May 8 … Tue – U. S. Army Major Brandon Scott Teague was born on this day in 1971. That would make him 36 years old today. Dixie did laundry and did campground research on the computer. Mike climbed atop the motorhome and cleaned the roof; a job he had been putting off for some time. He says it now looks great!! Travel day tomorrow but only about 60 miles to Radcliff, Ky, a small town about 35 miles south of Louisville.
May 7 … Mon – The weather is cool and sunny this morning so we decided to try the Ranger led hike from the Visitor Center today. We were the only two people who showed up for it so we had a personal tour done by Ranger Carol Pike. She was very knowledgeable (formerly a school librarian) pointing out several wild flowers and told us much of the history of the early visitors to Mammouth Cave. We took a different route back where the trail took us to a impressive lookout point over the Green River.
May 6 … Sun – We got the bikes down, packed a lunch, and hit the trail today. We estimated we rode 13 miles along the woods trail that had many ups and downs to it. We were hoping to ride the six miles to the Mammouth Cave Visitors Center, however, the trail had not been completed all the way. We later came to the end of the trail where we discovered a very old cemetery where some of the dates went back to 1877.
May 5 … Sat – Our plan was to go on a Ranger led hike today, however, not the weather didn't co-operate. After the rain stopped, around 11:00a.m., we ventured out and drove to Glasgow, the largest town in the area. They have a Walmart, so of course, we had to do some “necessary” shopping. This town was recently voted by Progressive Farmer Magazine as the #1 Top Rural Community in America. Also along the way in Park City we saw historic Bells Tavern - the remains of a tavern that many of the rich stopped at on their way to tour Mammoth Cave in the 1800's. Of course we had to watch the Kentucky Derby and then go to a derby party at the clubhouse where we enjoyed Chili, Derby Pie & a Mint Julep! The derby is a very big deal in this part of the country.
May 4 … Fri – A cloudy, rainy day where laundry was in order. We did some computer work from the office/gym where the park has wireless internet available. Dixie did more park planning for our future travels into Michigan and Wisconsin later this summer.
May 3 … Thurs – Today we went on one of the several Mammoth Cave tours here in the Mammoth Cave National Park. This particular one was 2 miles in length and took about 2 hours and was led by a very knowledgeable National Park Ranger who actually grew up in the area. The cave has more than 350 known miles to it and is thought to be the largest in the world and has been explored extensively since around 1800. Unbelievably, a former slave discovered and mapped much of the caves system in the mid-1800’s. At one point in the tour, the guide turned off the interior lights as well as his lantern and a ask everyone to be quiet as possible. The darkness and silence was astounding! He told the story of a man who got lost from his tour and spent 39 hours in the cave until he was rescued. He said the worst part was the silence of the cave, not the darkness.
May 2 … Wed – We got up early today and got on the road around 9:00a.m. headed for the Diamond Caverns RV resort in Park City, KY. Of course, we can’t pass up a Flying J stop where the diesel fuel was .20cents less than unleaded for a change. The RV park is 6 miles from the Mammoth Cave visitors center and is an OK park. It has WIFI in the clubhouse area and also has a small exercise room.
