We have been settled in Tennessee for a year and wanted to do some traveling this summer. Amid Covid-19 and all the chaos of the world, we decided to get out of our quarantine house and embark on an adventure with our boys. We are spending a month (or more) traveling around the country with a towable RV to a handful of national and state parks. We want lots of family time spent outdoors with the hope to maintain a decent amount of social distancing!
Getting ready for this trip was a huge undertaking. We've never towed, never owned an RV, didn't have all the necessary equipment, and as such had a lot of preparation to undertake! Thankfully JTs mom and stepdad (Heidi and Wayne) are experts because they were a HUGE help in deciding what to tow with, what type of camper to tow, and how to set it all up!
Setting up the camper was like moving into a new apartment! So much to organize, a lot to purchase, and so many details to figure out. The camper we chose has bunk beds for the boys, a private master bedroom, a decent bathroom with a large shower, two recliners that vibrate and/or heat, and a three-sided bench dining table. My parents offered to keep Mack (our cat) and we took Charlie (our beagle) with us.
After a week of frantic prep, we began our maiden voyage on Sunday, June 14th. We pulled out of our driveway by 10am and headed north to Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky. The drive was just under four hours. Both kids and the dog did great, and according to JT (our driver), the towing went well too. We arrived at Singing Hills RV Park and Campground to a gorgeous day with highs in the 70s. The kids were extremely excited to get out of the car. The first evening was spent fishing, riding bikes, and relaxing outside.
On the way into the RV park, we noticed a very cool Dinosaur World right off the exit of the highway. The kids really wanted to go there, and since we didn't have entry tickets to the caves until 3pm the next day, we decided the dinosaurs would be a good way to spend the morning. Dinosaur World has an outside walkable path with lifesize dino replicas and descriptions of each dinosaur species. The boys ran through there with so much excitement and enthusiasm!
Later that afternoon we headed into Mammoth Cave National Park for our 3pm cave tour time. The caves are open on a limited basis for self-guided walking tours, with suggested social distancing between different parties. The tour we experienced was the Extended Historical Cave Tour. Recreation.gov does a nice explanation of the tour: "Walk hillside down to Mammoth Cave's most famous entrance and follow the path used for over two centuries of touring. Experience the grandeur of large trunk passages in the world's longest cave. Discover how Mammoth Cave has intrigued countless visitors since the first human entered its darkness nearly 5,000 years ago."
The caves travel for over 400 miles beneath the state of Kentucky! It's the longest cave system in the world. I had no idea it was going to be such a vast, open space! The caves are nice and cool, around 54 degrees Farenheight. It was dimly lit and quiet. It's amazing to imagine what the first humans to discover this place thought when they ventured inside!
Deep inside the caves, about a mile in, there are stone huts that were used long ago by a doctor to treat Tuberculosis patients. He felt that the cool air in the caves would cure them. It didn't work. The docents assured us that all TB germs were cleaned out from the caves.
After two days at Mammoth Cave, we headed north to a stopover site in Grayling, Michigan. It was a LONG day of driving...to get to a kid-centered Yogi Bear Jellybean Campsite.
Next up will be another long drive through the U.P. (Upper Peninsula of Michigan - SO gorgeous), Wisconsin (with a stop at a cheese haus), and landing ourselves at Voyageur National Park in Minnesota (AAAAAaaaaaammmmmaaaazzzing).
Glad to see you are traveling as a family again! So much fun for the boys. Happy wandering!
ReplyDeleteAunt Sheryl and Uncle Jack