Violet City Lantern Tour - Mammoth Cave

What a difference 27 days could make! Kentucky nature truly bloomed offering us the beauty of green fields, trees full of bright green young leaves and beautiful flowers.

Picture taken today, 4/30/22

The same scenery less than a month ago, 4/3/22

Today was the third time I visited Mammoth Cave National Park. I booked Violet City Lantern Tour, a 2.5-hour tour with just lanterns for lighting. This was something unique that I have never done before. The group was relatively large in size, but lanterns were distributed pretty evenly to allow enough light to walk safely. 

The experience was really different from Grand Avenue Tour in my previous post where the cave itself was very visible. Today, I didn't even feel the dimensions unless the guide pointed out that we were in gigantic rooms.

The only lit up "room" at the beginning of the tour

From there on it was seeing as they did years ago, with lantern light

Ghosts... Well, humans who appear as ghosts because it is so darn dark

Waterfall from God aka a stream of water coming from the ground

The tour guide was not as great as we had in the previous tour. He kept talking about the same thing over and over again, but he did provide us with a lot of historical facts about humans disrespecting the cave in the past. Even now occasionally they have idiots drawing their initials on the rocks. Some humans should just stay at home. Forever.

It was not as challenging as Grand Avenue Tour both physically and mentally. I would say it was the right amount of walking and history, although I still liked Grand Avenue more just because of our tour guide whose sense of humor alleviated any kind of tiredness after 4 hours of walking.

Southern Kentucky - Getting Bored

As the weeks went by, I was getting more and more bored. I barely walked 2,500 steps a day, I had no desire to exercise and started to gain weight. On the weekend, I would go to Nashville where I would get back to my routine of exploring, but during the week while working from home I was pretty bored. My GI issues have not resolved and nothing worked, so my boredom was exacerbated by terrible reflux. 

The weather was getting warmer and with that came the brown marmorated stink bug. I rescued the first few by carefully sliding them into the glass with a paper card and taking them outside, but then the war started. They came in pairs now. I would hear a buzz and know that I would need to look around, find the one that has arrived, quickly grab my vacuum cleaner and suck that devil up. This happened many many many times. The exterminator came twice, but just shrugged saying "ain't that a bad year for the stink bugs!". I really disliked them, but they didn't bother me too much.

I still enjoyed my stay there. One weekend, I went to Nashville to Cherry Blossom Festival and visited Radnor Lake afterwards. And the other day I went to Mammoth Cave National Park to just do some hiking. There was not as much hiking as I thought there would be, and most places were pretty remote. In the middle of April I had a work trip planned to Nashville, so I took my cat and stayed in a hotel while visiting local hospitals. It was pretty enjoyable to be able to get out and live in the city for a while. I was glad to return to my green peaceful environment. Besides, the spring was in full bloom, and the Amish stores were opening up offering their amazing produce. 

The weekend after I got back from my work trip in Nashville, I had my first tour in Mammoth Cave National Park. Grand Avenue tour was a 4 hour tour walking about four miles underground. It was an incredible experience, and our tour guide was knowledgeable and, most importantly, engaging and entertaining. The tour was fascinating not just because it was underground. I learned a lot about the history of the cave system and its geology. I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about being able to stay underground for so long, but after half an hour I felt completely at ease. In fact, the overall environment was so stable with even temperatures throughout the cave that it was almost like being in an air conditioned building.

Grand Avenue Tour - Mammoth Cave National Park

My first tour of Mammoth Cave National Park was Grand Avenue Tour. It is a 4 hour adventure underground hiking 4 miles point to point. 

My tour was scheduled for 9.45 AM, so I arrived at 9.30 to make sure I have enough time to check in. I printed my ticket at home (the ticket was purchased on Recreation.gov in advance) and showed it at the Visitor's Center. The NPS ranger directed me to Shelter B 5 minutes prior to the tour's departure. I had 10 minutes to look around, so I used that time to get to know some of the history of Mammoth cave. Apparently, it is the longest cave system in the world (over 400 miles!) and it's been in existence for years. Geologically, it is a bit different from other caves. It does not have many stalactites because of the material that the "ceiling" is made of. It is dense enough to prevent water from depositing limestone in the shape of "icicles". There are a few "rooms" where you can see stalactites.

I headed to the meeting point, and precisely at 9.45 after a brief safety message we were loaded into two buses that would drive us 7 miles to the cave entrance.

I was a bit concerned with the prospect of being underground for 4 hours, but after the initial hesitation, I headed in.

My initial impression was, "this is so awesome"! The group was excited chattering away. Almost right away I realized it really will be dark even with all the lighting.

As we walked along the pathway, and I attempted to take videos, I knew half of my footage is just going to waste as it was pitch dark.

Don't look down - it's endless!

The pace of the group was moderate and we didn't have too much time to stop and take pictures until we got to several stops along the route where our tour guide gave us some historical and geological information.

