Scott and I both popped our heads up at 5:45 to the sound of rolling thunder. Last night was the first night on this trip that we slept with the fly off. We almost made it the whole night without rain. The thunder gave us a nice fifteen minute warning to get up and get the fly on. We might have been up for the day, but we discovered something last night. We now know why Cody is so skinny. He frequently practices Kung Fu moves in his sleep and Scott has the bruises to prove it. We rested in the tent until 7:45, but not much more sleep was had. Scott cooked up some porridge with a twist. We had plenty of time to hop on the 10am Domes and Dripstones tour.
We had yet another humorous ranger guiding our tour today. He started off with the usual safety speech about how there were 500 steps with an elevation change of 250 feet. That if we had a new heart or hip put in last week that this might not be the tour for us. He told us that we are not allowed to write on, climb, use flash photography on, or look at the rocks. Wait. What? We all laughed. He said that since we were listening he would let us look at the rocks.
The entrance for this tour is what I remember from when Scott and I visited here around twenty years ago. When Scott and I visited it was snowing and instead of one hundred and twenty people along on our tour, it was just the two of us and the ranger. I found it interesting that both the Domes and Dripstones tour today and the Historic Tour yesterday were both rated a moderate difficulty. The Domes and Dripstones tour today was by far more challenging.
We stopped 340 feet below the surface to have the first part of the ranger’s knowledge share. We were just below a very wet set of stairs. The ranger said it was very unusual to have so much water dripping down into the cave this time of year. He said this was due to the ten inches of rain they have seen in the last two weeks.
Mammoth Caves is over twice as long as any known cave. They have discovered four hundred miles of the cave, but they have no idea how much more undiscovered cave there might be. Tourists only see thirteen miles of the cave system. One of our favorite lines from the ranger was a reference to the kids’ cartoon Flinstones which takes place in the Stoneage. Fred and Wilma head out on a family vacation to the Grand Canyon. Wilma points to the Grand Canyon. “This is it? It is just a stream!” Fred says, “I know Wilma, but they say someday it is going to be big!” He was referencing how long it has taken Mammoth Cave to form. His joke reminded me of when we visited the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Three year old Brooke couldn’t understand how the little stream in front of her became the Mighty Mississippi River she loved. A reminder that all mighty things have had humble beginnings.
On the bus ride back to the Visitor’s Center the bus driver shared some fun facts about where the cave extended to underneath the roads. You could tell he loved his job. I always enjoy watching someone who is working at their passion, not just their job.
We headed back to our campsite for a lunch of brats, hot dogs, and salsa and chips. At about 1:30 we headed back to the Visitor’s Center to get Brooke off on her very own caving adventure.
An afternoon storm came in just as Scott was cleaning up the lunch dishes. We were all soaked on the way into the visitor center. Cody sat wet, cold from the air conditioning, and tired from the early thunderstorm wake up. It was a good thing he wasn’t headed out to go cave spelunking. Brooke was super excited about the adventure of crawling through the cave and even more excited to be without her parents for two whole hours. The Trog Tour is only for eight to twelve year olds. Ranger Sue called her little cavers Troggers. They went over 200 stairs and were able to see parts of the cave the regular public doesn’t get to see.
While we were getting Brooke settled into her coveralls and hard hat Cody noticed a boy named Anson who was the sibling of another Trogger. Cody went from being a tired wet rag to a wide-eyed ball of energy. We enjoyed chatting with Anson’s mom as they were avid traveler’s and outdoor enthusiasts. We thought we were just going to relax at the visitor center while Brooke was caving, but noticed Anson and his family heading out on a nature hike with his family. Cody didn’t want to be any part of the tour at first, but wanted to follow Anson. Cody wound up being an expert on the ranger led scavenger hunt. He knew how to recognize poison ivy by the three leaves. He knew the cicada shell and he even knew maple and oak trees. He was having fun being the expert now that big sis wasn’t along to give all the answers. We came across a caterpillar that has spikes and will introduce you to its spikes you if you pick it up.
After the ranger led scavenger hunt we headed into the visitors center for some air conditioning and for Cody to share his favorite displays. He really enjoyed listening to the “cell” phones at the displays. One of the displays was of a belly crawl portion of the cave. Cody loved crawling in it and probably would have taken a nap there if we let him.
Brooke was thoroughly coated in mud and had, as promised, gotten to crawl on her belly through passageways. We met Brooke at the historic entrance at the conclusion of her tour. Ranger Sue was the ranger who had told us about the tour the day prior and led the kids through the tour. She kept the kids in line, but enticed them with adventure. She reminded me of Mrs. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus series. Anson’s mom asked their Trogger, “On a scale of 1 – 10 how was the caving adventure?” Anson’s brother responded, “Twenty-one!”
The narrowest portion of the cave that Brooke crawled through was called the Worm Hole. She saw five pairs of old shoes from the 1800s hiding in the cave. She said there was a duck room that had a rock that looked like a duck. After the Duck Room was a spaceship room that looked like a spaceship capsule. Ranger Sue took them past a rock formation that looked like a coffin. We saw this Giant’s Tomb on our tour earlier, but this time Ranger Sue had the lights out and used her flashlight to make the lid of the coffin look like it was rising. After Brooke was all cleaned up and back at the Visitor Center with us she said, “I wish I was back in the cave.” I am sure she will find a way to get back into a cave sometime again before long. Thankfully Scott is excited to have another spelunking buddy.
Cody hit the over tired mark and almost melted to the floor in a puddle until Scott started up with, “The Squirm is strong with you my friend.” Thus another tickle match began.
Scott stripped his shirt on the way back to the car and Cody followed suit. Back at the camp site Scott filled up and let the kids have at the Sun Shower. The kids were in heaven.
Scott sat back and took a rare break while the spaghetti cooked. After dinner Cody was slightly recharged and headed out on a bike ride around the campground.
We headed to the amphitheater for another ranger program. We were all excited about the topic, “Myths and Mysteries of the Underworld.” We even remembered to bring marshmallows for the fire.
There was only one problem with roasting the marshmallows after the program, Cody was so exhausted he climbed on my lap and collapsed. I thought he was just being silly, but then I felt his body get heavy and his arms flopped down. The poor kid woke up as we carried him away mid-presentation. He just kept apologizing for being tired. No apologies needed. It was a day of incredible awesomeness. One of our favorite days on this trip to be sure.
