Before my trip to Kentucky, I thought that I would be disappointed with the lack of places worth while to visit. It is pretty much limited to farm land and the Kentucky Derby right? Wrong, I was surprised to find how many wondrous places that can be found there.
Unfortunately, I was under a time crunch of roughly a day to find a unique experience. I tend to prefer national parks over other typical tourist traps. Recently, I have found exploring caves and waterfalls to be pretty entertaining. Mammoth Cave, Diamond Caverns, Lost River Cave, Cumberland Falls and Cascade Cave were the choices that appealed to me. I know I made too many trip possibilities. It is hard to limit where you want to fo with a place as incredible as Kentucky. I kept on changing my mind where I wanted to go.
For my major cave trip I had to decide between either Mammoth Cave, Cascade Cave or Diamond Caverns. Mammoth Caves were crossed off the list pretty quickly. Mammoth Cave is too impressive to limit it to a quick trip. Cascade Cave was out of the way from where I wanted to drive. So, that left the beautiful Diamond Caverns.
My tour guide in Diamond Caverns was named Emily. She was a really great guide to have. Emily explained some of the history of the caves to us while we were exploring.
I never heard of the “cave wars” before. The damage left behind by them is pretty bad. On a lighter note she talked about the many formations found in the cave.
It was really neat. Emily even showed the group cave crickets!
After that exciting exploration, I went to Lost River Cave. It’s claim to fame is you take a boat ride in the cave. I highly suggest that you bring a flashlight and a camera with exceptional night vision. The boat ride was not as spectacular as I hoped. You don’t really see a lot of rock formations and the ride is terribly short. However, it is a different, fun experience to travel in a cave in a boat. Also the fossils in the ceiling are pretty nifty to look at.
After the Lost River boat tour you should explore the hiking trails. On the hiking trails you will find a place called The Butterfly House. The Monarch Butterflies are simply beautiful. If you travel a bit more you will find the “blue holes” and a spring. The trails make the trip to Lost River Cave a great afternoon trip.
Like all good things my time for fun was at a end. I did not have enough time to visit Cumberland Falls. I learned that you really need more than a measly day to explore Kentucky. Kentucky is filled with too many wondrous places!
- Mourning Daily
(The Photos Are From The Cave Websites)