Underground Kayaking and New River Gorge National Park

The Red River Gorge Underground Crystal Kayak Tour was fabulous!

Our destination on Tuesday, 5/12, was another Harvest Host site, The Mill@ Slate Creek near Mt. Sterling, KY. We arrived at The Mill, a small family farm, in the early afternoon and got set up in a great spot next to the barn.  From the products available, we picked up some amazing pork chops, home cured bacon, a pork butt, ground pork, beer cheese and baked goods too. My freezer is now stuffed. Lol.

The Mill@Slate Creek, another excellent Harvest Host spot.

So we did a thing. On travel days, we usually don’t make any other plans, but we had one shot at this and decided to go for it. Our campsite was about 45 minutes away from the Red River Gorge where they offer the Gorge Underground Crystal Kayak Tour. The kayak tour is in a flooded limestone mine using clear Lexan kayaks fitted with LED lights. It just looked soooo cool! 

We had a group of eight, with two guides and a photographer. Full disclosure, most of these pictures aren’t mine. Lol. I tried really, really hard, but it was so dark that very few of my pictures turned out. But for just $10, I got over 30 digital prints from their photographer. What a deal!

And yes, even with the sign they still let me in. Lol. 

Fun photo op outside the entrance to the mine.

We got our gear and our guide, McKenzie started off with the usual safety briefing and then led us deeper into the mine. McKenzie told us some of the history, they mined limestone here that was used for the Kentucky turnpike. Over the years they hit the aquifer not once, not twice, but twelve times! When the mine closed and they stopped pumping the water out, it slowly filled up until it was possible to kayak through the tunnels. The depth ranges from a few feet up to 30 feet deep.

Safety briefing first. 

They “crystal” kayaks were so fun, but they certainly had a very different feel than our cushy inflatable Sea Eagle. We had a choice of tandem or single, and decided to each get our own kayak. The water was so clear you can see several feet down, but it was also cold. Even in the summer, the average temperature in the mine is only 52°F to 55°F. So, I had zero interest in swimming! Lol.

We've got our "crystal" kayaks. 

The mine was a bit of a maze, but the guides kept us from wandering too far. The history and geology were interesting, but I really liked the fish. Lol. The mine was stocked with four different kinds of trout. With no natural predators and a free lunch (no natural food source, so the staff feed them) they’ve grown into some monster trout. They are also very interested in the boats since they associate the kayaks with dinnertime. Lol.

Here fishy, fishy. Lol.

Monster trout.

The limestone mine, the LED lights, the clear water, the crystal kayaks, and gorgeous fishies all combined to make this a truly memorable experience. Certainly, a unique tour and one I’d highly recommend.

McKenzie instructs our group of underground adventurers.  

Notice, I'm ignoring the group in favor of the fishies. Lol. 

We left the next morning, Wednesday, 5/13, for Little Beaver State Park in West Virginia. This would be our basecamp to visit New River Gorge National Park. The campground was forested and we had four days scheduled to explore. The pups enjoyed hanging out between our forays into the park.

My pretty camping girl, and...

...our handsome boy.

Campfire time.

New River, which is, ironically, one of the oldest rivers in the world, cuts deeply through the Appalachian Plateau. The National Park spans over 70,000 acres and protects 53 miles of the river in West Virginia. New River originates in North Carolina, flows for 320 miles through Virginia and into West Virginia where it becomes a tributary of the Kanawha River.

The New River.

This part of the New River was mostly inaccessible for centuries. Then, in 1873, the railroad arrived. From 1873 to the 1950’s the region was a powerhouse, producing highly sought after "smokeless coal" that fueled American industries. At one time, the New River Gorge and its surrounding valleys had over 60 active coal mines, some spaced just a half mile apart. The high-quality bituminous coal extracted here burned hot with less smoke and was highly desired by the Navy, railroads, steel mills, and auto industry. You can see the railroad tracks running along the river. We didn’t get a chance to visit the Thurmond Historic District, a railroad ghost town. There is a restored 1910-era train station that serves as a museum, park visitor center, and an Amtrak train stop. Yes, the railroad is still active with trains making daily trips along the river.

