March
27
Hiked
(with a little biking) 7 miles (and about 700 stairs!)
A
beautiful morning, so, of course, we headed below ground.
Our
first tour was the New Entrance tour. These caves are natural (except
for the entry to this one, blasted open in the 19th
century by an entrepreneur) and beautiful. This tour led us through
different large “rooms” filled with interesting formations. There
were stalactites (they hang on tight) and stalagmites (they might
make it up). I'll let the pictures speak here:
After
lunch, we took a short “Slavery at Mammoth Caves” walk to learn
how the original private owners of the caves used slaves to mine Salt
Peter for use in gunpowder. Then, when the need for Salt Peter
petered out (couldn't help that; it is apparently the derivative),
the owner decided to invite Kentukians to tour the caves. At least
three of these slaves, in particular Stephen Bishop, became guides
and mapped most of the caves. Bishop is buried in the cemetery:
We
decided to go back underground for the Historic Tour. This built on
what we learned in the morning and on the walk and was more of a
historical and less geological tour.
Here
was much evidence of the tourists of the early 19th
century (graffiti!):
Including signatures of Slave Guides:
Even an advertisement for a band!:
And of the Salt Peter processing:
And other
natural beauty:
We had
an exhausting day but a beautiful one. Off we head north tomorrow.
Here's
a view of my chair and my sweetie in our campsite:
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