Dang, That's a Mammoth Cave!

Mammoth Cave National Park has to be one of my favorite places I've visited. While we didn't see many cave formations as I had hope on our tour, I did enjoy learning about the great history of the longest cave in the world. 350 miles of discovered cave passages and who know how many more miles are still unknown!
How exciting it was to be walking the same passages that people were touring hundreds of years ago! We followed in the footsteps of Stephen Bishop (1820-1857), the first slave tour guide of Mammoth Cave, who discovered much of the known 350 miles of cave. Torch-lit cave tours during the 1800's could last up to 7 hours! Those who came to visit the cave were the wealthy upper-class, since during those times the only people who took vacations were those who were well-off. Of course, they'd arrive for the cave tour dressed-to-impress. Imagine women in nice dresses, carrying parasols, trying to navigate the rough terrain of the cave!
We saw names of some of these people who had paid their slave tour guide to write their name on the cave wall with the back smoke of their torches.

(L. F. Rowes 1839; John Newton and Isaac Newton, 1869)

We also saw places where over 2000 years ago, Native Americans scraped gypsum from the cave walls for unknown reasons.


I love history! I love caves! Now I want to go spelunking!

It was a tight squeeze for all as we passed through Fat Man's Misery!