Rats ... Bats!

One of the things I love about blogging is that it gives me an opportunity to answer some of those “Why … ?” questions which always seem to be rolling around in my head.  Case in point time zones and, more specifically, why some states in the U.S. actually have two different zones.  We first encountered this phenomenon when touring Idaho back in 2002, but I never addressed it then.  When it happened to us again, I decided to do a bit of poking around to discover “Why … ?”

In 1878, a man named Sanford Fleming proposed the idea of dividing the world into 24 equal zones to combat the Earth’s rotation and afford everyone the same number of hours for daylight regardless of where they lived.  Several years later railroads jumped on the bandwagon as they pushed westward and needed standard times to properly schedule their trains.  In 1918, Congress conceded and passed the Standard Time Act.  Four time zones in the United States—Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific—became official.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy.  The map dividing our country into time zones doesn’t always follow state lines.  The determination as to how to set the clock became a political matter.  Governments of towns and villages located at the points where a time zone intersects a state ultimately decided in which they wanted to be. 

There are actually 13 states comprised of two time zones, one of which I was surprised to learn is Michigan.  Most of the Mitten State is in the Eastern Time Zone, but the counties of Dickinson, Gogebic, Iron and Menominee in the western Upper Peninsula are in the Central Time Zone. Who knew?  Kentucky is also one of the two-zone states.  As we travelled south from Lincoln’s Boyhood Home and headed to another national park, we crossed into the Central Time Zone and gained an hour.  I love when that happens!  (Yeah, I know.  That was kind of a long segue ... )

We arrived at Mammoth Cave National Park shortly before noon.  The Visitor Center was teeming with tourists, but that was expected.  Not only was it a holiday weekend, but during peak season the park receives 5,000-7,000 visitors daily.  Although advanced reservations are available for various cave tours, we decided to wing it.  Despite the masses, we had no problem scoring tickets.  I really wanted to do the six-hour Wild Cave Tour which allows you to go off trail, but Mark wasn’t eager to jump into that hole.  We compromised, settled on the Historic Tour, and journeyed for two hours over two miles along a route that has been followed for 200 years.  Consider yourself warned … taking photos of caves in low light conditions in a place that doesn’t allow camera tripods is bad enough, but throw in having to keep pace with 120 of our newest friends and pictures are bound to be sketchy.

Even before we descended through the historic natural opening discovered in 1798, we felt a change in temperature.  Needless to say, the cool 54 degrees was a welcomed relief from the oppressive heat topside. 

We traveled along the main underground avenue and learned about the cave’s formation, history and unique features.

Whoever was responsible for naming the caverns of central Kentucky was spot on.  With over 390 miles of surveyed passageways, Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system in the world.  And geologists believe there could still be another 600 miles of undiscovered tunnels.  Ginormous?  Ya think?  We felt dwarfed upon entering the massive labyrinth but were in total awe.

Mammoth Cave is compromised of limestone and, like most major caves, was formed slowly as the calcium carbonate was dissolved by water seeping into the ground.  As the water worked its magic, the limestone eroded and a honeycomb of underground passageways and rooms emerged.  Interestingly, this is an ongoing process and the cave continues to form today.  The limestone ridges are capped by a protective upper layer of sandstone, almost 50 feet thick in some places, which render this cave system very stable.

The history of these caves dates back thousands of years, from Native American Indians who hunted the Green River valley to European settlers who mined for saltpeter to make gunpowder.  By the end of the War of 1812, the notoriety of Mammoth Caves had grown and more people started to visit.  Stephen Bishop soon became one of its well-known guides. 

Bishop was an African-American slave of then-cave owner Frank Gorlin.  At Gorlin’s directive, he explored many miles of the vast cavern, was one of the first people to make extensive maps of the system and named many of the cave’s features.  He began guiding visitors at the age of 17 by lamplight and continued to do so until he died in 1857.  He is interred in the park’s cemetery located above the cave.

Photo from nps.gov

Our present-day tour was lit by the conveniences of modern technology and led by park rangers who detailed the old saltpeter mine works and pointed out the cave’s unique formations. 

The website had warned that this was not the tour for those prone to fear of heights or claustrophobia, as was evidenced by the Bottomless Pit—which drops 105 feet deep—and Fat Man’s Misery.  Donut lovers beware!

The large cavern which follows this narrow tunnel is actually 280 feet below the surface.  Though it has been excavated and is now easier to navigate, when Bishop first explored this area of the cave it was barely large enough for him to crawl through.  When he reach the cavern, he named it the Hall of Great Relief.  Amusingly, restroom facilities have been built at this site.  Coincidence or just a cheesy guide spiel?

As with any ecosystem, Mammoth Cave has its own interactive biological community.  More than 130 forms of life inhabit the cave system and have acclimated to living in darkness.  They include eyeless fish and shrimp, cave crickets and snails.  And bats.  In fact, there are an estimated 9-12 million living in just the Historic section of the cave.  Rats … now you tell me.  Snakes I can handle.  Spiders?  No problem.  But I absolutely abhor mice, and in my mind bats are mice with wings. Good thing we only crossed paths with one of them!

But I do recognize measures must be made to protect nature in all forms and was troubled to learn that White-Nose Syndrome is considered to be present in Mammoth Cave.  While it is not harmful to humans, since the fungus was discovered in 2006 it has been responsible for killing more than 1 million bats throughout the eastern U.S.  In an effort to contain and control it, everyone who participates in a tour is required to walk on bio security mats saturated with Lysol after exiting the cave.

The grand finale of the Historic Tour was Mammoth Dome.  Short of backtracking for two miles and two hours, the Mammoth Dome Tower connecting the lower cave trail to the upper cave trail is the only way out.  Climbing 138 steps of a steep steel tower to transcend a cavernous dome which stretches 192 feet from floor to ceiling?  Okay, I’ll confess to a wee bit of acrophobia here.

Back on top the surface area of the park includes over 47,000 acres of the picturesque hills and woodlands of Kentucky.

They are perfect for hiking, biking, horseback riding, and canoeing or kayaking.  Had we more time and the heat been more bearable, we would have meandered down a trail or two to see more of the native flora and fauna, sinkholes and historic buildings.  We opted instead for an air-conditioned scenic drive around the park, which at one point involved fording the Green River via ferry!

There’s so much more to see and do at Mammoth Cave National Park than what we obviously could accomplish in a half-day.  A return trip is definitely in order.  I may be prone to a fear of heights on occasion, but that won’t stop me from further exploration of what lies underground.  I have no qualms about donning knee pads, a hard hat and head lamp to belly-crawl through rarely-visited muddy passages and explore in the dark.  I just need a willing partner in slime.  Any takers?