Mammoth Cave Domes and Dripstones Tour Part 1 - Domes
As you may recall, we visited Mammoth Cave National Park as part of the Summer of Fun 2024. We enjoyed it so much that we went back for a second visit.
Because Mammoth Cave is so large, deserving its “mammoth” name, there are several different tours available. So for our second visit, we decided to take a different tour from the Historic Tour of our first visit. The Domes and Dripstones tour sounded interesting, partly because we did not see many dripstones in the first tour, and those are common in many caves around the world. Plus, the length and difficulty level were about the same as the Historic Tour, so we knew that we could do it. We made sure to have a reservation before we went, just to be sure that we got to go on the tour that we wanted.
There was lots to see on this tour, so there will be two posts.1 This one focuses on the domes, since they came first in the tour. Here we go!
Unlike the Historic Tour, which started near the Visitor Center, this one started at what is known as the New Entrance. The entrance is some distance away from the Visitor Center, so we rode buses to get there.
And here is Laura in front of the bus before we boarded. Just to prove that we were really there.
Our ranger tour guide stands in front of the New Entrance. The name is a bit misleading, as the entrance was blasted into the wall of a sinkhole over 100 years ago, before this was a national park.2 Looks secure enough, too. No bats are going to come flying out of there at night. Except when someone opens the door. By the way, no bats came flying out on our tour.
You may have trouble telling what you are looking at here, but this was looking up into one of the “domes”. The domes are high areas in the cave, and there were several on this tour. It was difficult to tell in the dark, but they looked really tall!
Looking up into another dome. Maybe not what you might expect a dome to look like, but it was impressive to see in person.
And yet another look up into a dome. They might get repetitive in photos, but each one was unique and interesting. And difficult to photograph due to the low light levels and the expanse of the space.
We eventually reached some larger areas of the cave that were not quite as cramped as some of the dome areas were. By the way, they said that the twisting, turning staircases that wove through the domes were designed and installed by submarine builders, since they had experience with staircases in tight spaces.
Another view of one of the larger areas of this tour, along with some of our fellow tourers. This tour had around 100 people in it, although we were usually spread out pretty far along the paths.
Yes, this photo is similar to the previous one. In fact, for this photo I was standing where the guy in the previous photo was standing to take a photo. But I liked both versions, so I included them here. From this point, we moved on to the Dripstones portion of the tour, so…
Mammoth Love
Even bigger than Mammoth Cave is God’s love for us. You might even call it mammoth love. Not because wooly mammoths are involved, but because it is a mammoth-sized love.
And accordingly, we should have a mammoth love for others, too. Not just those people that we like or that are easy to love, but all people, no matter what.
One of the commands from the Bible that is sometimes the most difficult is that we love our enemies. While it might be hard, and while it might seem impossible, it is what we are told to do.
Loving our enemies as well as our friends is indeed a mammoth love, but it can be done.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” - Matthew 5:43-45
About the Photos
As with the previous Mammoth Cave photos, it was rather dark inside the cave. I had my 35mm prime lens on the camera, so that I could open the aperture wide. I still had to use a high ISO setting, which meant that there would be some grain in the photos, but I don’t mind that too much.
Photo: Each photo is a single Raw exposure, processed in Raw Therapee and GIMP.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: Rokinon 35mm f/1.8
Date: July 7, 2024
Location: Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
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But you probably guessed that from the “Part 1” in the title. So just like on those television shows, don’t be surprised when you see the “To Be Continued” words at the end. ↩︎
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I suppose everything stays new until something newer comes along. For example, how long has New York been “new”? ↩︎
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See, I told you it was coming. ↩︎
