Had a wonderful time on a tour of one of the caves in Mammoth National Park. Learned many things about caves. In general. there are two types of caves, wet and dry. Most of Mammoth is dry, as is Carlsbad Caverns, however, the cave we went into, called Frozen Niagara, is a wet cave. A dry cave has a sandstone "roof" which prevents water from entering. Wet caves do not have this top layer, so surface water can percolate down through the limestone, creating stalactites and stalagmites, as well as curtains, pillars, soda straws, etc. We were 600 feet under the hill on this tour. Did not bother either one of us, and we were very comfortable in our jackets. We would both like to recommend the experience, and think staying longer at the Caves than we did would be great.
 |
| About 3 feet long |
 |
| A curtain about 30 feet high |
 |
| Historic Entrance |
The entrance that we used to go through this cave was blasted in about 1912, so it is relatively new. The original opening has been used by humans for at least 6000 years, and is a natural opening. The "Historic Entrance" is about 60 feet high, and has cold air coming out of it in summer. In winter the direction reverses, as the caves remain at about 52 degrees year round. The cave system is currently at 390 miles, and grows every year as more passages are explored.
 |
| Buttercups, acres of them |
After leaving the National Park, which by the way, is the only one that does not charge an entrance fee (they charge for the cave trips instead), we drove through miles of Kentucky countryside. It is much more interesting being off the Interstate, as nice as they are. There is so much more to see at 40 mph. For instance, the open fields are covered with what to us Californians appears to be mustard. It is not, it is a buttercup-like flower, and we're talking acres of them. Reluctantly, we reached a parkway, which is really a state freeway, and headed toward I-64. On the way we crossed into Indiana, where we stopped for lunch in Evansville.
 |
| A fuzzy flower from Mammoth |
 |
| Second state for the day |
We were off the "TripTic" from AAA at this time, so got gas, had the tire pressure checked at Sears, went to Walmart for cash, and finally headed for our first quilt shop since Paducah. My smart phone directed us to a cute shop called Quilter's Nest. Pat found some patterns she liked, and I found some material. We recommend the shop! Started to rain hard while we were in the shop, so the picture has raindrops coming down.
 |
Highly recommended
Quilter's Nest |
This was the first real rainstorm of our trip--have we ever been lucky with the weather! Except for humidity it has been great, and even the humidity hasn't been too bad. Asked, as usual, for a place to eat, and were directed to the Hilltop Inn. It was really raining by this time, with thunder and lightning, so we were really glad to take a lunch break...it was also 3:30.
 |
Two, count them, two
whole catfish |
Pat's meal was much more interesting than mine. The dish was called "Fiddlers", and we had to ask what that was. Catfish, we were told, and since Pat had wanted catfish, she got it. (I had Chicken Fried Chicken, which, while tasty, isn't very exciting.) Fiddlers turned out to be two whole catfish (headless, thank god), which Pat had to ask how to eat!
The storm was what Hoosiers call a light thunderstorm, and it was over and the sun was out by the time we finished eating. Driving west (homeward bound) the clouds that followed the storm were striking.
 |
| After the storm |
 |
Over the Wabash River
Into Illinois |
We finally entered the last state for the day, and drove as far in Illinois as Mount Vernon, which is kind of half way to St. Louis in the lower part of the state. And so, good night.
No comments:
Post a Comment