May 4, 2007 – Mammoth Cave National Park – the Cave

There are 367 miles of Caves in the Park and only 12 miles are open to the public. And of those 12, they are divided into different tours, based on skill level (walking, climbing, accessibility, etc.). We decided to take the Historic Tour at 8:45 AM (2 miles) and we are so glad we did. Our tour guide was Ranger Jerry Bransford who is a 5th generation Mammoth Cave guide – the only one here who has that history (and it was the only Historic Tour he was doing today). His great, great grandfather was a slave and his owner leased him to the cave owner to work and eventually give tours in the Caves. His knowledge of the Caves and history of his family and the Caves was fascinating. Since our group was small, he showed us different things in the caves that he normally does not show larger groups because of the time constraints.

Here is a picture of Ranger Jerry:

The Cave was so different. I have been to Luray Caverns and Crystal Cave but this was totally unique. We were in the dry part of the Cave so there was very little water. (No stalagmites or stalactites). Ranger Jerry took us to Level 4 (Each level represents 100 ft. underground.). Each area is dimly lit and when we left an area, the lights were turned off and the next set turned on. Some of the rooms were huge and other areas, we had to squeeze thru. Not for the faint of heart or those who have a fear of heights or are claustrophobic.

A picture of Andy in the Cave:

During the tour, we found out that a book was written about Ranger Jerry’s family and their role in the history of Mammoth Cave. After the tour, we found it in the bookstore and asked him to sign it. When we paid for the book, the clerk told us that the author was here and phoned her to come out. We had a chance to talk with her and she also signed the book. What an incredible adventure this is!


After we got back to the camp, Andy did some checking on the MH and we may have a problem with our brakes. So we first called Camping World (30 miles away) and they could not help us (except for overnight parking). So we used our Good Sam Emergency Road Service and they found us a place in Bowling Green. We talked with Larry at LARCO and set up an appointment for Monday to have the brakes checked. Since it was raining, we drove (Tracker) to Bowling Green to see the area and decided what we will do. Our plans are to stay here until Sunday and then move to Camping World (free overnight parking) and then to LARCO. Hopefully they will be able to help us.