Mammoth Caves and the Midwest

The Mammoth Caves National Park in Kentucky is the longest known cave system in the world! We stayed in the park's campground and I tried, tried, tried to capture the fireflies but was not successful. Our camp spot backed up to a wooded meadow area, with dozens more fireflies that I'd seen in Memphis, I'm still so amazing and in love with them! Mammoth Caves offers many different tours depending on skill and what you want to see. Sorry the pictures are so terrible but I was in a CAVE! The first one is the "Frozen Niagara" and the second is a specific type of cave formation known as "cave bacon!" The tours were great (if you plan of taking a major tour you definitely want to arrive early before they sell out), and our main ranger was really passionate about the caves and sharing his experiences with the tour. At one point on the tour while everyone is sitting in a huge cavern, they turn off the lights! There is no light, at all, not even enough to see your own hand in front of your face - just complete and utter darkness. At first there is no sound, and for a moment in the soundless dark you feel like you are floating in the infinite. Then slowly, as your ears are straining for something, come the dull thumps of your heart and blood pumping through you and people shifting uneasily in the dark. Fun fact: there is enough butane in one bic lighter to get you out of the caves, that is, if you can find your way!

From the Mammoth Caves and Kentucky it was Westward ho! This was probably the longest leg of driving on the trip and wow, is it flat. I was super excited to drive basically right under the St. Louis arch and I'm glad to have not been on a wagon, although Oregon Trail jokes and games make for great car entertainment. There's not a whole lot to see in this flat land but I kinda dig on the "graphic farmscapes" like this one of hay bales in the field.

Now this last picture is extremely special to me in one of those strange ways that's hard to explain but you've probably experienced something similar. A goal, a dream, a desire - something that you just have to do for either no reason at all, or a very drawn out weird one. Like visiting the Goonies house in Astoria, OR because deep down you knew you were a Goonie too. Here is another one of mine - my first time at a real White Castle. We don't have these on where I'm from so needless to say, it made me happy. As Kumar says, 'I want that feeling. The feeling that comes over a man when he gets exactly what he desires.'