Similar to stalactites that form in wet areas of caves, these are gypsum crusts and flowers in drier areas

One section of the "hike" was very narrow allowing only one person to pass through. I didn't get to take a picture of that, but documented in this video.

The pathway went up and down, but few areas were wet. It was a different experience than I've had before in wetter caves.

The last section of the cave was in a wetter area where I was surrounded by timeless stalactites. They look majestic, but the guide gave us a different perspective - these formations are filling in the caves. They are pretty, but at some point in time the cave will be gone because of them.

After a long walk, the group was tired. On the way back people in the buses were quiet and probably hungry. It was a great way to spend the day. One more tour to go in two weeks!

Country Living in Fountain Run, KY

After I got back from the hotel in Knoxville (and it was a pretty crappy motel - America's Best Value), the serenity of Southern Kentucky was incredible. My work from home also improved as I was able to work outside on the porch during nicer days.

My cat had no issues adjusting to the newly gained quiet environment compared to our previous apartment in downtown Knoxville. He loved looking out of the windows listening to birds and playing in a much larger space than we had before.

I was getting excited about living in the Amish country as well. I searched on the map and found at least one store Habegger's Amish Market that was currently open selling Amish goods. Other stores were still closed as produce was not in the season, but I could wait. The very first week I headed to the Amish store located about 30 minutes away from my house rental. They sold incredible pastries, so I bought a banana bread and two fried mini-pies filled with cherry and walnuts. They also sold everything at reasonable prices. I enjoyed the store very much as they had different sorts of flour that I could use for my sourdough bread. 

I also found that this area was filled with different caves. The first weekend I decided to go to do a cave boat tour in Lost River Cave which turned out to be pretty amazing. It was more of a commercial tour with hints of history, but it's been a while since I've been in a cave, so I enjoyed it. I also scheduled two other tours in Mammoth Cave National Park later in April. Both tours had to be reserved in advance through the Recreation website. The first week was full of relaxation and settling in.

During the second week I started to get bored. It was almost impossible to walk in the neighborhood because many houses had loose dogs that would bark at you viciously. I didn't want to take a chance. The main road where the house was located on did not have much traffic, but the issue with loose dogs was on both sides of the house where neighbors just didn't care about their animals. I found that to be the truth in several rural areas in southern Kentucky. It appeared that people treated animals like animals instead of their pets. The horses next door, as I found out later from my host, were completely unattended just roaming around on their own eating grass and getting water from the stream in the back. The owner only came to take care of them once a month.

Another issue that came up in the first two weeks is the Internet connection. The speeds were incredible, but occasionally the Internet would just drop. The solution was to use an ethernet cord that I bought anticipating this could be an issue while living in Airbnb. I had no other problems with the Internet at this rental. 

I decided to venture out and explore Nashville during the second weekend. I dropped off my recycling at the local center in Nashville as there was no recycling available in southern Kentucky. I might be generalizing here, but in the nearby proximity of Fountain Run no city recycled. I went to explore Henry Hollow trail in Nashville and then headed downtown where I was bluntly introduced to Nashville drinking scene. Nashville, being the self-claimed Bachelorette party city, was a true representation of "having fun". People were drinking starting at 9:00 AM. The party buses, tractor tours (no idea what they were touring besides the local bars), and just rolling party carts with bartenders inside and the party sitting in a circle either pedaling or doing nothing were a nuisance to the city. In fact, this has become such an issue that locals are now raising concerns. It was a sensory overload for me spending half an hour just watching that, although I must admit had I been one of the drinking participants, I would have probably had a different opinion.

I also explored Nashville farmers market, which was an overpriced gigantic mall of vendors selling a variety of goods from $8 soaps to strawberries and lettuce for the price I would not even see at Whole Foods.. I picked up some groceries at the Asian store instead and discovered a Russian food store - Aleksey's Market - where I would pick up food regularly. Weekends were definitely a highlight!

Winding Stairs Loop and Cummins Falls

I use Alltrails app to find local hikes that are worth exploring. One of the hikes was Winding Stairs Loop located near the statelines of Tennessee and Kentucky. I headed there on a Sunday morning. Google maps did not have the road towards the trailhead mapped, so initially I ended up in a parking lot of an apartment complex. I used Alltrails app to navigate towards the non-mapped road, which ended up in a paved parking lot at the trailhead.

It was a bit chilly in the morning, but was warming up pretty quickly. I was initially planning to hike two trails in the park, but since they were pretty similar, I chose the Winding Stairs. 

Since my car was only the second car in the parking lot, I had the park almost to myself. The sounds of birds and flowing water were meditative, to say the least. The video below shows how different water can sound. I found this fascinating. 

I decided to explore the stairs first leading towards the bottom of the small canyon. The rock looked almost unreal. It felt like jungles for some reason. 

