Inside Mammoth Cave скачать в хорошем качестве

Inside Mammoth Cave

Checking out another National Park this time. I had never been to Mammoth Cave National Park and my wife hadn't been since she was a young child. We stayed in one of the historic cabins right on property, which I always enjoy. Always want to get as many dusk and dawn hours of exploration in as I can. We chose to do two guided tours in one day, starting with the Domes and Dripstones Tour in the morning. The formations in this part of the cave are not typical of the cave system in general. To see the more usual sights, we did the River Styx Tour in the afternoon. It starts through the main historic entrance that we could walk to from our cabin. The previous tour required a bus ride. I chose these tours for a few reasons, mainly in the way they differed. One required the bus ride to a literal door in the middle of the woods. The exit was a revolving glass door, if you can believe that. The other tour was through the huge mouth of the cave. Other differences were the shapes of the caverns. One was more narrow, the other vast. The domes and dripstones tour featured one of those moments where they take you to a spot light can't reach, then turn off the lights so you can see what true darkness is. The ranger then lit a match for us to see by. I have been in similar situations in tours but this time I had an infrared flashlight and camera, so I could see people's reactions in the total darkness. The river styx tour had a section without lighting as well, but we were given handheld lanterns to help find our way down to the water level. I appreciate these little varieties. Makes the tours more memorable. I didn't find much wildlife in the cave system. Really only found cave crickets near one of the exits. The tours move much faster than I would normally go when exploring. I'm sure there were other cool creatures to be found. One of the more interesting parts in the main hall was coming across a small waterfall, that we would be seeing again when we got under the room we were standing in. It really helped me understand how long and deep this natural wonder is.