Mammoth Cave, Heaven Hills, and Home Sweet Home.

You jive, turkey!

Mammoth Cave is one of those places that I've heard of before but probably wouldn't have made an effort to see. Luckily, Allison is a caver; she's taken me to a number of show caves over the years and her interest has been contagious. So when we discussed taking a side trip to see the world's longest cave, I said, "Sure, I'll pay twelve dollars to walk through a big dark hole in the ground." (Disclaimer: Allison would now like me to point out she is actually the person who paid twelve dollars for me to walk through a big dark hole in the ground.) 

Allison the caver

But once I was inside, any doubts melted away. This place was vast and impressive!

These water pipes were made from hollowed-out trees.

I had numerous camera issues. Using flash takes a washed-out picture of the closest rock while everything else is dark. Not using flash makes everything blurry. The best I could do was slow down the shutter speed, but apparently it requires a steadier hand than I possess. So most of my pictures looked like something from the Mars Rover.


There were a number of tours to choose from. I would have loved to try the Wild Cave Tour but we didn't have enough time, so we went on the Historical Tour instead.

BOTTOMLESS PIT. Seriously, that's what it was called. Our group traversed the pit on a stainless steel bridge, but the man who originally explored it crawled across on a cedar log.   

People wrote their names all over the ceiling. 

It is extremely difficult to show how impressive this cave is.

The blurry person on the left is the ranger who led our tour.

After Mammoth Cave, we hit the road and headed northeast towards Pennsylvania. On our drive, we decided that our trip through Kentucky wouldn't be complete without a visit to a bourbon distillery. So we went to the only one that was open past 3:30 in the afternoon, Heaven Hills.  We got there around 4:00, just in time for the last tour of the day.

Those mysterious white buildings apparently hold barrels and barrels of bourbon. 

The tour guide didn't actually take us inside the distillery, just through a little museum area. Even though Heaven Hills is a "family owned business," that hasn't stopped them from acquiring 86 other companies worldwide. And apparently Jim Beam's brother has something to do with this operation.

We ended with a taste of their single-barrel bourbon, along with a little piece of chocolate. I'm not actually sure if/when I've ever had bourbon before, so I can't really make a judgement about the quality of it. But at least now I can say I've been to a bourbon distillery!

On our way back to the highway, I took some stalker pictures of where the magic actually happens.

I wonder why all the windows are necessary.

Today we enjoyed beautiful weather while driving through mountains in West Virginia and Maryland. As we got closer and closer to our home in Pennsylvania, the landscape got less and less green.

The hills are alive with the sound of car engines!

 We're all unpacked and settled in back at home now. I might not have much to say in here for a while - I need a break from adventuring to catch my breath (and replenish my bank account).