Day 12: Glasgow, KY
Friday Oct. 31, 2008
Halloween and Mammoth Cave National Park- The day was spent exploring the Mammoth Cave National Park, and the evening was spent Trick-or-Treating in Glasgow KY. We took two cave tours, had lunch underground, hiked a trail, and Megan got dreesed up like a frog.
We started with a delicious breakfast at the Hall Bed and Breakfast and then drove over to the Mammoth Cave National Park. The first tour we chose was the Snowball Tour, It starts with a short bus ride to the Carmichael Entrance and then a walk a mile underground to the snowball dining room. The cave was um... cavernous but dry, there were some helicite formations, but no real stalagmites or stalactites, the ranger told entraining stories of the history and formation of the caves, we did see 1 solitary sleeping bat. We had lunch in the Snowball dining room, which was soup, sandwich, bag of chips, and a drink. We then walked back to the entrance. The bus was swarmed with Ladybugs which delighted Megan to no end.
After the cave tour we took a small hike along the River Styx Spring Trail, stopped by the historic entrance of the Mammoth Cave, and saw the Green River. It was interesting to the River Styx Spring, because it looks like the river is emerging from a cave in the side of the mountain, which, is after all the definition of a spring. I think the fact that there’s an actual cave opening in the side of the cliff, makes it somehow not seem like a Spring. And the scale of it is much different from the small Hermit Spring in Camp Sequassen. The hike back up to Sunset Point and the Heritage trail was really nice, and the view from the top was quite pretty with the fall foliage. It was also swarmed with ladybugs, which Megan once again enjoyed.
Back at the Visitor Center, which was undergoing construction we purchased tickets for the frozen Niagara Tour. This was a shorter and much more dynamic tour, as this is a different section of the caves, and is actually wet, and filled with stalagmite and stalactites. We also saw cave crickets, which with their long thick antennae actually look more like spiders than crickets.
As we left the park, the white tailed deer strode by the parking lot. We picked up dinner at a Arby’s on the way back to the B&B
This was of course Halloween, and we had brought Megan her costume. It was a full body Frog suit, and when we got her dressed up in it, and she saw herself for the first time in mirror, she was elated, the smile on her face was enormous. We walked around the neighborhood near the Bed and Breakfast, and Megan collected a small stash of goodies, and received compliments on how cute she was. Once around the block, and then a stop off at the Little Taste of Texas for dessert, and we went to sleep.
See the Photos
We started with a delicious breakfast at the Hall Bed and Breakfast and then drove over to the Mammoth Cave National Park. The first tour we chose was the Snowball Tour, It starts with a short bus ride to the Carmichael Entrance and then a walk a mile underground to the snowball dining room. The cave was um... cavernous but dry, there were some helicite formations, but no real stalagmites or stalactites, the ranger told entraining stories of the history and formation of the caves, we did see 1 solitary sleeping bat. We had lunch in the Snowball dining room, which was soup, sandwich, bag of chips, and a drink. We then walked back to the entrance. The bus was swarmed with Ladybugs which delighted Megan to no end.
After the cave tour we took a small hike along the River Styx Spring Trail, stopped by the historic entrance of the Mammoth Cave, and saw the Green River. It was interesting to the River Styx Spring, because it looks like the river is emerging from a cave in the side of the mountain, which, is after all the definition of a spring. I think the fact that there’s an actual cave opening in the side of the cliff, makes it somehow not seem like a Spring. And the scale of it is much different from the small Hermit Spring in Camp Sequassen. The hike back up to Sunset Point and the Heritage trail was really nice, and the view from the top was quite pretty with the fall foliage. It was also swarmed with ladybugs, which Megan once again enjoyed.
Back at the Visitor Center, which was undergoing construction we purchased tickets for the frozen Niagara Tour. This was a shorter and much more dynamic tour, as this is a different section of the caves, and is actually wet, and filled with stalagmite and stalactites. We also saw cave crickets, which with their long thick antennae actually look more like spiders than crickets.
As we left the park, the white tailed deer strode by the parking lot. We picked up dinner at a Arby’s on the way back to the B&B
This was of course Halloween, and we had brought Megan her costume. It was a full body Frog suit, and when we got her dressed up in it, and she saw herself for the first time in mirror, she was elated, the smile on her face was enormous. We walked around the neighborhood near the Bed and Breakfast, and Megan collected a small stash of goodies, and received compliments on how cute she was. Once around the block, and then a stop off at the Little Taste of Texas for dessert, and we went to sleep.
See the Photos