Underground

You can see all the oil stack reflections in the window just above the sign

We arrived in Kentucky at Horse Cave KOA around 12:30 central mountain time. We couldn’t get checked in until 1 so we parked at a garage just in front of the entrance and finished our leftovers, from lunch the day before at the german restaurant. The sandwiches were still just as good. We then headed into the campground, stopped at the desk, and then found our way to our site. Once we get everything in place and set up we decide to go take a dip in the pool to cool off. We get our suits on, grab a towel, and head to it. We stop by the store to see what they have. Chris finds a must-have 20oz insulated mule mug and a towel to hang at the outside bar. Down to the pool we go to find that it is drained. It is almost 90 degrees, why is this not opened??? So we head back to the camper and decide we will go get some groceries for the week.
​We hit the IGA and while getting our items on our list we can’t seem to find any prosecco. Chris looks to see where we can get some in the area and finds out that Hart County is a dry county. I have never heard of this. How could I have driven by the bourbon trail just 30 miles back but I can’t buy, or get any alcohol in this county? It blew my mind 🤯. We complete our list and get the groceries in the truck. Chris finds the next county over is not a dry county and is only about 6 miles to a liquor store. We get our list of items and head back to the camper. Once everything is put away we make some dinner and turn in early. Especially with the time difference I was ready to sleep by 7:30 but made myself wait until 8, this is going to be an adjustment. Once lying in bed we realize how close we are to the interstate. The tractor-trailers are not quiet and we are sitting a little higher up so the sound is extra loud. We put the air conditioning on to help block out some of the noise.

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In the morning we still got up for our workout early enough so Chris could be on work at a good time to keep with EST hours. I spend the morning getting our laundry done. We were planning on leaving around 3:30 to head to Mammoth Cave National Park but he got pulled into something important with work so we didn’t end up leaving until after 4. We had planned on doing a self-guided tour through the cave but that started at 4 so we knew it was not an option. We still went to check out what we could explore within the park. While walking through the welcome center we did chat with a guide who stated they actually were not offering the self-guided tours that day so we would have had to do a group tour to get into the cave. We still had a good time walking to the entrance and being able to enter the beginning portion. It is amazing the temperature difference as you walk towards the cave. It feels bone chilling.

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There was a group just coming out from the cave. of about 50 people so I am not disappointed that we were not a part of that. Once they were all out of the way we took the time to walk in and see the inside. There is something about entering a hole underground that gets my mind wondering, worried, and wanting to see more. The walkway had a wonderful sparkle to it that made me feel like I was in the Wizard of Oz…follow the sparkle bright path…follow the sparkle bright path. I couldn’t just say that once and my mind has said it like 20 more times 😄. We are able to go about 100 yards in then there is a fence and door keeping us out. I may not have been able to enter and explore all the inside had to offer but I can say I saw it and if I want to come back someday to see more, I can. It’s the best part of this trip!

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Once out of the cave, we walked to see what else was in the park. There are some trails that we walked a little of but it was hot and sweaty so we decided to head back to see what was inside the welcome center. They had an exhibit to walk through giving so much information about the cave system that has been discovered and are still finding more as they continue to explore. In the store, I was able to find my sticker for this stop and looked around at all the fun nicknacks. We then headed back to the the truck.

Out next stop we went to look at the entrance of Cove City which is in Horse Cave the town our KOA is in. It’s a super small town with not much around. We park and walk to see the cave entrance from an overlook. The museum offers tickets to explore the inside with tours as well but they close at 5. It was still neat to see the opening to the cave and just think about underneath all of this area are caves that go for miles. Caves are just so cool. 
Once back at the camper we make dinner and try to enjoy an evening by the fire but again the noise of the interstate is just too much to even hear music from the speaker. We put the state sticker on and the sticker on the slide than inside we go. We cuddle up on the couch and watch TV for a while. At our normal 9 o’clock bedtime we get ready and head to bed.

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