I survived another cave!!! I discovered during my first cave tour in South Dakota that small, enclosed spaces weren’t my favorite. However, I knew I had to visit Mammoth Cave while on this trip and you can’t just visit without going in… thus I found myself a few short weeks later, entering another cave.

Mammoth Cave was the only official National Park I visited on my swing through Kentucky and Tennessee (the others being national monuments, etc.). It is the world’s longest-known cave system and has an interesting local history. Many people lived on the land above the cave and laid claim to it, offering tours and trinkets to attract tourist. Needless to say, the protection of this national wonder was not the first thing on their mind. It took many years to bring it under the National Park Service’s projection and many of the various entrances to the cave still exist.

The section of the cave I toured was call the “Frozen Niagra” as the limestone resembles a frozen version of Niagra Falls. This portion of the cave is unique as most of the rest of the cave has a typical limestone look. The cave is well-known for it’s expansive (mammoth, if you will?) natural entrance, pictured below.

Hopefully I won’t make a habit of this cave-every-few-weeks thing.