Destination: Mammoth Cave National Park
Dates: December 19-20, 2020
Reason: Winter trip
Day 1 Dec 19th, 2020
I booked a tour of Mammoth Cave for the three of us for Sunday, December 20th, at 10:00am. Since the cave is 4 hours away, we left on Saturday and stayed overnight nearby. We picked 10:30am as our start time, but didn’t actually leave until 11:00am. The Brent Spence bridge was still closed for repair, so we took I-471 to I-275 to connect back with I-71.
There was no trouble at all through Louisville as we switched to I-65 south. Finn was a wonderful rider! He slept well and even when he was awake he kept himself amused.
After Louisville we headed about 40 minutes south to Hodgenville, where we stopped at Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park. The visitor center was our first stop, and Finn got his Junior Ranger badge and we picked up some souvenirs. Leaving the center, we climbed the steps to the neo-classical building that houses a replica of the one-room log cabin that Lincoln was born in at the site. Along the way Finn found two leaves that fascinated him. We entered the building to view the cabin, but discovered that, due to COVID protocols, the majority of the exhibit was closed. Still, Finn had fun with his leaves. We checked out the natural spring that drew the Lincoln family to settle this spot and let Finn stretch his legs a bit.
Back in the car, we hit a McDonald’s and went to swing by Mammoth Cave, just another 40 minutes or so further south. On arrival we saw lots of deer and drove right by Dinosaur World. Our first stop, of course, was the Visitor Center, where Finn got his Junior Ranger badge- his 9th! Then we attempted to find a short trail, which took an embarrassing amount of time to find. Since it was getting dark already, and starting to rain, we visited the Old Guide’s Cemetery and then made a plan to do a hike the next day after our cave tour.
Our AirBnB was in Smiths Grove, just a 20 minute drive from the park. We found the small farmhouse without too much trouble, despite the darkness. We unpacked, then went and picked up Taco Bell for dinner. As we ate and turned in for the night we watched the Grinch. Finn took a while to fall asleep. The cabin itself was very quaint, one room, with a gas heater. The heater freaked Julia out. Perhaps the coolest thing about the place though was that it was situated on a working farm, with cows and horses. We could hear a lot of mooing from the barn next to our cabin, which scared Finn a little bit.
Today marked the first time Finn visited Kentucky, despite it being the next closest state to us. It only took us 16 months.
Day 2 Dec 20th, 2020
Our tour of the cave was at 10:00am, which meant that check-in was required at 9:30am. We left the cabin at 8:30am to stop and grab breakfast at a gas station. While I was checking out of the cabin, Julia took Finn around the farm to see the cows up close. He liked them, except when they mooed.
We arrived at the Visitor Center plenty early and picked up some souvenirs. Then, at 10:00am, we met up with our Mammoth Passage tour group, led by rangers Teagan and Chris. Finn rode on Julia’s chest and seemed fascinated as we entered the main portion of the cave. However, as our group paused so ranger Teagan could wow us with the size of the rotunda and give us some history of the cave, Finn decided it was time to throw a little fit. Julia had to step away for a few moments.
The highlight of the tour was at the rotunda when the rangers turned off all the lights to show us absolute darkness. The rest of the tour was short, showing off the large passageways that gave the cave its name. Finn was relatively restless so we let him walk around a bit in the cave.
Back on the surface we climbed a hill and went on the Mammoth Dome Sinkhole trail. It wound down a hillside and led to a pretty cool sinkhole. Finn slept on the way down, but got really cold, so we woke him up and flipped him around. He got to carry a leaf, so he was satisfied. Julia managed to find a small dead snake that grossed her out.
After the hike we loaded up and headed home. Just before getting on I-65 north, right by Dinosaur World, a bald eagle soared from a field next to our car. It was quite a sight!
There was no real trouble getting back. We hit a little traffic on the Watterson Loop around Louisville, stopped at a Burger King in Verona, then got jammed up near Florence since I-75/71 north was closed at the bridge. Due to this, we took I-275 east all the way from Kentucky to Loveland and got home before 6:00pm.
Robinsons on the Road 