18th floor wth a view of the river. It is a huge place with 1000 rooms. We walked to a recommended place for dinner. They have street sculptures that are Louisville Slugger bats with plaques for baseball players and which model bat they used. Happily we saw the plaque for Roger Maris, my hero, and I got pictures. Also saw Pete Rose from the Phillies and many more.

 

Now we are ready for bed and have a city trolley tour booked for the morning.