{"id":3802,"date":"2014-09-19T12:12:35","date_gmt":"2014-09-19T12:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/?p=3802"},"modified":"2022-07-05T17:56:58","modified_gmt":"2022-07-05T17:56:58","slug":"mammoth-caves-the-largest-cave-system-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/?p=3802","title":{"rendered":"Mammoth Caves &#8211; the largest cave system in the world!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We visited Cave City, KY in order to see the Mammoth Cave. We&#8217;ve seen several caves\/caverns on our travels and definitely wanted to see this one.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s the most extensive cave system known to man. That&#8217;s saying a LOT. That said, however, it certainly isn&#8217;t the most unique or spectacular cave we&#8217;ve seen. There are very few formations&#8230;VERY few! Most of the cave that we saw on a 2 hour tour was limestone tunnels carved by water, and caverns where huge boulders had fallen from the ceiling to the floor of the cavern caused by the less solid limestone wearing away and causing the more solid sandstone to be unsupported&#8230;thus falling in huge chunks.<\/p>\n<p>It was still a very interesting tour! It started with 280 steps down a metal staircase that was only wide enough for 1 person at a time, and several times you had to duck or turn sideways to get past a rock jutting out into the staircase. My mild claustrophobia kicked in a few times, but at least the narrow areas were high and only for a step or two. I concentrated on the people in front of me!<\/p>\n<p>Several of the pictures below are of the natural downward tunnel where they built the staircase.<\/p>\n<p>We walked past lots of rooms and tunnels and finally got to an area that did have some formations. It&#8217;s called the Little Niagara because the major formation looks like a rock waterfall! We also saw some cave crickets! We didn&#8217;t see any bats although there are some in the cave, just not in the area we toured.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some pictures:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" scoped>.rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952Spinner{\r\n\t\t\t\tmargin: 50px auto;\r\n\t\t\t\twidth: 50px;\r\n\t\t\t\theight: 40px;\r\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\r\n\t\t\t\tfont-size: 10px;\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t.rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952Spinner > div{\r\n\t\t\t  background-color: #333;\r\n\t\t\t  height: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t  width: 6px;\r\n\t\t\t  display: inline-block;\r\n\t\t\t  -webkit-animation: rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952-stretchdelay 1.2s infinite ease-in-out;\r\n\t\t\t  animation: rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952-stretchdelay 1.2s infinite ease-in-out;\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t.rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952Spinner .rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952Rect2 {\r\n\t\t\t  -webkit-animation-delay: -1.1s;\r\n\t\t\t  animation-delay: -1.1s;\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t.rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952Spinner .rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952Rect3 {\r\n\t\t\t  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id=\"rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952-block-loader\" class=\"rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952Spinner\"><div class=\"rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952Rect1\"><\/div> <div class=\"rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952Rect2\"><\/div> <div class=\"rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952Rect3\"><\/div> <div class=\"rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952Rect4\"><\/div> <div class=\"rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952Rect5\"><\/div><\/div><div id=\"robo_gallery_main_block_rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952\" class=\"robogallery-gallery-6983\" style=\"width:100%;  display: none;\"><div id=\"rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952\" data-options=\"rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952\" style=\"width:100%;\" class=\"robo_gallery  \"><div class=\"rbs-img  category6983 \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-image   rbs-lightbox \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-thumbs\"  data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/A-hole-in-the-ceiling-of-the-open-cave-area-300x199.jpg\"  title=\"A hole in the ceiling of the open cave area\"  data-width=\"300\"  data-height=\"199\" ><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img-data-popup\"  data-popup=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/A-hole-in-the-ceiling-of-the-open-cave-area.jpg\"  title=\"A hole in the ceiling of the open cave area\" ><\/div><div