We left the Daniel Boone National Forest and Big South Fork River to head northwest to Mammoth Cave National Park. We stopped just one night at Lake Cumberland near the dam and hurried on the next day. Our weather sources were predicting some hefty rain storms and we wanted to be in our site at the NP before they hit. Well, they never did. It was just hot and sticky the whole time we were there. Since the river is pretty much underground, I never had a chance to cool off except when my gal pals were sweet enough to leave me in the Pod with the AC on and not stuck in some kennel somewhere. They really know my limits and what make this old dog happy.
Kentucky River
Mammoth Cave is defined as the most extensive cave system on Earth. The full extent of this labyrinth remains unknown, even though exploration and mapping are constant endeavors. Currently, over 360 miles have been mapped and it is estimated that as many as 700 miles of yet undiscovered passageways are possible. Ten miles of passages are currently open to the public for tours. Approximately 160 forms of life can be found in the Cave. Most are quite small and many are so especially adapted to this cave that they cannot live anywhere else. Mammoth Cave predates all national parks as a tourist attraction. It was advertised during the War of 1812 as the “mammoth cave of Kentucky” and had become a well known destination by 1816. It was authorized as a National Park in 1926 and fully established in 1941. The Park was named a World Heritage Site in 1981 and an International Biosphere Reserve in 1990.The Ladies took the Historic Tour down the natural entrance first discovered and used by Native Americans some 4,000 years ago. One of the mysteries about the cave is that after 2,000 years use just stopped. Humans did not enter the cave until 1798 when the entrance was rediscovered and people began exploring the tunnels and caverns again. One of the cave’s early uses was as a mine for saltpeter, a key ingredient used in the manufacturer of gun powder. With the onslaught of the War of 1812 and a jump in the prices of saltpeter, slaves were brought in to mine large amounts of saltpeter. By 1838 slaves like Stephen Bishop and the brothers Mat and Nick Bransford had become renowned guides. Bishop was the first to explore many miles of the vast cave and the Bradfords and their descendants continued as guides at Mammoth Cave for more than 100 years. We were struck by the incredible amounts of graffiti, but it seems tourists were actually encouraged to write their names as a way for the cave owners to make more money. The practice was discontinued in 1941 and it is now a federal offense to deface anything in the cave.
Natural Entrance
Saltpeter Mine Works
Giant's Coffin
The Bottomless Pit
Great Relief Hall
The Tower
Ruins of Karnak
We tried to stay cool and take things easy that evening so the Gals could take the second tour the next day. This tour is known as the New Entrance Tour and is centered on the entrance blasted into the passageways in the 1920’s during the Great Cave Wars. These ‘wars’ resulted when land owners were trying to outdo each other finding their piece of the cave and their chance to make money from the booming tourist trade. These wars continued until the Park was fully established in 1941. Here they saw some of the most impressive formations in the entire cave – flowstone, stalagmites and stalactites, massive formations that build up at the rate of about one cubic inch every 200 years!
Big Break
Grand Central Station
On the way....
Frozen Niagara
Our next goal was to find one of the famous Kentucky Sippin’ Whiskey Distilleries. We had heard about a few in and around Bardstown, so decided to head there. We stopped off at Nolin Lake just so we could have access to some cooling swim time for all of us during this heat wave. Since way back in the Great Smokies I had been hearing this strange and sometimes sort of loud sawing sound and just couldn’t figure out what kinda critter would make such awful music. Kae told us that that sound is made by cicadas and she found out they were in their 17 year hatch cycle. As we moved farther north they got more numerous and louder and louder. A guy couldn’t hear himself think if he wanted to. Folks were saying it was one of the biggest hatches they had seen. All I know is it made being outside a whole new adventure; but then the 90+ temperatures with 50% or more humidity really makes outdoor life an adventure, too!
It was on to Bardstown, “Bourbon Capital of the World”. This small city is the second oldest town in Kentucky having been established in 1793. A couple of local boys, Elijah Craig and Evan Williams, were the ‘fathers of the distilling industry’ here in the late 1780’s. It seems Williams was a distiller and businessman from the git-go, saw the value of corn mash alcohol early on and set up the first commercial distilleries and warehouses in the area. The art of distilling had been brought to this country by European immigrants more than a century before, thus Rum, Whiskey and other ‘brews’ were a way of life in colonial America. Spirits were even used as currency in the colonies and some records in Nelson County show property being purchased for “300 barrels of whiskey”. The gal pals went to Heaven Hill Distilleries to take the tour and tasting and to learn about all this history while I did my Parking lot Pod Patrol thing.
One burning question Kae finally got answered was what is the difference between Whiskey and Bourbon? Well, regulations state that to be called ‘bourbon,’ whiskey must contain at least 51% corn and be aged, in a new, charred, white oak barrel for at least 2 years. Bourbon has a distinct flavor imparted by the charcoal on the inside of the barrel. Here’s how that may have happened (no documented proof, just good stories): Elijah Craig was a minister/entrepreneur who knew the value of spirits. Aside from his church and several businesses, he also had a distillery in his barn. Seems there was a fire in his barn in which several of his oak barrels were charred inside and out. Rather than throw them out he filled them with corn whiskey and readied them for shipment to Louisville, downriver, (or he purposefully burned the inside of used barrels to kill the residue of their prior use). By the time the barrels arrived at their destination, several months later, the whiskey, mellowed through the charcoal and the 'caramelized' wood, had taken on an amber color and generally created a taste like nothing else. Soon people were demanding more of this ‘glorious whiskey from the Bourbon County area of West Virginia’. (Nelson County and Kentucky were still part of West Virginia at this time in the late 1700’s and were known as Bourbon County. Several years later they were declared part of the new state of Kentucky). The request was later shorten to simply, ‘more bourbon’, please!
Our next objectives were east toward Lexington along the scenic byways that took us up to the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill and into the Blue Grass horse country. This is another of those tremendously lovely areas in this state and we enjoyed this day trip so much!
Bluegrass Country
My intrepid Pod had developed a small problem with one of the burners on our cook stove. We could not turn the burner off so we had to turn the entire propane system off until we could get it repaired. The Ladies found an RV service center not too far away so we shot over to them and voila! We were done in 45 minutes. I so love finding competent and caring service people who can solve our problems with a minimum of fuss. We returned to Bardstown to wait out the Father’s Day weekend and see a little more of the area. Bardstown can truly be called the quintessential small, southern town. Established in 1790, it is Kentucky’s second oldest town, with numerous historical buildings and businesses to visit and enjoy: Old Bardstown Museum is a replica of the 1790's village.
The Talbott Tavern has served travelers for more than 225 years.
The 1812 Rowan home was the inspiration for Stephan Foster’s ballad, “My Old Kentucky Home”.
Local talent has performed a play based on Foster's life and songs for 50 years in the beautiful theater in the round.
The 1816 Basilica of St. Joseph was the first Catholic Cathedral built west of the Allegheny Mountains.
Several local distilleries produce the only ‘American’ developed liquor - bourbon, making this the “Bourbon Capital of the World".
There was so much more to see but we felt we needed to move on toward the Great Lakes and cooler climes. We were then done with Kentucky and on our way north to points of presumed interest in Indiana. So we will catch up with you in the next adventure when we get “into Indiana”.
