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Thursday – 10/9/25

a·dapt
/əˈdapt/
verb
1. make (something) suitable for a new use or purpose; modify.
2. become adjusted to new conditions.

I’d be hard pressed to find a more appropriate description for our trip than adaptation. From the park itself both above and below, and myself both internally and externally, adaptation is indicative of all it took for our trip to be a success.

Having purchased flights, car rental and hotel rooms well in advance, the political landscape irrevocably shifted and due to the government shutdown, had a significant impact on our plans for the park. Undaunted, slightly annoyed, yet hopeful and flexible, we still took off early at 5am Thursday morning for a flight to Nashville. AJ is walking now, posing a new challenge for both flights and travel in general. One that Erica and I are taking in stride, albeit longer strides than a newly skilled toddler. I noticed too late that I had forgotten my camera, so please give grace and enjoy the snapshots that are included in this post.

As our flight landed near lunchtime, we decided to have a brief jaunt on Broadway in Nashville to grab Prince’s Nashville Hot Chicken. Nonnie and Erica went with Mild, Pops went with Hot and I was brave enough to try the Very Hot. Let me tell you we were sweating until Kentucky. Broadway was absolutely booming even on a Thursday afternoon, with live music streaming from every doorway, beats and keys clashing to become a cacophony of Americana, pop country, and honky-tonk to become that classic Nashville sound.

Crossing the state line into Kentucky, it was quite evident why horses are happy enough to train for their races here. We drove past rolling green hills awash with kentucky bluegrass, flecked with pine, white oak, folded between gentle forested hills. The countryside was beautiful, and made for a short drive.

Settling into Cave City, we stopped by the Cracker Barrel for dinner, and tucked in for the night. Thursday was about as eventful as any travel day could be!

Friday – 10/10/25

Free breakfast at the hotel fueled us up for a quick trip to the park itself. Driving through the winding single lane highway, the Kentucky hills were noticably punctuated with dips in the plains, sinkholes as it were, where the Kentucky rain seeps through the ground and dissolves the limestone and gypsum, creating a depression as it seeps into the caves. The heavily forested drive meandered to the National Park signage where we stopped for a photo. Noticing a quick side trail to Sand Cave, we took a boardwalk to where Floyd Collins unfortunately was trapped due to a cave in. Standing under the overhang, even in the wide open, I could imagine how terrifying and suffocating that must have felt. The morbid juxtaposition of the carnival of onlookers above the cave selling foods and sneaking moonshine to watch the rescue attempts left me feeling sad.

However, hearkening back to adaptation, the National Park acquired the cave itself, lending to Floyd’s original mission of finding a connection to Mammoth Cave’s grandeur. Congratulations Floyd, may you rest in peace knowing your efforts were not in vain.

Entering the park proper, we received final confirmation of what we dreaded – the caves were closed due to not enough available rangers. Undaunted, we took a quick hike down to the Historic Entrance to the Mammoth Caves. Down a heft flight of steps into the yawning maw of the caves itself, you could easily tell how the original river flowed through the caves and dissolved the limestone rich rock and sediment, and carved the caves themselves. The earth itself seemed to devour the morning light even just a few steps into the depths. At the end, a bat friendly fence marked the deepest we could go. Looking through the slats, we saw how oppressively dark the cave would be, complimented by the downward slope.

Continuing down the gravel road past the entrance, we enjoyed the morning sun filtering through the trees and chatting with Nonnie and Pops. Mid conversation, a deer leapt over the trail and hopped up the incline. Even wildlife adapts to heavy human traffic and shares its home with us. At the end of the hill, we viewed one of the many springs that exit the caves and enter the Green River. The River Styx, a subterranean river sourced by rainfall who is responsible for the caves itself, flows through the bottom levels of the caves and is pushed out as a spring at the base of the hill. The gentle flow of the spring opened my eyes at how long this process has been occurring for the caves to exist, and how long it will continue to eat away at these minerals for millennia to come.

Huge props to Nonnie and Pops for making it back uphill to the visitors center for lunch. The incline wasn’t easy, and we were huffing and puffing our way up. Along the way, Nonnie, AJ, Erica and I pulled aside to see Dixon Cave, a cave system that was originally connected to the Historic Entrance. An extremely rare type of collapse cut this cave off from the main system, and is now home to nearly a million bats! We mused about the bat population keeping us safe from any mosquitos, as we hadn’t had a single bite our entire trip.

