Hiking at Mammoth Cave National Park

Usually when people think about Mammoth Cave National Park they think about the underground caverns.  And rightly so since Mammoth Cave is the most extensive cave system on earth.  However, there is a lot above ground as well.  The 53,000 surface acres offer a place for camping, canoeing, kayaking, bicycling, hiking, horseback riding, and auto touring.  We, of course, are interested in the trails and we went there today for a hike.

With about 60 miles of trail in the park, we had many to choose from.  There are horse trails, bike trails, and hiking trails.  Since hikers are allowed on all the trails, we selected Good Spring Loop trail which is actually a horse trail.  The loop is about 7.5 miles over gently rolling hills through primarily hardwood forest which gave us a good workout.

We haven’t been to Mammoth Cave in several years, probably about 10.  We didn’t have a trail map and couldn’t remember many details about the park, so our first stop was at the Visitor Center.  We were surprised to see a new Visitor Center under construction.  Only one wing is left to be completed; the main building was open.  It’s very nice.  The old building, as I recall, was way past it’s prime.  We picked up a trail map and were on our way.

Parking for our trail was at Good Spring Church.  To get there we had to first catch the ferry across the Green River.  At the end of the paved road we had about a mile of gravel road before getting to the church parking area.

Good Spring Baptist Church is still in use today with worship services, homecomings, and other special events.  It was reminiscent of the pioneer churches within Smoky Mountain National Park, especially in the Cade’s Cove area.  These churches were here long before the parks were parks and many of them like Good Spring Church still serve the descendants of those original members.

We finally got on the trail about 10 AM.  Being a horse trail, we had to be careful where we put our feet and like most horse trails, it was pretty beat up in places.  Because there hasn’t been any rain for several days, the trail was dry even in these spots that would normally be a mud pit.  Even the creeks were nearly dry.

We walked the first mile and a half without seeing another soul.  We stopped for a break and the late starters caught up with us.  But they weren’t hikers--they were horseback riders.  Altogether today we saw about 30 horses.  We were shocked that so many people were out.  Of course, it was a beautiful day.  Still, we had no idea the trails here had become so popular.

We were glad we went.  It was 97 miles from our campsite to the trailhead.  That’s a long way to drive for a 7 mile hike, especially on a horse trail.  But the drive was fast along I-65, the traffic was light, and it was some place different to go.  The scenery and terrain were not that different from what we have right here in Nashville at Warner Parks, but it seemed more like a real outing because we got out of town.  We had a great day.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for tagging along.

Women's Rights in Seneca Falls, New York

Seneca Falls, New York is a small village along the Erie Canal. In the early 19th century it was a mill town. The falls of Seneca Falls provided waterpower to run the factories. The Erie Canal, linked to Seneca Falls in 1828, eliminated the falls but still provided waterpower for the factories. Seneca Falls was a prospering little town.

Along Erie Canal in Seneca Falls

An old mill on the canal

Today, Seneca Falls may be best known as the birthplace of the Women’s Rights Movement. Congress established the Women’s Rights National Historical Park in 1980. We were very impressed with the facility. Inside the Visitor’s Center was a near life size sculpture of the organizers and supporters of the first Women’s Rights Convention. Included in the sculpture are Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frederick Douglass, the M’Clintocks, Motts, and Hunts.

Statue of Convention organizers

Only a portion of the walls and roof are left of the Wesleyan Chapel were the Convention took place with some 300 people in attendance, both men and women. It was in the Wesleyan Chapel that Stanton read the Declaration of Sentiments demanding equal rights for women. Between the Chapel and the Visitor’s Center is a small park in which a granite wall has been erected. The Declaration of Sentiments has been etched into the granite along with the names of the people who signed it at the convention in 1848.

What's left of Wesleyan Chapel

Wall with Declaration of Sentiments

Across the canal, down the street, and around the corner is the Stanton House. It wasn’t furnished like so many of the homes of the famous operated by the National Park Service. However, there was a very knowledgeable Ranger who explained in detail all you ever want to know about Elizabeth Cady Stanton. We were the only ones there so we got a private tour. It was great.

Stanton House

M'Clintock House

In the next village over, Waterloo, is the restored home of the M’Clintocks. It was in this home that the draft of the Declaration of Sentiments was written.

We enjoyed our day. Gene especially had fun clowning around at the statue depicting the meeting of Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

Gene meets Susan Anthony

Valley Forge National Historical Park

Sunday we visited Valley Forge, the site of George Washington’s winter encampment in 1777. The park is very large and offers several ways to see the buildings and memorials scattered over 3,500 acres. We chose the 10-mile driving tour which makes a loop beginning at the Visitor’s Center. There is a walking tour which is about 6 miles in length along a paved walkway. Bicyclist may use either the road or the paved path. For a fee there is a guided trolley tour. There are also horse and walking trails which meander through the park, but don’t connect directly to the sites.

Replicas of the huts used by the soldiers.

There are also various ways to know what you are seeing. We watched the short film at the visitor center before our tour. That gave us a good overview of what was happening here in the winter of 1777. We could have purchased a CD in the gift shop to play as we drove the loop. However, we used our cell phone to dial into recorded messages which explained each site in detail. This was free for us since we have unlimited minutes on weekends and no roaming charges. Know your calling plan before selecting this option. There are, of course, interpretive panels all along the way. At some of the stops there were living history interpreters dressed in period dress, answering questions. On this particular day, there were also storytellers at some of the sites. They are not here everyday. We got lucky.

Gen. Von Stueben

Inside Gen. Varnum's headquarters.

Washington's Headquarters

Along the tour we saw replicas of the huts the soldiers built for their living quarters, Washington’s Headquarters, Quarters of General James Varnum, statues and memorials to various soldiers, generals, and companies. Perhaps the most impressive was the National Memorial Arch in honor of the soldiers who wintered at Valley Forge. Also included in the tour, but not actually part of the park, was Washington Memorial Chapel.

Inside Gen Washington's Headquarters

Re-enactors gave demonstrations of how things were.

National Memorial Arch

Washington Memorial Chapel

We took our picnic, of course, and found a table under a shade tree for lunch. Gene commented that he would have liked to see many, many huts so that it would look more like it did in 1777. There were several huts scattered about, but certainly not the thousands which would have been required to house the army of 12,000 to 20,000. I liked it being a mostly open space. I could imagine the huts, the mud, the snow, but the open space somehow commanded more reverence for the men who fought for our country.