We had moved from Huntsville, Alabama to Park City, Kentucky to stay at Diamond Caverns Resort and Golf Club in Park City, KY. This is a Thousand Trails Park. We originally were going to stay here until April 18 but first, there was a national request to stay indoors for 30 days and then we were informed by the parks in Michigan that we had reservations with that they had closed their doors and we were only allowed if we were annual members or resided in the state. Therefore, we were extended in Diamond Caverns until the end of the month. Thankfully, Thousand Trails was not going to charge us extra to stay that long. By the end of the month, we will be self-quarantined for seven (7) weeks. All in all this is something we have to adjust to – as with everyone else.
There are many parks in the area: Diamond Caverns, Mammoth Caverns, Hidden River Cave, Lost River Cave, and Outlaw Cave. We wish we could visit them all but they are all closed. We will have to do that on our next trip. However, we decided to visit the areas.
First, Diamond Caverns is right outside of our RV park so we were able to walk to the main entrance. “For over 160 years Historic Diamond Caverns has offered tours of Kentucky’s most beautiful cave. Presented by state-of-the-art lighting, Diamond Caverns features intricate drapery deposits lining the halls in cascades of naturally colorful calcite. Thousands of formations decorate the cathedral-like chambers. ”
According to the sign outside, the Cavern was discovered in 1859 by a slave who “was lowered into a pit”.
Since we could not go in, we have pulled a few pictures from the internet which is one of the reasons we wanted to come here.
Across from the RV park is a trail that will allow you to walk 7 miles from the Park all the way down to Mammoth Cave. Of course we haven’t made that hike yet but Mike is planning on doing a one-way by the end of the month (Go Mike!)
So we went down to Mammoth Cave Visitor’s Center (which was closed, of course). “Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky, USA, is a remarkable cave system, the largest in the world, and also one of America’s earliest tourist attractions as caves have intrigued humans ever since our earliest ancestors lived in them. Mammoth Cave is now known to be connected to many other cave systems in the state of Kentucky and is a World Heritage Site.” “
It was formed from limestone and topped by a layer of sandstone rock, which has made it stable throughout the eons. The sandstone cap , however, means that there are not as many stalactites in the caves as would be expected.
“The caves were formed over 300 million years ago and are some 400 miles (643.74 km) long. It has taken over a century to explore the systems because of its long labyrinthine nature and spelunkers ( potholers) are constantly discovering new passageways in this remarkable geological wonder.”
We really wished we could walk through these caves. We certainly will plan on coming back!
(By the way, if you want to do some binge watching, highly suggest you watch the National Parks series on PBS. This series explains how the parks were created and by who. Did you realize that Yosemite Park was the first National Park?)
They have a display of all of the tours that they offer. Some are tough for sure. When we return (eventually), we certainly want to take one or two of these. We probably will take the Easy or maybe a Moderate one. We probably could not finish a strenuous one which is the Grand Avenue Tour which includes “hundreds of steps”.
Of course, we needed to add pictures from the web on these caverns.
After visiting the Visitor Center, we decided to take a hike on the Green River Bluffs Trail. Luckily we run into only two other people on the trail who stayed away from us when we stepped aside for them to pass.
So this is what we are doing during our quarantine. Wished they would open before May 1 but if not, we are hoping our next RV park will be open so we can move. Hope everyone is safe.
