Day 54: White Mills to Mammoth Cave National Park: "Best. Detour. EVER. "

July 22, 2016

DAILY STATS

Mileage: 48.84

Average Speed: 11.8 mph

Maximum Speed: 35.7 mph

Cold. Today I woke up feeling cold--a sensation I hadn't felt since Montana. The A/C was going hard, and I was loving it.

Outside it wasn't actually too bad. It was foggy, so I waited for it to dissipate before setting off. I was greeted to a beautiful morning among awakening farms, gently-lit scenery, and a trotting horse and buggy (I'm deep into Amish country). This is the Kentucky I was hoping for.

Soon, I turned south to take the "Mammoth Cave loop," an 84 mile detour to see the longest cave system in the world. The ride to the national park was fraught with many dog encounters and slightly more hilly terrain. I stopped at a neat supply shop run by Mennonites, where I gorged on homemade fudge, pretzels, and canned peaches.

By the end of the day these were all gone. I regret looking at the sugar content.

Shortly thereafter, I entered the park boundaries.

The park was amazing! So verdant and alive. The road to the headquarters meandered through lush forests andand across the Green River (via another ferry).

I signed up for the "Domes and Dripstones" tour, which was given by a fascinating guide. He was a local, 5th-generation guide, and his great great great grandpa, a slave, was one of the first 3 guides at the caves.

The tour was packed, and took us almost 300 feet underground for two hours. It was really quite something to experience, but the crowd and commercialized nature of it definitely took away from the grandeur of it all. I much preferred the above-ground experience, but how could I visit Mammoth Cave National Park and NOT go in the cave?!? Plus, it was 54 degrees in the cave. Worth it just for that.

I'll let you wade your way through my attempts at getting pictures in the barely-lit cave. Enjoy.

There were three different rooms where folks reconvened to listen to the park Rangers.

After the tour ended, I rode a short distance to the park campground. I found a family willing to let me share a spot with them in return for $10 (instead of the $20 a full site would have cost me). I set up my tent and ate dinner while watching the fireflies dance in the moonlit sky. I soon went to bed, only to be awaken a few hours later by rain. I scrambled to put the rain fly up, and managed to only get slightly damp in the process. I'd say today was a great success.

Today's ride: 49 miles (79 km)
Total: 3,576 miles (5,755 km)

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