Kentucky & Mammoth Cave National Park

We were so excited to start our first camping trip of the summer. After getting our schedule for the tour stops, we quickly looked at a map to see where and what National Parks we could stay in across the country. We were hoping to stay in as many and see as many as we possibly could. We were looking for one somewhere near Ohio, we saw one on the map I had never heard of. Mammoth Cave National Park. We marked it out.

A castle in Kentucky?

We arrived at the campground and checked in. We found our campsite, and started to set up camp. We were pretty excited to set up our new home for the next five months. Our home was that of a Hilleberg Keron 4 GT. We also, decided to set up our Hilleberg Mesh Box 20 over our picnic table.

Mammoth Cave National Park

In the process of setting up camp, we each broke out a refreshingly cold brew to enjoy. Sheri and Randy had bought 2 different 6-packs of Local Beer companies in Ohio. Mostly because along with stopping at every state sign, we also decided to get a local brew anywhere we could. In the process of putting up our Mesh Box 20, Becca put hers down on the ground, half full. Only to knock it over and I had forgotten about mine and ended up dumping it after it getting to warm. However, we had no clue where the trash dumpsters were and were too busy thinking about dinner to go find them.

Home for the weekend.

While planning for this road trip we discussed food options. We were warned eating on the road would be the most difficult out of everything. We decided mac & cheese, quinoa, rice, and hot dogs would work. We did stop into a small town before hitting camp to grab some chicken to cook. So our meal consisted of grilled chicken and quinoa with some veggies.

The Chef!

Shortly after dinner, Becca invited a friend over who lived nearby. Sarah, joined us at camp and then we all decided to go for a short walk or hike in the park. I had in the meantime put the empty beer bottles in the very back of the vehicle and forgot about it. We all got into the car, and took a drive around the park until we came across a small trailhead and parking lot. We got out and took a walk down the boardwalk to a dark cave. There was a bench at the end. We all sat down and hung out for a while as the sun went down, just chatting and hoping to maybe see some bats.

Dinner

We heard some thunder and saw some lighting flash in the distance, and we knew some bad storms were heading our way. So we decided to head back to the car before we got caught in one. As we started walking back very bright lights were flashing in our eyes and on eyes. Two Police Officers started to question us. Where are you going? What are you doing? Were you drinking? You smell like alcohol. – We proceeded to tell them what we were doing, where we were going, and no we were not drinking. We did happen to tell them we had a half a beer each back at came 6 hours prior. They then said “Well, if you don’t mind us walking you back to the car then we will.” We continued back to the car as they followed. Once back there one officer proceeded to tell us they noticed to empty beer bottles in the back of our car. We then explained as to why they were there.

One asked who was driving, Becca replied that she was. The officer continued to give her a hard time asking how she was driving if she had had half a beer 5 hours earlier, also if she didn't mind if he gave her a breathalyzer test. So while Becca said OK to it, the other officer decided to take a look through our vehicle to see if we may have been hooligans smuggling Alcohol into a dry county to sell or drugs I suppose.


I am pretty positive both officers felt more than embarrassed when Becca's test came back as a .008 almost as if she had just brushed her teeth with mouth wash, and they saw nothing else in our vehicle and let us leave. We made it back to our campsite and hung out in the tent for a little bit as the thunderstorms started to ramp up over our heads. Sarah eventually took off and we hit the sack.

Myself, Becca, & Sarah

First night sleeping in the tent and it thundered and struck flashes of lightning all night. I had no problems sleeping in it, that was something I had been used to. However, storms slowed down and around 4 in the morning the howling of Coyotes had woken me. I lay still in my sleeping bag, eyes wide open and scared to death. As I lay there their howls got louder and what seemed closer. I just prayed they didn't find me in my tent and drag me out and eat me. I know, get real Samantha! That could never happen. Well- I am not afraid of most things, but Coyotes and Wolves are definitely on the list right next to spiders.


Morning came, not the best of days. But we had the day off and we needed to finish up some work stuff on the computers. We hung out in the tent for a while working on our presentation and other small things. This campground had Wi-Fi access. The weirdest and last thing I would ever want in any campground any other day. However, this trip was also about work not just play. The rain continued for most of the days with severe thunderstorms, so we googled the nearest Library and went there for the afternoon until things cleared up. We got lots of work done which meant we could enjoy the rest of our days off.

Working in the tent!

The next day consisted of exploring the park. Mammoth Cave National Park has the largest underground cave system in the world. Can you believe that is right here in our own country? Absolutely incredible. When we first got into town we bought our tickets for the weekend for the tours. We originally wanted to do the Spelunking (cave crawling) tours but it was sold out for all the days we would be there. So we bought tickets for 2 other tours. One was the Violet City Lantern Tour and the other was the Domes and Dripstones tour.

Taking a hike!

After getting our tickets for our tours, we decided to do some hiking. The trails were beautiful and unlike anything I was used too. They even had a ferry system for crossing over the river which was pretty neat. There was water dripping and creating small waterfalls all around. Once we were done with our hike, we went back to camp to relax in the sun for a bit. As we both sat in our campsite reading/blogging, the two officers from the night before drove by asking why we weren't out hiking. We laughed and said "we just got back." I am pretty certain they were trying to make up for the asses they had made of themselves the night prior. Every night we were there they would drive by and wave and say hello. Thanks officers for trying to keep us non hooligans safe from the actual hooligans, but I am pretty sure I can hold my own! :)

Happy Mothers Day, MOM!

Unfortunately, we were far from home on Mothers Day. So in a moments notice while relaxing back at our campsite after our hike I decided to send my mother a fun picture. She was pleasantly surprised and happy to hear from me!

Entrance to Violet City

We started our morning off with the Domes and Dripstones tour. It was a cool walk down into an underground tunnel and cave with tons and tons of stalactites and stalagmites. This tour had lighting along the walk through and was a little chilly, but refreshing considering it was 90 degrees and humid above ground.

Ferry crossing at the river.

We had about an hour to kill before the lantern lit tour so we hung out on the grass near the visitor center and enjoyed the sunlight. We were both I think the most excited about this one. This tour is strictly only lit by 10 lanterns. One lantern per 3 people and about 30 people on the tour. We had a guide in the front and he did have a flash light to show us certain things as we passed by.




Becca and I decided to grab the front right behind him. He was this cute old man I would say probably in his mid 70's. He asked where we were from, how we got there and we told him. He seemed very interested in us and what we were doing, so the 3 of us laughed and joked most of the time.

Violet City Cave Tour (Lantern lit)

Becca & Myself on the Domes & Dripstones Tour

 

As we walked through we passed by and old underground "hospital" where they would bring people who were sick with tuberculosis. It was incredible to even think that in the 1800's they would just let people rot down here. Then we would pass by some old remnants of clothing, or shoes, or other artifacts that had been there for decades and had not been removed or touched. We had seen a few bats, writing on the ceiling, and our guide even pointed out where there was still the remains of a body that was killed under a rock.

Work at a campground? NAHHH!

The best filter yet!

This was by far one of the coolest things I had ever seen in my life. I would totally do it again in a heart beat. The history this country has to offer in out of this world. The last place I would have imagined something this cool was Kentucky. No offense Kentucky peeps! I am a New Englander.

With all the fun we had our weekend off was coming to an end. We filled up our water jugs with our Sawyer squeeze system, packed up the tent, and played yet another game of Tetris to get it all back into the car. Cleaning, emptying, and organizing the vehicle at every hotel stop was a MUST and became a regular routine.

 In our travels to our next state we came across this little guy attempting to cross the road. We pulled over and helped him along. I hope his journey was just as exciting as ours was!

On the road again. . . .