Hotspur.us

In which I can’t remember the name of our tour and we do a good deed on the water.

A 9:00 am tour means wake up, cram some breakfast and get to the Visitor Center. Fortunately we our adorable little cabin was right outside the park entrance.

While the previous day’s tour was a relatively small group, this one was 79 people, plus a ASL interpreter and two Rangers. There were A LOT of people.  Now, yesterday our instructions from the Ranger were for all the slow walkers to go to the front, that way the group pace would be dictated by them and not get all strung out. So, going with that idea, we figured we’d stay towards the back because there seemed to be a wide variety of folks on this tour, including families and some older limping folks. (And no, I’m not being judge-y YET.)

So, we end up behind a lady with two children, maybe in the 6 – 10 age range. I mean seriously, I have no idea. I was going by size. Anyway, we end up being WAY strung out clear at the back. Chad was stopping to take photos, but mostly the folks in front of us were not going at a pace that was quick. The Ranger doing the sweep says to Chad, if you want to take photos, you’re better off being up front. Good to know.

Once the group reassembles into a group, not a line, we jockey for some space behind folks who’s appearance indicates they would keep pace with us. We were wrong. Just because you order from REI does not mean you are not slow, meandering walkers. Duly noted.  Repeat jockeying for a better spot. At this point I have seen enough of the group as it starts to stretch out to know who I’m going to run over walking at my normal pace, and where we should be for maximum walking efficiency. The key is to get there.

Somewhere between miles 2 and 3, I realize that I need to start some calm breathing because I am going to start shoving people out of my way, leaving Chad in my wake if they don’t A. hurry up and B. shut the hell up with their inane prattling about everything under the gosh darn sun except this cave. I don’t care about your boyfriend & your new job. SHUT UP! Yes, I know I have issues.

The slow walkers aside, the Grand Avenue Tour was incredible. It really way. We say huge, cavernous rooms that were on some level almost unbelievable. We walked through long tubes that had ceilings so high it was shocking to think about the water that had carved them. There was what I can only describe as a slot canyon where being my size really paid off! The Cave was in every sense of the wore awesome.

And then we got to the stalactites and stalagmites portion of the cave, Frozen Niagara. WOW! What a finale. Just so impressive and wonderous!

Obviously our photos did not do our tour justice. They could not. This was most certainly an experience where you put the camera away (which we did), and take in what you are seeing so you can remember it.

Intermission

Having popped down to look at the Green River by the Ferry yesterday, we were eager to put our kayaks in the water. The river looked to be moving pretty well and we’d heard there was a cave you could explore via kayak. Sign us up! The only dicey part, was that today, like every other stupid day, possible thunderstorms were on the horizon.

The livery service said they were still doing trips, which was good enough for us!

Small or not, kayaking in a cave was so very amazing! Fog rolled out from the mouth onto the river, as we drifted into the mouth. It was cool and quiet inside. Dark, but not frightening.

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Alas, that was the best part of the river, which turned out to be slow. Very slow. Sweet Jesus did was paddle hard to keep moving at a decent pace.

The livery driver, Joe, had asked us to look for a new blue cooler that someone had just recently lose when his canoe tipped. He told us it would be tangled in some roots, close to the end of the trip. I figured there was no way we’d see it. But sure enough, right about the spot he said to start looking there was a blue cooler, wedged under the roots of a tree! Chad managed to wrestle the cooler from the roots! I tethered it to his deck and we headed for the Green River Ferry take out!

We never did find out what the mystery way, however. 

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In which I can’t remember Violet City and keep wanting to call it Violent City, because apparently I have issues.

Forecast for today: rain, additional rain, possibly some thunderstorms, following by high levels of mugginess. Then more rain.

The Plan

Get a virtual cache

Hike a few miles

Grab lunch

Cave tour

How it shook out

Nice little half mile hike around a pond, gathering information from the signs to complete the virtual geocache.

Drive up to a different section of the park, near the horse trailer camping area and head out to do some hiking. To get there we had to take the Green River Ferry. Which could hold 3 cars at once. It was fun! 

Light sprinkles. Rain jackets on. Sweat. Rain jackets off.  We were under tree cover, so it wasn’t that bad as far as us getting wet from the sky, as opposed to use getting wet via sweat. And then RAIN JACKETS ON!!!!  We clocked in at probably around 5 miles. Someone hadn’t properly cleared her GPS tracklog, so it was an educated guess going on a trail map and the feeling of our legs.

Lunch. This included Chad having a heated discussed with our contractor about the wall project that was going on at home. It was not the most relaxing of lunches.

Violet City Lantern Tour. If you go to Mammoth Cave, do yourself an enormous favor and take this tour before you take any others. To see the cave by old school oil lantern light is such a distinct and different experience. As our guide said, this is the tour where you don’t so much learn about Mammoth Cave. You learn about what Mammoth Cave means to you, personally; how it affects each person differently. He was right. Seeing the Cave vaguely lit by the glow of the lanterns made the full reveal the next day far more impressive.

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Happy Memorial Day! Now break down the tent and get in the car! We’re going to Mammoth Cave National Park! And you know what’s awesome about this particularly National Park? The star attractions are underground and impervious to rain! This is important because it is insanely rainy this week.

After getting the obligatory park stamps, patch, pin and other goodies, Chad and I thought we may as well get a little hike in before checking into our cabin. The sky looked slightly sketchy, but we figured we’d be fine. After all, most of the trail was under tree cover and we were only doing a two-mile loop.

Which is to say, we’re idiots, as usual. Especially since our rain jackets were in the car. About 1/3 of the way into our little stroll, the rain started. Did we stop and turn around? Of course not. It was just a little rain. Until it wasn’t. Until it was a downpour. By the time we made it to the car, we were soaked. If you sense a theme, you are right!

Our little cabin at Rock Cave Cabins is adorable. It’s just the right side and is adorably 1920’s sweet (although very recently renovated).

Our plans for Sunday were simple. Obligatory early wake up, thanks to the transparency nature of our tent, grab a snack and head to our kayak put in of choice – labeled as a Public Access site on the map.  We’d drop Keith’s Jeep there and then head to the put in up river, saving ourselves the livery costs for the trip.

Except…while the Public Access spot did indeed lead to the river, it wasn’t exactly watercraft friendly. Not even for our kayaks!  Or to be more accurate, you could probably ride a kayak down the mud flume trail right into the river, but you’d be hard pressed to get yourself, let alone yourself and your kayak out!

Therefore, Plan A was a no go. On to Plan B.  Go back past the campground to a public access boat ramp on East Fork Lake in the WMA section of the park. Then take a long rambling drive to another boat ramp to put in. It was then 11:00 am and insanely hot & humid. Needless to say, by the time we finished paddling, we were hot, grubby, tired and hungry.  

It was a quiet afternoon in the campground. Mostly it involved sitting and sweating. So much sweating. And possibly falling asleep in chairs.