Post by L Roebuck on Oct 24, 2005 7:14:13 GMT -5
Posted on Sat, Oct. 22, 2005
Cave visit is descent into a new world
Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is the world’s longest, with 350 miles of surveyed passageways.
By Cathy Shouse
nsfeatures@news-sentinel.com
If the thrill of amusement parks, museum exhibits and glitzy tourist spots is wearing thin, consider taking a trip to a geological wonder – Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave National Park.
Pine forests cover some of the 53,000-acre park, filling the air with fragrance. Wild turkeys and Eastern white-tailed deer frequently shoot out from the underbrush and into the open for visitors to see.
In the cave, guides warn visitors to watch the ceilings for cave crickets that can grow four inches long and bats that sometimes swoop down from their perches. When the lights are turned off dozens of feet below the surface, the pitch-blackness is a reminder of how small humans really are in a big universe. The total silence is an experience not to be missed.
“I love the fact that, when you’re in the cave, you’re completely cut off from the world,” said Vickie Carson, who works at the park. “There’s no radio or TV that can come in. Cell phones won’t work. It’s a very different and removed place. To me it’s very impressive — the size of it. How did nature do it?”
Carson answered her own question, making a 70-million-year story into a short cave lesson.
“The cave is made partly from calcium buildup similar to what forms on your bathroom fixtures,” she said. In places where the water doesn’t cause a build-up, it actually cuts away stone, very slowly.
“Mammoth Cave isn’t known for formations,” Carson said. “It’s known because it’s the longest in the world. It has mammoth passageways and it goes on and on. It’s like a spelunker’s dream.”
The site has the most extensive cave system on earth. With more than 350 miles of surveyed passageways, it is twice as long as any other known cave. Plus, geologists think there could be as many as 600 miles of passageways that have not been discovered yet.
Because the cave is so large and the park has so much to offer, it is a good idea for first-time visitors to get information ahead of time. About 1.8 million visitors come to Mammoth Cave National Park annually and 400,000 take a cave tour. The cave tours and a one-hour scenic river cruise accept a limited number of reservations, so make yours in advance, because spots fill up early.
To do the best planning, visitors will need detailed information from a variety of sources.
The U.S. National Parks Web site offers a general guide, but it is helpful to request park brochures by mail. The park service call center staff is polite and thorough when visitors phone with questions, and they will also take reservations. Some cave tours are offered only once a day, and the entire schedule of park activities varies depending on the time of year. One-hour boat cruises aboard Miss Green River II operate from April through October.
Similar to other national parks, Mammoth Cave has opportunities for fishing, canoeing, horseback riding and hiking. Picnic shelters can be reserved in advance. There are several lodging options, including three campgrounds, rustic cottages and the Mammoth Cave Hotel, which is open all year.
The most difficult decision may be choosing which cave tour to take. Twelve tours are available, ranging from $4 to $46 for adults and from $2.50 to $14 for ages 6-12. Some tours are for ages 8-12 years old. A free, self-guided Mammoth Cave Discovery Tour is offered on Fridays, Saturdays and on July 4.
One general tour suitable for a wide range of ages is the Travertine, a word that means “traveling rock” in Latin. The tour takes an hour and 15 minutes, is about 1/4 mile round trip and costs $10 for adults and $8 for ages 6-12.
The Travertine formerly was known as the presidential tour because, in 1980, President Ronald Reagan was photographed while taking the tour. He stood on the steps leading down to the drapery room, which has formations that look like draperies.
Adding to this tour’s fun, a bus takes visitors to the cave entrance and animals sometimes dart out around the roadways during the ride.
The tour starts at the Frozen Niagara entrance, which is included in several tours because it has the highest concentration of the cave’s formations.
The cave temperature stays at about 54 degrees year-round, so explorers often take light jackets. For the truly adventurous, ages 16 and up, the Wild Cave Tour is 5 1/2 miles long and lasts about six hours, including about two hours of crawling through small passages. The fee is $46, and helmets, lights and kneepads are provided.
Carson said visitors should choose a tour they are comfortable with and also realize that the experience may not be for everybody. If a cave visitor has problems during a tour, getting them to the surface may take several hours.
“We try to describe the tours as best we can to folks and let them make up their own minds,” Carson said.
“On the longer tours, I think parents end up carrying their kids back some of the way. We always try to caution people, ‘Don’t let your friends or family talk you into taking a cave tour if you don’t want to.’”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Going down under
♦To request an information packet, write to: Mammoth Cave National Park, PO Box 7, Mammoth Cave, KY 42259.
♦To reserve cave tour tickets and other activities by phone, call 1-800-967-2283 (9 a.m.-9 p.m. Central Time) or TDD (hearing impaired) 1-888-530-9796. You also can go to reservations.
nps.gov v on the Web.
♦Cost: Cave tour prices range from free for twice-weekly, self-guided tours to $4-$46 for adults and $2.50-$14 for ages 6-12. Note: Some tickets are discounted for individuals with Golden Age passes.
♦Mammoth Cave Hotel reservations: 1-270-758-2225
♦For information on privately owned caves, accommodations and services outside the park, call the Cave City Convention Center at 1-800-346-8908.