The railroad follows the course of the river.

By the time the final mine closed down in 1965, the once bustling towns were mostly abandoned.  Tourism became the new economic driver. As the land recovered, people came to experience one of the nation’s premier stretches of whitewater. To preserve the area, New River Gorge National River was established in 1978 and then redesignated as a National Park in 2020. Several outfitters operate on the river, but the temps were mostly in 50’s and 60’s during our visit – way too chilly for me to want to go whitewater rafting.

Whitewater!

The park is spread out along those 53 miles of river and has multiple Visitor Centers. We stopped first at Sandstone Visitor Center on Thursday, 5/14. It’s at the southern end of the park, close to Sandstone Falls, which are the largest waterfalls on New River. While the drop is only 10 to 25-feet, the falls are 1500 feet wide and mark the transition of the New River from broad bottomlands to a narrow, rugged mountain gorge.

Sandstone Falls.

We learned at the visitor’s center that the iconic New River Gorge Bridge was actually 43 miles away at the other end of the park. Mini road trip! We opted for a loop drive, heading north on narrow, winding two-lane country roads and returning on the highway. The countryside is really beautiful. The deciduous forests remind me a lot of where I grew up in Pennsylvania.

New River Gorge Bridge.

The Canyon Rim Visitor Center was near the bridge and we stopped there and walked to the bridge overlook. The bridge is 3,030 feet long and 876 feet high. It is one of highest bridges in the US and it is the longest single-span arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere. It also reduced the 40 minute drive down winding mountain roads to cross the gorge to less than a minute. Please note there were two overlooks, and we did the optional 148 stairs down to the lower overlook (and the mandatory 148 stairs back up). After all the steps on the cave tour, my calves barely complained. Lol.

I don't think the lower overlook changed the perspective that much.
Not sure the stairs were worth it. Lol.

 

Cardinal and Tulip Tree in bloom outside the visitor's center.

On our last day, Saturday, 5/16, it warmed up to 77 lovely degrees. Rog and I drove to Grandview, another one of the park’s highlights. The overlook showcases a spectacular horseshoe bend in the river. Rog and I did the Castle Rock hike at Grandview. The trail weaves through groves of trees and rhododendron along a towering rock wall. The wall is predominately sandstone, shale, and limestone and in one section you can see a coal seam running along the base of the cliff. It was a fun hike, with lots of rocks to scrabble over and peek-a-boo views of the river far below.

Grandview overlook really is.

The trail was steep and rocky (and fun!).

The castle rock wall.

Rog checking out the coal seam.

Coal anyone?

Trail buddies. A skink and a millipede.

Peek-a-boo river views.

In the afternoon, we took the pups for a hike along Glade Creek, a popular 5.6-mile trail that follows an old abandoned railroad grade. Of course, with Riley slowing down (ok, that sounded like a good excuse) we only hiked a mile or so. But the pups had a blast playing in the creek. Riley did his “croc-a-dog” impersonation, going in all the way up to his chin. Raney is a bit more cautious, but she loved exploring and was happy to dance in and out of the water along the shallow edge of the creek. The trail was gorgeous, running through forest along the creek with views of small waterfalls

Glade Creek.

Riley and Rog on the trail.

Riley is back in his happy place. 

My bookends, posing for a picture, and...

...what I usually see. Lol.

Small waterfalls create deep pools, where the trout (and fishermen) hang out.  

Their comfort zones in the water differ a bit. 

