I will miss you, but I am excited to leave

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When we first starting telling people about our trip—our journey across the country, a summer of freedom without menial jobs, rent payments and utility bills—their first reactions confused us. It wasn’t “Oh how great!” or “Sounds exciting!.” No, instead it was something much more basic.

“What type of car are you driving?”

I suspect they were looking for an answer a little more rugged than what I had to offer, probably some sort of gas-guzzling SUV or camper. So when I said, “my Neon” lets just say that no one thought we could do it. Apparently, fuel-efficient vehicles aren’t supposed to be used for cross-country trips, but with gas topping $3.50 a gallon, we’re already going to be overbudget. I can’t imagine a trip of this scale taking place in a vehicle that requires a $20 fuel deposit just to turn the engine on! We’re about to prove to all those nay-sayers out there that you can easily have fun in the great outdoors without destroying it in the process. This little car may be small, and may be the ‘economy model’ of all economy cars out there, but she is loaded down, oiled up, bikes hitched on back and ready to roll! It really is amazing all the things you don’t need once you have to do without them. Hair-dyer? I haven’t use it in days and you know what? Don’t really miss it. More than three pairs of pants? Well now getting dressed in the morning starts getting complicated. We’re simplifying our existence, and so far, I have nothing to complain about. Makes me wonder just how much of that ‘stuff’ we shipped out ahead of time to our new local is really necessary. Methinks a ‘moving in’ yard-sale is necessary to compliment the ‘moving out’ yard-sale we already had.

We’ve spent the last couple days exploring the area before we go. On Wednesday, we took a day-trip over to Mammoth Cave to do a little spelunking in celebration of my birthday. As a child, I remember the gateway community to Mammoth Cave National Park off I-65, being the best place in the world. Better than Disneyland. Better than the zoo. Cave City had it all. There was a chair-lift up to “Guntown Mountain”, where you could entertain yourself with carnival games, and a loud and shrill (and particular scary) Haunted House. There were enough miniature golf courses to ensure that no family ever had to wait, an ‘Alpine Slide’ that sent you whizzing down the hillside, and a small blown glass store that made it extremely difficult for me to decide on which souvenir to get (it was invariably a horse or unicorn with fancifully colored hair). It was magical.

Today, those once vibrant facades are long past their prime—abandoned and in need of new paint. The buildings are still there, but their owners have either deserted or given up. I hear no bells and whistles, see no lights or children dragging parents too and from. What is left seems tacky and out and place. What happened to this place? Have we become jaded or has a once boom-tourist destination slowly faded from memory (answer: a bit of both).

Mammoth Cave itself is still thriving as a World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve and is one of the most unique National Parks in the country. The most popularly traversed trails take place underground in the more than 350 known miles of passages beneath central Kentucky, but the park itself also encompasses over 50,000 surface acres of limestone Karst topography. We had prepared to purchase our Interagency Pass here today, but to our surprise there are no entrance fees into the park. Instead, fees are charged for each of the subterranean tours on an individual basis. We selected the 2 hr, ¾ mile New Entrance Tour that passed one of the few places in the cave where stalactites and stalagmite formations were found. The absence of these formations elsewhere in the cave is due to a sandstone capstone found throughout much of the park that prevents water from seeping down through the limestone. The cave formations itself are incredible! Formed over millions of year, the water leaches out the carbon from the limestone (calcium carbonate) to form carbonic acid. As the solubility of the carbon in solution decreases, it becomes re-deposited forming the intricate structures that are visible today.

Although the tours are well lit to allow safe passage, at one point during our tour all lights sources were eliminated and we were left in complete and total darkness. It’s an eerie experience not being able to see the hand in front of your face no matter how long you let your eyes adjust. The total darkness found in the depths of the cave permits the survival of several species endemic to the area, such as the southern eyeless cavefish. We would have liked to see some of these creatures dwelling 360 ft below the surface in Echo River, but the tour that permitted access to that area of the cave did not open until the summer season (the week after we were there!). We did, however, see several bats nearer to the cave entrances and an abundance of cave crickets. I suppose we’ll just have to come back.

Back on the homefront, we’ve begun finalizing our equipment lists and packing strategies. On a word-of-mouth referral, we headed over to Yodder’s Bulk Food store a little ways up the road from where we’ve be staying. We’d been told that this store had the best prices on dried fruit in the area and we were not disappointed! This selection is fantastic, the quality is superb and best of all, you get to contribute directly to the local economy. I wish I’d known about it sooner. In a non-descript white Amish style building, where you’re just as likely to see a horse and buggy parked in front as a minivan, Yodder and his wife sell fruit, herbs, crafts and other foodstuffs every day except for Sunday. Willow root, chamomile, ground kava, lavender, flours and sugars or all sorts, sorghum, and fruits I didn’t even know could be dried -you name it, they have it. I regretted packing my herbal glossary in a box to ship as I recognized so many of the herbs and plants, but had completely forgotten how to use them. Our favorite purchases thus far have been the dried chamomile flowers we bought for making tea, and some dried cantaloupe to add to a trial mix.

Naturally, the excitement of heading somewhere new is countered with the inevitable good-byes we say to love ones we are leaving behind. My grandparents, the farm we’ve come to consider home since we moved out of the apartment in Lexington, the country air (grass and pollen be damned!), the quiet peaceful mornings (and evenings, and afternoons). In short, we’ll miss Kentucky, but it’s time to move on—time for the next phase of life, whatever that ends up being.

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Photos

Road to Farm
Metcalfe Co, KY

"Frozen Niagara"
A formation in Mammoth Cave

At Mammoth Cave
I think I'm trying to get a rock out of my shoe.

Comments

[Sharing the Journey]

Love your ....
photos and blog. But the photos are really great!