Dad and I Have a Mammoth Adventure

Here are Dad and I, two happy wanderers. If we look sort of wet in this picture it's because we are wet. Rather, we are dripping cats and dogs. Inside a cave. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

This morning, we left Grandma's house, and I thought we were going straight home. But Dad surprised me with a detour and we went to Kentucky instead, to tour Mammoth Cave, proudly called the longest cave in the world- at 367 miles long.

Here's what it looked like inside:
Yep yep yep. It was cool. Really cool. 54 degrees, to be exact, which feels more like 40 when you're soaked to the bone.

We took one tour at 1:30, got back at 3:30, and sat waiting until 4:00 for the Historic Tour we had tickets for. As we sat at the visitor's center, we could hear thunder rolling closer and closer and see ominous clouds closing in. Finally the guide got everyone together and started his talk about how people with health problems shouldn't go 200+ feet underground, etc., etc.

We could tell everything was about to fall out, and we had a 5-10 minute walk down to the cave entrance. We dearly hoped the guide would save the gab for a nice dry spot inside the cave, but he didn't. As soon as we stepped out from under the shelter, the sky broke into a million pieces and kawoosh!!! More rain than I knew could fall in five minutes concentrated all its powers on our little group.

We hurried, but the rain wasn't hindered at all. My jeans were soaked, and I tried to keep the camera dry under my shirts, which were soaked too. Beside us, Mennonite parents held their little girl by the hands while she screamed and wailed in terror and the rain streamed down her braids and long dress.

Wow, was it cold inside! The cold damp seized us, and crept up our fingers and arms until we could hardly bend them. But we had a great tour. The guide told some interesting stories about a slave named Stephen Bishop who explored parts of the cave where no one had been before and then made accurate maps from memory afterwards.

And about how a doctor set up a Tuberculosis hospital in the cavern thinking the constant temperature and quiet atmosphere would help his patients. I think it helped hurry them on, actually. It only lasted ten months, and later they found out that TB patients needed warm, dry climates, not cold, humid ones.

Anyhow. That was our adventure. Hilariously cold, wet, and fun. We were ravenous and frozen when we got done, so we had a hearty supper and made it to this hotel in Clarksville, TN. The internet here is faster than my brain, which is very cool and a little bit scary. I guess I'll just enjoy it while it lasts :)

It was time for bed yesterday...I think I need to go to sleep now.