Fort Wayne.com
www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/living/12951724.htm
Cave visit is descent into a new world
Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is the world’s longest, with 350 miles of surveyed passageways.
By Cathy Shouse
nsfeatures@news-sentinel.com
If the thrill of amusement parks, museum exhibits and glitzy tourist spots is wearing thin, consider taking a trip to a geological wonder – Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave National Park.
Pine forests cover some of the 53,000-acre park, filling the air with fragrance. Wild turkeys and Eastern white-tailed deer frequently shoot out from the underbrush and into the open for visitors to see.
In the cave, guides warn visitors to watch the ceilings for cave crickets that can grow four inches long and bats that sometimes swoop down from their perches. When the lights are turned off dozens of feet below the surface, the pitch-blackness is a reminder of how small humans really are in a big universe. The total silence is an experience not to be missed.
“I love the fact that, when you’re in the cave, you’re completely cut off from the world,” said Vickie Carson, who works at the park. “There’s no radio or TV that can come in. Cell phones won’t work. It’s a very different and removed place. To me it’s very impressive — the size of it. How did nature do it?”
Carson answered her own question, making a 70-million-year story into a short cave lesson.
“The cave is made partly from calcium buildup similar to what forms on your bathroom fixtures,” she said. In places where the water doesn’t cause a build-up, it actually cuts away stone, very slowly.
“Mammoth Cave isn’t known for formations,” Carson said. “It’s known because it’s the longest in the world. It has mammoth passageways and it goes on and on. It’s like a spelunker’s dream.”
The site has the most extensive cave system on earth. With more than 350 miles of surveyed passageways, it is twice as long as any other known cave. Plus, geologists think there could be as many as 600 miles of passageways that have not been discovered yet.
Because the cave is so large and the park has so much to offer, it is a good idea for first-time visitors to get information ahead of time. About 1.8 million visitors come to Mammoth Cave National Park annually and 400,000 take a cave tour. The cave tours and a one-hour scenic river cruise accept a limited number of reservations, so make yours in advance, because spots fill up early.
To do the best planning, visitors will need detailed information from a variety of sources.
The U.S. National Parks Web site offers a general guide, but it is helpful to request park brochures by mail. The park service call center staff is polite and thorough when visitors phone with questions, and they will also take reservations. Some cave tours are offered only once a day, and the entire schedule of park activities varies depending on the time of year. One-hour boat cruises aboard Miss Green River II operate from April through October.
Similar to other national parks, Mammoth Cave has opportunities for fishing, canoeing, horseback riding and hiking. Picnic shelters can be reserved in advance. There are several lodging options, including three campgrounds, rustic cottages and the Mammoth Cave Hotel, which is open all year.
The most difficult decision may be choosing which cave tour to take. Twelve tours are available, ranging from $4 to $46 for adults and from $2.50 to $14 for ages 6-12. Some tours are for ages 8-12 years old. A free, self-guided Mammoth Cave Discovery Tour is offered on Fridays, Saturdays and on July 4.
One general tour suitable for a wide range of ages is the Travertine, a word that means “traveling rock” in Latin. The tour takes an hour and 15 minutes, is about 1/4 mile round trip and costs $10 for adults and $8 for ages 6-12.
The Travertine formerly was known as the presidential tour because, in 1980, President Ronald Reagan was photographed while taking the tour. He stood on the steps leading down to the drapery room, which has formations that look like draperies.
Adding to this tour’s fun, a bus takes visitors to the cave entrance and animals sometimes dart out around the roadways during the ride.
The tour starts at the Frozen Niagara entrance, which is included in several tours because it has the highest concentration of the cave’s formations.
The cave temperature stays at about 54 degrees year-round, so explorers often take light jackets. For the truly adventurous, ages 16 and up, the Wild Cave Tour is 5 1/2 miles long and lasts about six hours, including about two hours of crawling through small passages. The fee is $46, and helmets, lights and kneepads are provided.
Carson said visitors should choose a tour they are comfortable with and also realize that the experience may not be for everybody. If a cave visitor has problems during a tour, getting them to the surface may take several hours.
“We try to describe the tours as best we can to folks and let them make up their own minds,” Carson said.
“On the longer tours, I think parents end up carrying their kids back some of the way. We always try to caution people, ‘Don’t let your friends or family talk you into taking a cave tour if you don’t want to.’”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Going down under
♦To request an information packet, write to: Mammoth Cave National Park, PO Box 7, Mammoth Cave, KY 42259.
♦To reserve cave tour tickets and other activities by phone, call 1-800-967-2283 (9 a.m.-9 p.m. Central Time) or TDD (hearing impaired) 1-888-530-9796. You also can go to reservations.
nps.gov v on the Web.
♦Cost: Cave tour prices range from free for twice-weekly, self-guided tours to $4-$46 for adults and $2.50-$14 for ages 6-12. Note: Some tickets are discounted for individuals with Golden Age passes.
♦Mammoth Cave Hotel reservations: 1-270-758-2225
♦For information on privately owned caves, accommodations and services outside the park, call the Cave City Convention Center at 1-800-346-8908.
Fort Wayne.com
www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/living/12951724.htm