As planned - we headed west to get away from the east coast during hurricane season. Off to Mammoth Cave. It took 3 days to get there at our slow pace. We stopped at the West Virginia Fair grounds for a night, where we met a lovely couple there to help their daughter show off her 4-H goat.
Another stop in Salt Lick, Kentucky; the southern accent is becoming more pronounced for sure.
For navigation, we rely on a Garmin device designed for RV routes. By inputting the height and length of our trailer, the Garmin keeps us safe by avoiding low bridges and challenging turns. While we usually cross-reference our route with Google to stay informed about road closures and construction areas, we always prioritize following the Garmin's selected path. However, during our recent journey to Mammoth, we encountered an unexpected challenge. Despite our efforts, we couldn't get Google to align with the Garmin's route. It wasn't until we discovered that a ferry over the Green River was out of service due to low water levels that we understood the discrepancy. Fortunately, we managed to avoid an extra hour of driving by resolving the issue just in time.
When I booked Mammoth Cave, I though I was so smart! In the main campground the sites have no electricity, but there is a group campground a few minutes away with electricity and the sites weren't too expensive. That is what I booked. Unfortunately this campground was on the wrong side of the ferry. So the cave tours and good hikes were now 50 minutes, instead of 6 minutes, away! Best laid plans sometimes go awry.
Here is a picture of the ferry - it is essentially a road on a pontoon pulled by cables.
This picture was taken just a quick bike ride away from the campground we booked. All the good stuff in the park was just up the hill on the other side of the river. How frustrating. This map shows the driving route.
We stayed a couple of nights at the site we booked. There wasn't much to do there. We did a bit of mountain biking using our road bikes - not comfy but fun. Here is a picture of the bike trail.
Since we were in Kentucky, and Manhattans are the Carlson family's favorite cocktail, we knew there must be a whiskey tour nearby. We headed to Bardstown, went on a tour, and also both got our much-needed haircuts. Picture below is before the haircuts.
Fortunately there were sites available on the other side of the river, so we booked a couple of nights. There was no electricity at the new site and we knew our batteries were somewhat compromised after Shenandoah. We limped through a couple of days of boondocking, had a nice cave tour and some fabulous hikes.
On one hike, we found there other side of the ferry . The other campground so close, yet so far!
Manhattans are also the favored drink of the Taylor family. :)