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Central Kentucky

Our tour group passes by another group who are all sitting and listening intently to a presentation. These folks must be on a different tour, we have yet to be seated in such a fashion. A grand total of 14 different cave tours offered by the National Park Service; from a 30 minutes self-guided tour to a 6.5 hour guided tour where you really get to crawl around and get dirty.

The tour is starting to wind down. Wow, checking my watch, I see we've been at it for over 3 hours now. How time flies. Some of the older, overweight folks are really feeling their legs now. There's one lady who is so far behind the group, I don't know if she'll ever make it out.

Ahhh, we see a few small stalactites overhead. Come to think of it, these are the first we've seen so far on the tour. Does this mean we'll soon encounter more? I certainly hope so.

Stalactites are interesting bunch. Created by dripping water, with each drop, a small amount of calcium carbonate is left behind. Over time, the myriad deposits form a stalactite that slowly grows downward from the ceiling. The drop of water, however, may still contain a portion of sediment when it is released into the air. The drop hits the ground, and with a splat, deposits the remaining sediment which, over time, creates a stalagmite. Stalagmites are usually broader than their ceiling-clinging neighbors because the action of the splashing water scatters the sediment across a wider area. If a stalactite and a stalagmite join together, a formation called a column is formed.

More and more trail unfolds before us. Cripes, this cave just goes on and on, will we ever get out of this place? It's all starting to look the same to us.