7/5/15

Today we left on our trip of the Midwest which will take us through western Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and the Dakotas.

We started out at Mammoth Cave in western Kentucky.  This is the longest cave in the world.  Portions of the surrounding country side have sink holes where the roof of the cave is just below the surface!  Today it is a National Park.

Posing at the entrance, Emily, Marta, and Abigail Wetmore.

 Liesel Grentz and Emily Wetmore

Our guide informed us that the cave was first discovered by native Americans around 4,000 years ago.  It was rediscovered by Europeans in 1797.  The cave played a role in the war of 1812, the Great Depression, and WWII.  It has been mined for saltpeter to make explosives.  In the 1930's, a mummified native American was found in the cave and according to carbon dating, he lived around 2,300 years ago.

The tour we took of the cave took us down into the entrance...

from Wikipedia

... into the rotunda...

from Wikipedia

... and up hundreds of stairs.

from Wikipedia

Not to mention crouching through low-ceilinged areas and squeezing through narrow crevices.  We descended and rose 300 feet during the two-hour tour.  Very fascinating!

Only two photos of mine that turned out inside the cave as flash photography is strictly verboten!

By the time we came out of the cave, we were very hungry, so we stopped for lunch at the restaurant in the park.  They served simple and tasty food which we enjoyed very much.

Good-bye, Mammoth Cave!

Then we pressed on towards St. Louis, stopping in Owensboro to get a few supplies and have supper.

Abigail and Emily enjoy a movie with their new headphones as we travel.

Now we are going to spend the night in Illinois, just outside of St. Louis.

Our room

Emily sleeps below the Arch

Abigail sleeps below a panorama of St. Louis

We walked 9,067 steps today.  It's a good thing!  We ate too much today!