class=\"thumbnail-overlay\"><div class=\"rbsTitle \">A hole in the ceiling of the open cave area<\/div><div class=\"rbsIcons\"><i class=\"fa fa-search-plus rbsZoomIcon \" ><\/i><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img  category6983 \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-image   rbs-lightbox \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-thumbs\"  data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Looking-down-at-the-tunnel-of-280-narrow-steps-3-300x199.jpg\"  title=\"Looking down at the tunnel of 280 narrow steps 3\"  data-width=\"300\"  data-height=\"199\" ><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img-data-popup\"  data-popup=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Looking-down-at-the-tunnel-of-280-narrow-steps-3.jpg\"  title=\"Looking down at the tunnel of 280 narrow steps 3\" ><\/div><div class=\"thumbnail-overlay\"><div class=\"rbsTitle \">Looking down at the tunnel of 280 narrow steps 3<\/div><div class=\"rbsIcons\"><i class=\"fa fa-search-plus rbsZoomIcon \" ><\/i><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img  category6983 \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-image   rbs-lightbox \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-thumbs\"  data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Looking-down-at-the-tunnel-of-280-narrow-steps-2-300x199.jpg\"  title=\"Looking down at the tunnel of 280 narrow steps 2\"  data-width=\"300\"  data-height=\"199\" ><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img-data-popup\"  data-popup=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Looking-down-at-the-tunnel-of-280-narrow-steps-2.jpg\"  title=\"Looking down at the tunnel of 280 narrow steps 2\" ><\/div><div class=\"thumbnail-overlay\"><div class=\"rbsTitle \">Looking down at the tunnel of 280 narrow steps 2<\/div><div class=\"rbsIcons\"><i class=\"fa fa-search-plus rbsZoomIcon \" ><\/i><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img  category6983 \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-image   rbs-lightbox \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-thumbs\"  data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Looking-down-at-the-tunnel-of-280-narrow-steps-1-199x300.jpg\"  title=\"Looking down at the tunnel of 280 narrow steps 1\"  data-width=\"199\"  data-height=\"300\" ><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img-data-popup\"  data-popup=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Looking-down-at-the-tunnel-of-280-narrow-steps-1.jpg\"  title=\"Looking down at the tunnel of 280 narrow steps 1\" ><\/div><div class=\"thumbnail-overlay\"><div class=\"rbsTitle \">Looking down at the tunnel of 280 narrow steps 1<\/div><div class=\"rbsIcons\"><i class=\"fa fa-search-plus rbsZoomIcon \" ><\/i><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img  category6983 \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-image   rbs-lightbox \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-thumbs\"  data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Draperies-formation-2-199x300.jpg\"  title=\"Draperies formation 2\"  data-width=\"199\"  data-height=\"300\" ><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img-data-popup\"  data-popup=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Draperies-formation-2.jpg\"  title=\"Draperies formation 2\" ><\/div><div class=\"thumbnail-overlay\"><div class=\"rbsTitle \">Draperies formation 2<\/div><div class=\"rbsIcons\"><i class=\"fa fa-search-plus rbsZoomIcon \" ><\/i><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img  category6983 \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-image   rbs-lightbox \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-thumbs\"  data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Draperies-formation-1-199x300.jpg\"  title=\"Draperies formation 1\"  data-width=\"199\"  data-height=\"300\" ><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img-data-popup\"  data-popup=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Draperies-formation-1.jpg\"  title=\"Draperies formation 1\" ><\/div><div class=\"thumbnail-overlay\"><div class=\"rbsTitle \">Draperies formation 1<\/div><div class=\"rbsIcons\"><i class=\"fa fa-search-plus rbsZoomIcon \" ><\/i><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img  category6983 \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-image   rbs-lightbox \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-thumbs\"  data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/A-large-open-cave-area-300x199.jpg\"  title=\"A large open cave area\"  data-width=\"300\"  data-height=\"199\" ><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img-data-popup\"  data-popup=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/A-large-open-cave-area.jpg\"  title=\"A large open cave area\" ><\/div><div class=\"thumbnail-overlay\"><div class=\"rbsTitle \">A large open cave area<\/div><div class=\"rbsIcons\"><i