After the long, boring trip from Mobile to Cullman, I was dreading moving again. Especially so soon. But thankfully, the drive from Cullman, Alabama to Cave City, Kentucky actually went really smoothly. I had requested an audiobook from the library (I still use the library from our hometown for my audiobooks and ebooks) and it came in so I had something to listen to on the drive (Spare by Prince Harry) and, aside from just a few minor slowdowns in northern Alabama and again around Nashville, it was pretty smooth sailing. We took a short break just north of Nashville for gas and bathrooms but were back on the road pretty quickly.
We arrived in Cave City, Kentucky and the nicest man came out to greet us at Rock Cabin Camping. The “campground” is really just his back yard but it is level and clean, the sites are comfortably sized and have full hookups, and it’s right down the road from Mammoth Cave National Park- the whole reason for our visit. He gave us our pick of campsites, loved on Harley and told us all about the local stray cats that he feeds. We are only here for 10 days but we immediately felt at home.
We set up the house- and again got to leave the truck hooked up which saved a ton of time- and then went off in search of dinner. We found a Mexican restaurant nearby that was rated decently well and stuffed ourselves until we couldn’t move. Then we came home and relaxed all evening.
The next morning, I was all ready and eager for adventure. Until I fell off of the front steps to the house. I had my phone in my hand and must have just been distracted. My right foot slipped off the side of the landing and I came down on my butt on the metal “porch” before flipping over like a pancake and dropping about 3 feet to land on my stomach in the gravel. I was able to get my knee under me so I didn’t do too much damage to my stomach, chest, or face but I did land on my phone and shattered the screen protector. I was pretty sore for a few days and had a bruised bum and a scraped leg but no lasting damage. I spent the rest of the day Friday on the couch on the heating pad.
John was kind enough to go out to grab dinner for us and we pigged out on BBQ from Bucky Bee’s BBQ. we got the sampler platter so we got to try a little bit of everything plus a half order of Fried Green Tomatoes. Nothing was really life changing but it was decent and filling and affordable.
We had been scheduled for a cave tour at Mammoth Cave National Park on Saturday but we didn’t feel like I would be able to keep up with the pain I was still having in my neck and back so we opted to check out the nearby towns, starting with breakfast at Betty’s Diner in Park City. We also visited a thrift shop and just cruised around a little. Our cave tour was rescheduled for the following Saturday, our last day in town.
On the way to the campground on Thursday, we had noticed a TON of rock shops and roadside attractions. I absolutely LOVE rocks so we spent the afternoon checking these out. I usually prefer to find my own rocks but I did end up buying a few really cool pieces while we were out.
We came back to the house and rested for a bit then drove into Bowling Green for dinner and to explore. We ate at Gerard’s Tavern and walked around the area. It was like an old-timey downtown with a grassy square and we really enjoyed the picturesque setting. We finally left and visited a comic shop (I bought some Funko Pops) and the Half Price Books Outlet (we bought some Cookbooks and four seasons of The Office on DVD for just $3 each!) then called it a day.
I still wasn’t feeling super active on Sunday we just did our grocery shopping and then lounged around the house all day. I was really disappointed at first but it worked out for the best. We had originally wanted to do several of the Mammoth Cave tours but, due to staffing shortages, there weren’t very many available so that allowed plenty of time to rest and recover from my fall. There are tons of other caverns and caves in the area that are open for tours and the Corvette Museum is in Bowling Green but we decided it was best to take it easy and just save our money for other adventures later on this year.
On Tuesday evening, we drove over to Mammoth Cave National Park to do a little hiking. We chose a short trail in the area of the rental cabins (as both myself and Harley were still a little sore from previous injuries) but we still had a great time. We got to see some pretty trees and the view overlooking the Green River was really pretty.
Finally, on Saturday the 29th we had our Cave Tour at Mammoth Cave National Park! We started out in the Visitor’s Center where they have a small museum. The museum features information about the history of the park and its many uses over the years. The caverns have been in use for hundreds of years! Near the entrance, there had been evidence of native peoples using the cave for shelter and there had even been some drawings on the walls. Minerals found in the cave had been used to make gunpowder for the war of 1812 and the Civil War.
The museum also featured artwork inspired by the caves and their stories- especially that of Floyd Collins who, in 1925, became trapped in Sand Cave while exploring and eventually died while awaiting rescue. His death, while tragic, did create international interest in the park attracting new visitors and leading to the creation of Mammoth Cave National Park in 1926 (although it was not fully established until 1941).
When it was time for the tour to begin, we met our guides at the designated spot outside the Visitor’s Center. We walked down a steep incline to the bottom of the hill then descended a long set of stairs into the cave itself. When you approach the cave entrance from the bottom of the hill you can feel the cold air blowing up out of the mouth of the cave and it seriously feels like opening a refrigerator door!
The first several sections off cave are in large, open rooms and several displays have been established there as monuments and memorials and to provide information about the former operations mining saltpeter.
During an early portion of the tour while you are still in the larger rooms, the guide will tell you a little more about the history of the caves. To show what it was like before all of the electric lights were installed, our guide turned off the lights and lit a single, small lantern. In the early days of the park, guests would be given a lantern to carry and that was their only light source. The cave is so dark and the light so small that it was impossible to see more than a few feet around you by the light of that lantern which meant that seeing upcoming obstacles was quite difficult and the tours were very dangerous- especially in the sections with large drop-offs or holes in the ground!
After turning on the lights and venturing further into the caverns, guests encounter several narrow, steep passages descending even deeper into the earth. Then you come to Fat Man’s Misery which is a very narrow, twisty passage where you often have to walk sideways while ducking down! I am only 5’3″ and still had to crouch and crabwalk through a lot of it- it was especially hard for John who measures up at 6′.
The tour was really fun but my only complaint is that you really spend most of the time walking. There isn’t a lot of time to stop and take photos or hear about individual formations or features but we still had a good time…until the very end when you have to climb 155 stairs to get back to the start of the cave and then go back up the stairs you first descended at the entrance AND THEN walk back UP the SUPER STEEP hill to get to the parking lot. We were thoroughly exhausted by the time we finished but still had a blast.
After all of the walking, we went home for a break and to walk Harley then treated ourselves to dinner in Bowling Green at Gerard’s Tavern again one last time before moving on to Cincinnati the next day.
And bonus- my friend Stephanie lives in Louisville and drove down to meet me for brunch one day! It was so great catching up with her in person!