There are two trailheads for Glade Creek and we picked the one that happened to be down a very long, very steep, very narrow gravel/dirt road. On the way out, Rog braked suddenly to avoid running over a snake that nearly spanned the width of the road. He wasn’t sure if it was alive, so I hopped out of the car to see. It wasn’t moving, but it didn’t look squished either. I tossed a piece of gravel and it moved. Ok, dude, you need to get out of the road. Tossing handfuls of gravel at him only seemed to piss him off, instead of moving to the side he started to curl up in the middle of road. I found a stick and tried poking him in the tail, move along dude. That only got me more attitude. The stick was rotten and broke, so I found another and it also fell apart. Now what. The snake was pissed and I was frustrated and nobody was going anywhere. Finally, a guy pulls up behind us. He gets out and I explain the situation. He finds a (not rotten) stick with a little fork at the end and picks up our unhappy friend and tosses him into the brush at the side of the road. Problem solved in about 30 seconds. I just needed a better stick. Oh, and according to the Seek app that I told you about, he was a Grey Rat Snake. Charming guy. Lol.

Snakey attitude.

Not all heroes wear capes.

That was enough excitement for one day. We went back to camp to prepare for our departure the next morning. We’re headed to Virginia to visit my brother, Tom, and his wife, Kim. We have a week of family fun ahead!

Carnivore Heaven and Mammoth Caves National Park

 

Mammoth Caves National Park.

We had one travel day before reaching our next National Park and we’d booked a night at a Harvest Host site in Haubstadt, IN for Friday, 5/8. Although there are a variety of businesses that are Harvest Host sites, the most common are wineries and breweries. Now, you know I have nothing against that, but this one was a little different. Dewig Meats is a family owned and operated uber butcher shop that was established in 1916. They have four nice level spots set aside for guests adjacent to a huge lawn that the pups loved.

Dewig Meats, another great Harvest Host site.

But we were all about the meats. Wow! This wasn’t your typical small town butcher shop, it was huge with a mindboggling choice of meats – everything from a single porkchop to a whole side of beef. And it wasn’t just meats either, there was bread, cheese, snacks, sides, desserts, and beverages. Just about anything you could think of to throw together a carnivore’s dream dinner. Oh, and it just happened to be Rog’s birthday so, of course, we picked up some impressive (and absolutely delicious!) T-bone steaks to celebrate. The pups were not forgotten either, we got a whole bag of marrow bones that should keep them entertained for quite some time. 

The way Harvest Host works is that the overnight stay is free (unless you’re paying for hookups), but guests are expected to patronize the business and spend at least $30. Ahem. Let’s just say we exceeded expectations…by a lot. These “free” stays are killing my budget. Lol.  

Sooooo many choices!

We arrived the next day, Saturday, 5/9, at Mammoth Caves Campground. I really liked the campground, the sites were relatively large and shady with lots of trees. That may not be ideal for either our solar or the Starlink, but it sure makes me happy. The pups enjoyed sitting outside and I was delighted to oblige them.

Much nicer than a gravel parking lot. Lol.

Ahhhhhh. Relaxing with the kids. 

One of the neighbors. Lol.

Sunday was bike day. There was a big single track mountain bike loop that Rog wanted to do and I was interested in the rail to trail in the park. Rog had to take a (very) short ferry ride to get to the mountain bike trailhead and rode a total of 21 miles. He is loving his new Cannondale e-mountain bike. He took pics of an old church on the trail. The Good Springs Baptist Church that was established in 1842. The church is still used occasionally for weddings and other special events. 

Free ferry across the Green River.

Rog on the Big Hollow Trail.

Good Springs Baptist Church, established 1842.

After he got back from that ride, he took a little break, had lunch, and then we set off for the rail to trail. We rode 17 miles roundtrip from the campground to the park entrance on the trail. There were lots of displays along the way with information on the Mammoth Caves Railroad, buildings and early residents of the area. Although the church was long gone, another old cemetery remained with most of the headstones dates in the 1800’s.

Checking out the map before we start.

On the trail. (Love those rail to trails!)

Another old cemetery along the trail.
Most of the headstones are from the mid 1800's. 

The park entry sign was our turnaround point. 