class=\"fa fa-search-plus rbsZoomIcon \" ><\/i><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img  category6983 \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-image   rbs-lightbox \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-thumbs\"  data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/A-cave-cricket-300x199.jpg\"  title=\"A cave cricket\"  data-width=\"300\"  data-height=\"199\" ><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img-data-popup\"  data-popup=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/A-cave-cricket.jpg\"  title=\"A cave cricket\" ><\/div><div class=\"thumbnail-overlay\"><div class=\"rbsTitle \">A cave cricket<\/div><div class=\"rbsIcons\"><i class=\"fa fa-search-plus rbsZoomIcon \" ><\/i><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img  category6983 \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-image   rbs-lightbox \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-thumbs\"  data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/The-Frozen-Niagara-waterfall-199x300.jpg\"  title=\"The Frozen Niagara waterfall\"  data-width=\"199\"  data-height=\"300\" ><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img-data-popup\"  data-popup=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/The-Frozen-Niagara-waterfall.jpg\"  title=\"The Frozen Niagara waterfall\" ><\/div><div class=\"thumbnail-overlay\"><div class=\"rbsTitle \">The Frozen Niagara waterfall<\/div><div class=\"rbsIcons\"><i class=\"fa fa-search-plus rbsZoomIcon \" ><\/i><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img  category6983 \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-image   rbs-lightbox \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-thumbs\"  data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Looking-down-at-the-tunnel-of-280-narrow-steps-4-199x300.jpg\"  title=\"Looking down at the tunnel of 280 narrow steps 4\"  data-width=\"199\"  data-height=\"300\" ><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img-data-popup\"  data-popup=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Looking-down-at-the-tunnel-of-280-narrow-steps-4.jpg\"  title=\"Looking down at the tunnel of 280 narrow steps 4\" ><\/div><div class=\"thumbnail-overlay\"><div class=\"rbsTitle \">Looking down at the tunnel of 280 narrow steps 4<\/div><div class=\"rbsIcons\"><i class=\"fa fa-search-plus rbsZoomIcon \" ><\/i><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img  category6983 \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-image   rbs-lightbox \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-thumbs\"  data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Looking-UP-the-tunnel-of-280-narrow-steps-300x199.jpg\"  title=\"Looking UP the tunnel of 280 narrow steps\"  data-width=\"300\"  data-height=\"199\" ><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img-data-popup\"  data-popup=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Looking-UP-the-tunnel-of-280-narrow-steps.jpg\"  title=\"Looking UP the tunnel of 280 narrow steps\" ><\/div><div class=\"thumbnail-overlay\"><div class=\"rbsTitle \">Looking UP the tunnel of 280 narrow steps<\/div><div class=\"rbsIcons\"><i class=\"fa fa-search-plus rbsZoomIcon \" ><\/i><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img  category6983 \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-image   rbs-lightbox \" ><div class=\"rbs-img-thumbs\"  data-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Rocks-that-have-fallen-into-a-cave-300x199.jpg\"  title=\"Rocks that have fallen into a cave\"  data-width=\"300\"  data-height=\"199\" ><\/div><div class=\"rbs-img-data-popup\"  data-popup=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Rocks-that-have-fallen-into-a-cave.jpg\"  title=\"Rocks that have fallen into a cave\" ><\/div><div class=\"thumbnail-overlay\"><div class=\"rbsTitle \">Rocks that have fallen into a cave<\/div><div class=\"rbsIcons\"><i class=\"fa fa-search-plus rbsZoomIcon \" ><\/i><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><script>var rbs_gallery_69e5b671a6952 = 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We&#8217;ve seen several caves\/caverns on our travels and definitely wanted to see this one. It&#8217;s the most extensive cave system known to man. That&#8217;s saying a LOT. That said, however, it certainly isn&#8217;t the most unique or spectacular cave we&#8217;ve seen. There are &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/?p=3802\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Mammoth Caves &#8211; the largest cave system in the world!<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-80-cave-city-ky"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3802"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6985,"href":"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3802\/revisions\/6985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retired-openroad.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}