The One Where We Look at Mammoth Cave

Pretty early on in the process, we both agreed that we would prefer to see as much of the countryside as we would of the major cities. As we explored the places we could potentially stop, Mammoth Cave national park jumped out as a suitable location on our route from Washington westwards.

11 hours west of Washington, and 9 hours east of Kansas City.

Mammoth Cave is a comparatively small park to the west of the Appalachian Mountains, but it is a park which is valued as much by what is on the ground as what is underneath. There is a whole labyrinthine complex of caves and tunnels underneath the ground, forged for thousands of years by the two rivers which meet in the park. All told, Mammoth Cave hosts the largest cave system in the world.

Pretty impressive, and somewhat daunting.

 

Naturally, humans have colonised around these caves, and there are regular tours of varying lengths which allow you to explore the caves to your hearts content. Prices for these tours naturally vary, depending on the length of time you want to spend underground, and the difficulty, but at most seem to be around the $25 mark.

Beyond this, the surface is an elegant mix of woodland and riverside, with numerous tours throughout the year available to walk. In the height of summer, such a relaxing environment will be a welcome break from the city and urbanised America we will, up to this point, have experienced. Mammoth Cave is an 11 hour drive from Washington D.C. but it could be a different planet such are the vast differences between the two.

The park is based around the centrally located visitors centre, with the campsite just a few hundred metres down the road. At $17 per night, the 105 space campsite is likely to be busy, especially in the height of summer, and booking will be a must.

There’s plenty of room, but competition is likely to be fierce.

Estimated time spent there: 1- 1.5 days. This gives us 1 full day to explore the park and caves a bit, before leaving the next morning.

What to see: Mammoth Cave itself, along with the Mammoth Dome and the Visitors Centre.

Where to stay: In the nearby campsite, or alternatively, there are two other campsites in close proximity to the visitors centre.

Things to consider:

(1) Having all our camping kit sorted out before we get to the park.

(2) Booking a camping spot ahead of time.

(3) Varying temperatures both above and below ground, and at different times of the day and night.

 

Oh, and it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site too.

Mammoth Cave will be an entirely different world to Washington. It will be more in line with what we both want to experience, beyond the hub-bub of the cities and towns. It will offer a place to stop and rest, but also to explore and learn about. It is likely to be the second stop on our tour, and one which is very worthwhile making.

Interesting Fact: Tours have been offered at Mammoth Cave since 1816.

The One Where It Began.

Most of the best stories begin in the pub.

See?

About 2 years ago the two of us were sat in a quiet country pub somewhere in Shropshire having a couple of catch-up drinks and talking about the world. Long-time friends from school, university had seen us drift apart somewhat, although we made efforts to meet up as often as we could.

On one of these occasions we somehow got around to discussing where we would like to go and what we would like to do in life. Very quickly we both agreed that an American Roadtrip was something we both would love to do. Most people would just leave it there. Drunken mumblings from two young people, never to go anywhere beyond being a pipe-dream.

However for the pair of us the idea was planted firmly in our minds as something we would love to do. Once an idea takes seed, it is very hard to unroot, and on the next few occasions we met up, we would talk about the possibility of doing the trip.

This was the case right up until roughly June this year. Both still in academia, we reached the conclusion that it was unlikely to be until 2014 that we would be able to undertake the trip due to various deadlines (a PhD thesis and an MA dissertation to be exact). The summer of 2014 would be the first time in both our lives where we would not have any studying to do, and we felt that we should make the most of it.

So we set the year and, more tentatively, the months, and have since been planning routes, seeking advice and reading various books on the U.S.A. and road-tripping. Simply put, we are proposing to do, roughly, a 7000 mile trip from Washington D.C. to San Francisco, and then back again to New York. This will be a two-month trip full of driving, camping, sight-seeing, and, of course, drinking.

This blog will be a means of communication, between ourselves, between others. We will use it as a place to keep up-to-date with our plans, and hopefully, when we are there as a place to record our experiences. It’s going to be a long ride.