batty begining's to the new year

[rotag]

well i slacked off enough, so now im gettin to that NYE ptr i promissed. i didnt hve plans this year, & since a majority of the people that i wanted to hang with was in gatlinburg, i made last min. decision to go somewhere. i was lacking the time it needed to make the trek there & back, i decided a more closer to home approach was necissary. i booked a cabin in horse cave, ky. while i would be down there, i would go cave'n.

i got off work wed.30,09 & went straight home to pack. i loaded up the truck & began my trip.

you can kinda see the ferris wheel for SFKK.

[rotag]

i arrive @ my destination & get checked in.

[rotag]

outside of the kabin, its very quite around here.

LOOK, CHICKENS!!!

after unloading, i decide to go on one of my cave tours.

[rotag]

i go to the gift shop & see this, which made me chuckle.

some memmorabillia they had

& begins my tour, i will not show all of what i took, that i will leave for ya'lls when you visit, & some of them didnt turn out so well.

[rotag]

the tour guide was both sassy & like i little mrs. obvious, her name was crystal, i like her style of humor.

yes, i was givin permision to touch this. she said even though they protect there caves and have a no touch policy, there are really tight spots in the caves were the would rather you touch it instead of falling down and hurting yourself.

after here i stopped by a place called BIG MIKES and it was home of BIG MOE.

i think i found him.

[rotag]

day two of my trip, i stopped at a place that had brochures, and wouldnt you know what i found.

cave relics/grafity

you can see why

[rotag]

bathrooms inside the cave

the water stick

its like a que-line in the cave.

my second cave tour of the day was funner than the first. i had to take a 10min bus ride to get to entrance of second cave tour. he drove so fast that it felt like i was riding a coaster.

[rotag]

this reminded me of a gator.

[rotag]

hey, its pappa smurf.

cave crickets

i passed by there several times, they were closed for the season, i have ridden there alpine slide though. for more photos not seen here, visit:

http://s636.photobucket.com/albums/uu85/rotag1299/

[Thrill_Biscuit]

Very cool! Especially "Big Moe!" Thanks for posting; it was like being there!

I thought the cave crickets were spiders for a second... very creepy!

[rotag]

the crickets cant see, no need to, so there antennas are supper long for sensing there surroundings.

[tycoonrebel7188]

My family and I went to Mammoth Caves probably 10 years ago, and I remember going into the gift store and seeing the word "Kentucky" hanging crooked on the wall. It bugged me to no end. lol Good to see even after all these years it still has yet to be fixed.

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/uu85/rotag1299/SANY1166.jpg

[rotag]

That cought my eye, when I looked up & saw it said pretty stuff.

[XGatorHead 8904]

Thanks for posting. 7 of us in my family went down there in September and stayed in one of the cabins in the park, right across the parkinglot from the visitor's center. It was GatorGirl's fist time in a cave, and she liked it. We did two separate tours, and yes, I was able to squeeze through Fat Man's Misery, even as it got narrower and narrower and shorter and shorter so that we all were walking hunched over (except for GatorGirl of course, who couldn't understand what some in our group were fussing about).

[rotag]

The 2 I did @ mammouth was historic & new entrance. What 2 did you do?

[maverick2007]

Those caves really remind me of the Olentangy Indian Caverns near Columbus.

[The Interpreter]

Having been to both many times, I agree. I must say, however, that by comparison the ones in Kentucky are mammoth.

[Avatar]

Thanks Rotag1299 for the report. I seen on Facebook that you where there and I enjoyed the pictures then to. I had not been to that area since I was about 8-9 years old, so your trip actually has gotten me to look into taking the family down for a weekend trip, hopefully this off season. Thanks for sharing your experience on such a cool place.

[rotag]

Thank you avatar, but as a reminder, even though they have other stuff to do also (a.k.a. Go-karts, a western style THEME park, wax museum) but those things are seasonal just like KI is.

[Avatar]

Thanks for the reminder, I am planning to keep it to mostly the cave tours and save the other activities for when we head to Dollywood later in the year. The thing is the caves run close to the same temperatures in the winter as they do in the Summer, so I think it would be a good choice to help get the family out during the winter months.

[gigacoaster2k]

I am just now seeing this trip report. I also thought the crickets were spiders too *shudders*

I didn't know that they use their antennae for surroundings or that they can't see. I'm fascinated by nature, I love learning these things. Awesome PTR, looks like you had a great time.

[rotag]

i did, thank you, you should come cavin with me, bring tom also.

[SOB_TOM]

I remember going to Diamond Caves when I was going to school at WKU. Kinda wish they still allowed wedding at the chapel in there.....

Next time you go down, head to Hidden River Cave. When I went, the water level was too high to take the tour, but to see water rising from the ground, and the ecology around there, it was something else.

[mtl2013]

That looks like it must have been a lot of fun! If you are into that kind of thing ,you should go up to Hocking Hills, if you havent already been there, haha . Its great! my favorite is old man's cave.

Also, if you do go there, try and get into the zipline tour. Its amazing! there are about 10 zips, the highest is about 100ft off the ground, adn the longest is about 2 football fields.

Thanks for the report! hope you had a good time!