Our bellies full from a heavy lunch of delicious burgers and beer (the Dripstone Ale is brewed for the national park by Country Boy Brewing, so I had to partake!) AJ indicated it was time for a nap. We took the opportunity to drive around and source a privately owned cave to see if we couldn’t get below ground.

Diamond Caves was sold out, and tipped us off that they are quite slammed lately, and that we would need to get there early the next day to have a shot at the caves. Crystal Onyx caves were open and willing to take us in the next half hour, so Crystal Onyx it was.

Privately owned, recently purchased and renovated by a few hard working folk, this cave became an attraction in 2018. The cave itself was nice, plenty of cave formations to see and get the general idea of the Kentucky underground. The aliens, dinosaurs, and gargoyles se throughout the caves honestly cheapened the experience a bit, and made me realize I was missing the grandeur of the NP’s caves.

Nevertheless, AJ walked and explored throughout the caves and rarely showed any sign of being upset. If anything, Erica and I were exhausted from trying to keep her from eating gravel, licking cave dirt, and drinking puddles of cave water.

Exiting the caves, having been glad to see the underground at least once on our trip, we settled for a pleasant Mexican dinner at El Acapulco in Cave City. Some of the quickest service I’ve ever had!

Saturday – 10/11/25

If I had to choose a day to reflect the most on, I think Saturday was it. Waking up on the earlier side and a quick trip back into the park, we drove a small scouting tour to find an accessible fishing spot on the Green River. I found a paved nature trail nearby the slipway, and a small jaunt with Dad uncovered an off-trail sand path that took us underneath the old growth and on the shore of the river. After a return trip to unpack the car, we skimmed through the reeds and brush with AJ in tow, set down a tarp and laid under the trees while Erica and Dad began to fish.

Listening to the mallards hooping in the refreshingly cool and moist morning air, woodpeckers echoing down the Green River, with the most gentle waves from passing canoes lapping at the silt bank, even AJ found some calm… until her sense of exploration got the best of her. I hoisted her on my side, grabbed the umbrella stroller, and went back up to the paved walkway. As I walked her along the old growth she began to point with her uncoordinated toddler fingers at the white oak and beech trees. I held her hand, and allowed her to trudge along the path, stopping to pick at leaves, or swipe the brush on the side.

Once the little legs grew weary enough of the walk, we checked back in on the resident fishers. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like much, if any, had been caught. Lunch at the cafe, again as it were, and a plan hatched to explore the northern end of the park – River Bluff Trail.

Once again, adaptability calls, and recalling again that I had forgotten my camera I challenged myself with cell phone in hand and decided to focus on textures as we plodded along the relatively simple hike. Looping around the northeastern corner of the park, and making our way back down to the Green, we strode along the trail knowing that our steps would resonate above the cavernous hillside.

The boulders we passed, collecting moss and lichen, would still present the lime heavy composition that allows this area to create the caves. A reminder that as above, so below. Occasionally, our trail would break out the the hillside, and we could view vistas showcasing the age of the Green, and the path it has taken through the Kentucky countryside. Despite never straying too far, we stayed a large distance above the river allowing for some surprisingly steep forestry between us.

The forestry near and within the park was cleared in the 1930s for homesteading, and thus much of the park is truly a second growth forest. The Civilian Conservation Corps planted a staggering one million trees in an effort to revitalize the area just ahead of its designation as a national park. The trees themselves have flourished in the Kentucky Rain, blending right in with the moist and shaded hillsides.

Erica of course found her boulders to climb on within the forest. A small trudge off trail, and point and a soft exclamation of amazement from AJ, and I turn to once again find her much further above ground for my comfort. She sat upon the boulder for a moment, presumably enjoying the vista just above the canopy. Despite even being away from the mountains, Erica still finds a way to rise above.

Mom and Dad powered through the final quarter mile, a true testament to their physical goals as the majority of it included long stride along many steps. I’m elated they were able to, as it was definitely the highlight of the trip for myself.

The hike worked up an appetite for us, and we found a dinner cafe a few small towns down the road – Five Broke Girls. A Texas tattoo on the calf of the owner queued us in, she was a Ft. Worth native! It really is a small world.

Saturday – 10/11/25

The drive back was full of talks about our adventures. How well AJ handled it all, the geology we learned and the countryside we enjoyed. It was easy to fall into disappointment with our situation, but we still managed to make the best of what we had. If we are ever back in the area and have the opportunity to go in, I believe we’d take it. Suffice it to say I feel its unfair to say we saw all that this Park had to offer, but nonetheless, we move on. The lesson learned of taking positive mindsets, enjoying what you can where you can is a bit trite, but it matters.

Onward and yonward.