When Mammoth Caves was established as a National Park in 1941, only 40 miles of the passageways had been mapped. Continued exploration and technical advancements in underground mapping led to additional discoveries and Mammoth Caves is now acknowledged as the world’s longest cave with over 400 miles of surveyed passages. The complex network of tunnels looks like a pile of spaghetti! There are about 20 different tours available at Mammoth Caves. We booked ours well in advance, as they do sell out during busy times. There is a huge variety of tours, all but one are Ranger led, and they range from 1½ hours up to 4 hours with various levels of difficulty.  

The yellow squiggles represent the mapped passageways.
No chance of getting lost is there? Lol.

The passageways are classified by shape.
It was fun looking for these on our tour.

We chose the Grand Avenue Tour, since it had components of several of the shorter tours. It was a four-hour, four-mile tour with 1521 stairs. (I didn’t count, but they might have missed a few. Lol.) It was a very different experience from the other caves we’ve explored. Carlsbad Caves, Kartchner Caverns, even the Natural Bridges Caverns that we just saw with Randi and Jose, all showcase the beautiful formations formed by water percolating through the limestone over eons. Although we did see some of those formations, they were few and far between. Why is Mammoth Caves so different? It’s all about the geology. These limestone caves have a large sandstone and shale cap that protected much of the limestone from water intrusion. Where the water did enter through cracks and sinkholes, it tracked downward forming large tunnels and underground rivers that cut through the limestone. That sandstone cap protected the network of tunnels that formed. When the water receded, the miles of passageways remained.

A large Tube passageway.

Examples of a Vertical Shaft.

I'm calling this a Large Canyon.

A Fissure.

Much of Mammoth Caves is considered a “dry” cave, so no stalagmites or stalactites, columns or draperies grew. What did grow were calcite blooms. These delicate crystal formations only grow in dry caves and crumble to dust if handled roughly. Unfortunately, the caves were a popular tourist attraction for many years during an era when conservation and preservation weren’t thought of. Tourists were allowed and often encouraged to take souvenirs from the caves. Thankfully, some areas were protected and we can still see these delicate formations today.

Calcite Blooms.

These fragile formations rarely made it home as souvenirs.

Cave popcorn on the ceiling.

Also on the ceiling and walls...cave crickets! 

We walked for miles (literally) up and down through huge tunnels several stories high that narrowed to spaces where you had to duck and turn sideways and regretted that second scoop of ice cream. And there were the stairs, lots and lots of stairs. The cave system is still being explored and as new passages and connections to other cave systems are found, there’s no telling how long the Mammoth Cave system really is. 

Miles of open passageways and lots of stairs, and... 

...some narrow spots too.

Drapes, one of the more typical cave formations, and...

...stone flows and small columns, too.

The Ranger stopped several times along the way to provide information on the geology and history of the caves. Both were fascinating. The caves were originally privately owned and since the cave system does not follow any property lines, there was a period of “Cave Wars” where everybody that had property with access to a cave vied for the tourists and their money. Competition was fierce and often bloody. In the winter of 1842-1843, Dr. John Croghan converted a portion of Mammoth Cave into an experimental hospital for tuberculosis ("consumption") patients, believing the cave's stable temperature and pure air would cure them. The 16-20 patients lived in stone and wood huts, but the damp, dark environment worsened their condition, leading to several deaths.

Old sign left over from the Sanitorium.

Toward the end of our tour, we had an option to do another 100 stairs down to the Frozen Niagara Falls. Well, the stairs down were optional, but back up was mandatory. Lol.  It was well worth it. The Falls formation was a large flow that you could walk under and behind. I think there are other tours in different parts of the cave that have more of the typical formations that I was expecting to see. With over 400 miles of caves to explore, there’s something for everyone!

Frozen Niagara Falls was the most impressive formation on our tour.

It was very cool going under and behind the Falls.

Crystal Lake, proof that the cave isn't totally dry!

We have another travel day before we make it to another (new to us) National Park. We’ll be visiting New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia. But before we do, we have a special tour booked that looked super cool. What is it? You’ll just have to wait and see. 😊