View from top of the stairs

View at the bottom of the stairs

The trail continued uphill where there was a nice view of the landscape. The trees still don't have enough foliage to make it a great view, but it was a really good view even without it.

Wildflowers were everywhere. Some areas were just carpeted with various species - white, blue, yellow flowers - just a lovely landscape!

I was used to an earlier wildflower season in California, so I felt like I was missing out on seeing the flowers, but this hike gave me some hope. 

I had to cross the creek twice, but it was nice and low, so it was accomplished without any difficulties. The trail regained its elevation, and I was on the other side of the waterfall and back to the stairs. The hike was completed, but I felt like I wanted to do some more exploring today and headed to Cummins Falls an hour away.

I realized later that I debated whether this hike was worth doing or not because it had water crossing which I was not intending to do. By the time I got there, it was too late and I decided to at least see the waterfall and get to the water.

It really was beautiful. The reviewers also said that it is even more amazing up close, but it would require crossing the water that looked deep enough to be up to the waist, which I was not prepared for. Regardless, I enjoyed the hike.

One thing I don't enjoy in these "red" states is the gun shots that can be heard in so many areas, especially parks. Not sure if someone is hunting or just shooting targets, but I am against guns in general. We should not be killing animals altogether, especially for sport.

Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival 2022 + More

It started out as a lousy morning. Rain that was supposed to have gone away by now was still sprinkling; the sky was cloudy with what looked like no glimpse of hope for a "partly-sunny day" that my weather app stated. With rain and cloudy sky came lower temperatures. It was only 37 degrees in the morning. I was still determined to go to Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival. I left around 7.15 am, stopped at the recycling facility and headed to parking lot F or E where the parking fee was only $10 for the whole day during the festival.

The cloudy sky was no longer cloudy as the sun started to shine. It was still pretty cold. I crossed Woodland Street bridge and saw the festival right in front of Nashville Metropolitan Courthouse. Multiple booths were set up selling a variety of items, including food. I saw a crowd of people deliberately walking somewhere. Initially, I thought it was some sort of a politically-driven crowd as a few people carried signs with politicians' names. I then remembered that at 9.30 am there was a Cherry blossom walk. 

The crowd was pretty long as we started to walk on Cumberland River Greenway. I have no idea why they chose this "walk" because there were barely any trees there. What I heard was construction on both side of the pathway, but the way back was rather peaceful as we turned on to Magdeburg Greenway leading to Germantown area of Nashville, a beautiful residential area with !!cherry trees!!!

Somehow the crowd got smaller as some people went elsewhere. I truly enjoyed my walk of 3.6 miles, according to Google.

I went back to the festival and bought kettle corn. There were some performances of Japanese music and culture, but I didn't stay long because it was getting cold again.

I decided to use this time to walk around Nashville and get some coffee. I stopped at Drug Store Coffee located inside a nice hotel and ordered a $7 oat cappuccino (these drinks are getting way too expensive!). 

I warmed up and found my next destination, D'Andrews Bakery & Cafe - an amazing bakery where I got my Filbert and some doughy deliciousness (Filbert is still safe in my fridge, if you wondered). 

I walked through an interesting alley, I am pretty sure that was part of Printers Alley with restaurants and bars on both side.

I was starting to get hungry and stumbled upon Fifth+Broadway, a combination of restaurants, shopping in a plaza setting. Restaurants are not fast food, they are real places selling good food. I stopped at Horu Sushi Kitchen to get a $9 Philly roll (my cappuccino was almost as expensive). The roll was pretty decent for the mall type of setting. I wanted to see what the view looked like from the rooftop bar, but it was closed to public, I guess a private event.

I left the restaurant section and saw a Sephora store. How do you not stop by there, especially when you have a remaining gift card in the wallet?

I then headed back to the main area with all the bars to give it another chance. Nope, this crowd is still not for me. I sat on the boardwalk by the river and had some popcorn. I took more pictures of random cherry trees and decided to go back to my car.

A car with partying ladies

I checked out the local Whole Foods, stopped at a Walmart to pick up items on my list and debated if I should go back (it was. 1.40 pm) or do something else. I saw on the map that I was right next to Radnor Lake, which was on my "To go to" list. I figured if I just walked around the lake for an hour I could get back before 5 pm.

The stop turned out to be one of the highlights of the day. The weather got nice and warm, and I was able to just have my sweater on without a vest. I LOVED this urban park. It didn't feel urban at all. Very well maintained, but some trails are deep in the woods with few people to encounter.

I walked the perimeter along Ganier Ridge and South Cove Trail, roughly a 5 mile loop with some decent elevation gain. It was nature at its best in the middle of the city.

Dozens of turtles

After a bit of cardio and incredible views, I was back in my car, this time driving home. Just two hours later I was back in the middle of nowhere enjoying the memories of my day. I later looked at the prices of homes in that area. $1.5M was the cheapest one. In Nashville!!! Here is to winning a lottery...