Kentucky's Mammoth Cave

Every year I traveled all over the East Coast with my grandparents, so it was no surprise that we went to Kentucky on one of our trips. We visited a few horse attractions, and while they were great, nothing stands out in our trip as much as our visit to Mammoth Cave.

Mammoth Cave is aptly named, it is mammoth, gigantic. I was much younger at the time, so all of the fun facts about fossils and various geodes and things interested me, but by far my favorite part of the trip was when they told the story of a boy who had been trapped very deep within the caves in the mid 1900's. They told us of how he had been exploring the cave with his father when the two were separated. The boys' lantern ran out of oil, and being so deep within the cave there was no light source. To keep himself sane he had to throw rocks at the wall and talk to himself. He was eventually found, and no harm had come to him.

Then, after checking that nobody on the tour was deathly afraid of the dark, they turned out all of the lights in that part of the cave. You couldn't see your own hand in front of your face! It was so cool, and it's been one of my favorite experiences ever since.

This is a must see for any family traveling in the area, it's a very educational site, and the kids will be entertained by the novelty of the giant cave. While they’re doing that, the parents get to learn some things themselves, and as a plus it’s rather cool and dark within the cave, very relaxing. http://www.nps.gov/maca/