A self-guided tour seemed in order for today as almost all tours were sold out; thankfully, we have reservations for the Historic Tour tomorrow. We ended up hopping onto a Mammoth Passage tour which was departing in 5 minutes and had about 40-50 people on it, most were families with small children. It was fun to see the excitement of the little kids, and the tour guide really knew how to speak to them and keep things moving. We learned about the failed commercial mushroom-growing venture, the saltpeter mining during the War of 1812 to make gunpowder, and artifacts left by early Native Americans. She showed us what the cave looks like by candle light, then no light, and one small voice said, “I do” when our guide asked us if we wanted the lights back on. She briefly talked about the geology of the limestone (deposited 350mya) which easily erodes and the harder sandstone cap layer that serves to keep water out and preserve the caves left behind while the streams continue to make new cave tunnels at the current waterline below us. The lack of stalactites and stalagmites in this part of the cave is due to that sandstone layer keeping the environment here dry. The passageways are really big—hence the name “Mammoth”.

Mammoth Cave tours started in 1816 after the saltpeter mining operation shutdown at the end of the War of 1812, and became popular as descriptions of the enormity of the cave spread. Stephen Bishop, an enslaved man at the beginning of his career, became a very popular guide and explorer starting in 1838. The saltpeter mining had been done by slaves, ironically working to make gunpowder to maintain our fledgling country’s independence when their own independence would not be granted for another half-century.

After lunch and some work time for Tony, we hiked some of the trails around the visitors center. We found the Old Guides Cemetery where Stephen Bishop and others are buried. We hiked the Sunset Point trail down to the Green River which is very high right now, and came back up by the Dixon Cave. We stood on top of Lookout Mountain which we saw in the cave this morning, and found the Mammoth Dome Sink where we will climb back up to the main level of the cave tomorrow.

The cats were fine, sleeping in Usain which was parked in the shade in the overflow parking lot. This one spot (on top of Audubon Avenue in the cave below) was in the shade for most of the day and open toward the north for dishy.