Mammoth Trip

We wrapped up summer break (school starts early August this year!) with a camping trip at Mammoth Cave National Park. Of course, we had to stop at a favorite southern staple restaurant on the way...

 Our campsite was lovely and peaceful!

 We all enjoyed the nightly ranger talks at the amphitheater more than we thought we might, and learned a lot about the history of cave exploration in the area (dynamite was a favorite cave exploration "tool" during the "cave wars" in the early 1900s), plus learned about sinkholes and karst topography.

 It's tough to take pictures in a dimly lit cave, but this place is definitely worth the visit. Kids did great on a four-hour, four-mile grand tour! We liked the funny story about a visitor in the early 1900s who left his group to retrieve a dropped hat and was lost in the cave in the dark for almost two days before being rescued.

 Shave ice at sunset was perfect after spending an afternoon under ground.