Mammoth Cave
Last weekend I took an excursion about two hours away from Vanderbilt campus to Mammoth Cave National Park. Located in Kentucky, the park contains the world’s longest known cave system that stretches over 390 miles.
I went with a few friends on what was called the “Gothic Lantern Tour”. We went through the main chambers of the cave and through an offshoot called “Gothic Avenue” that was filled with rock pile monuments that various groups had built on their visits (there was even one from Vanderbilt Dentists!). The guide shared all sorts of stories about the history of the caves and some of the names scrawled all over the walls.
Mammoth Cave is rare because it’s actually remarkably dry inside, and it was strange going into the cave and feeling just how much warmer it was—the cave stays between about 50 and 60 degrees all year long. It’s also incredibly dim inside the caves—even when the lights were on, it took our eyes quite a bit of time to adjust. At one point, they turned off all the lights in a chamber of the cave, and the darkness was so thick that I couldn’t see my hand even when it was directly in front of my face.
Mammoth Cave is only about a two hour drive from Vanderbilt, and getting off campus to see it was so much fun. The above ground part of the park was wooded and sparkling with snow when we went. While there are already tons of things to do around Vanderbilt campus, it was cool to get off campus and see the beauty of a national park that’s not too far away!
Check out some pictures from the trip! The last picture is (from left to right) myself,Caroline, John, and Brian, who I went with to Mammoth Cave.
