Chronicles of the Willi

My family has always loved camping! Every year in New York – for about ten straight years – we would camp for two weeks at our favorite spot in the Adirondack State Park. We have enough memories and adventures from those trips to last us a lifetime!

This year we decided to “shake it up a little”, as we like to say. For some time now Mom has wanted to see the reknown Mammoth Caves – the largest known caves in the world! The Adirondacks are too far away from Tennessee anyway, so last week, we camped in Kentucky at a little campground called “Hutchins Ferry” to spend a couple of days enjoying outdoors and tour Mammoth Caves.

Our first night we had s’mores and sat around the campfire (which was very pathetic until we bought some lighter fluid). It was just like “old days”! I’m sure all my shirts had that lovely campfire aroma.

On the next day we drove to a popular lake in the Mammoth Caves State Park called Nollin Lake. We brought our trusty canoes, our bathing suits and, well, the pictures will tell all that we did.

Our second final night at Hutchins Ferry brought its share of adventures! Just as we were about to drift off to sleep in our tents, we heard a ruckus coming from the parking lot of the ferry (and campground). I climbed out of our tent to see what was happening, thinking it was just a bunch of highschoolers and college kids, ready to party and make a bunch of noise to bother us and our fellow campers. Dad and Walter had done the same, and Dad was walking toward the group motioning for us to stay back.

It wasn’t until a few minutes later as I watched that I realized they were fighting! Guys were lining up, taking turns, having a “rumble” basically (think West Side Story. ) girls were rushing about taking video and pictures.

But God protected us. I’m so glad Dad was there! All he said was that the rangers had been notified, and they zoomed off in their jeeps and pick-ups yelling “cops”! Neither the park rangers or police ever showed up, but at least the mob had left.

How’s that for an exciting, interesting adventure! Whew! That’s certainly never happened to us before. Anyone else?

Anyway, back to our planned activities…

Wednesday we went to see Mammoth Caves. We didn’t take just any tour, however, we took a lantern tour, in which you have about 42 people per tour, and 10 oil lanterns for light. For three hours we walked in parts of the cave where there are no electric lights, the purpose of it being to recreate the ambience of what it must have been like for the earlier explorers.

I thought I might be a bit claustrophobic, but I enjoyed myself immensely: it was amazing! Mamoth Caves is truly, mammoth indeed. And we only saw a small section of it!

Our trip was wonderful. We had a great time! (thanks Dad!) I am glad to be back home though. You know the feeling of walking through the door after a day or two absence? Ah, “Home Sweet Home”. I love being able to say that!

Have a blessed day!

-Kasie

Filed under: Family News on June 14th, 2009