Gothic Tour at Mammoth Cave

I know I have said it before....  but I simply can't get enough of Mammoth Cave.  We try to get there at least a few times a year, and I really look forward to every trip.  I really get excited about our trips there.

I think a lot of people even in Kentucky don't understand how epic the place is.  It is simply a spectacular place, but it is also a world class treasure that is absolutely on the same scale as anything else in the world.  It is the world's longest cave (our guide on this day made the argument that it is the longest in the universe....  then he challenged those on the tour to prove he was wrong).

BUT, for such a well known legendary location, it is freakishly easy to visit.  Even on a busy crowded day, the park is easy to deal with.  Its located in rural Kentucky.  the drive there and around the area is pleasant and relaxing.  They limit numbers on tours to keep things manageable.  There are rangers all over the place to answer your questions.

We made a trip there towards the end of winter to meet our niece who lives in Bowling Green for a nice day at Mammoth Cave National Park.  Its only a couple of hours from where we live, and its easy to do in a day trip.

We have noticed that there are certain areas right by the visitor center where deer must hang out all the time.  There are two spots in particular.where I see them every time.

I remember going to the park with my buddy Brent in high school back in the 90s.  it was a snow day...  and we weren't too bright, so we drove to Mammoth Cave.  The whole state was under a white blanket of snow, but the park was still open.  I remember me and Brent being in the visitor center with a couple of rangers and no one else.  We felt like we had the whole park to ourselves!

The crowd at Mammoth Cave on this day wasn't quit that small, but it was still nice and uncrowded.

I THINK I have pretty much been through most of the publicly accessible parts of the cave, but I noticed that I didn't have a "Gothic Avenue" ticket stub in my collection, so we went on that tour.

We had a great, informative, and witty tour guide who obviously loved his job.  He took us through the cave and talked a lot about the history of the cave.  This tour doesn't focus so much on formations, but it really gets into the history.  He pointed out a number of names written on the ceiling (which is totally illegal to do now...  but if you did it back in the 17 and 1800s then your name is a historic part of the cave).  One guy wrote his name in the cave a lot, including a very notable spot where he left a letter out.  The names could be written using torches.

Another spot of interest involved Edwin Booth, brother of presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth.  In an effort to show the world that the other Booths were OK, he toured around making theatrical appearances.  He did some performing in the cave.

We were also told about the bridal alter in Mammoth Cave, where marriages were held at one time.

Our tour involved a nice walk of a couple of miles, and lasted a couple of hours.  It was a pretty easy walk, and just a nice tour to take on a Saturday morning.