Mammoth Caves National Park, Part 2

 These are photos from our road trip and visit to Mammoth Cave National Park on May 4-7. On May 5th hubby and I had reserved a cave tour called the Frozen Niagara. The tour lasted 1 hour 15 minutes, we were taken by bus to the cave entrance.

Mammoth Caves are known for their big rooms, this Frozen Niagara tour took us into an area that has some pretty cave decorations.

This was the wettest day on our trip, Kentucky received 3 inches of rain and it was the day of the Kentucky Derby. A rainy day was a good day to be inside the caves, no rain there!

 Not too many steps on this tour, we picked this tour because it described as one of the more decorated sections of the cave. 

A Cave Cricket, important for the cave's ecosystem.

Outside the cave at the Sloan's Crossing Pond, we took a short loop walk around this pond in the park. I did see a couple of Wood Ducks with ducklings. They hid quickly in the reeds.

Rain drops keep falling on my head, lol. Are you familiar with the BJ Thomas song?

Honeysuckle

 The following day hubby took the Historic Tour which was two hours, during that time I went on an easy hike and did some birding. 

I hope you enjoyed my post and photos. I wish everyone a great new week ahead.

Mammoth Caves National Park

 The Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky was one of the highlights of our road trip. Mammoth Cave NP is located at the Cave City exit off of Route 65. We picked a hotel off of Rt 65 in Bowling Green Kentucky which was 26 miles from the park entrance.

Tours through the cave are so popular we reserved our tours a month or so before our trip. The Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system in the world, with over 400 miles explored. We spent 2 nights and 3 days in the area, exploring the cave and went on some hikes in the park.

Images are from  our first afternoon in Mammoth Cave NP, we walked down the trail to the Green River and to see the opening for the Historic Entrance of the cave. I noticed a lot of wildflowers along the trail, wild turkeys were seen on the road into the park, birds nest , Indigo Bunting silhouette, trail sign.

This is the trail down to the Green River and to the Historic Entrance of the Mammoth Cave.

Down the steps is the Historic Cave entrance. Hubby had a reservation to take the guided tour the next morning.

The Green River, it really is green.

Not open to the public, but below is a wet entrance/exit into or out of the cave. It reminds me of a trip & cruise we took years ago, stopping in Belize we went on a river caving excursion.

We saw a few deer laying on the ground off the trail.

The wild turkeys were one of the birds we saw often, mostly along the park road.

I will share more of the Mammoth Cave tours on another post. Hubby is a spelunker, which is a person who likes to explore caves.  We have also been to Carlsbad Caves in New Mexico, you can check out my post on Carlsbad by clicking on the sidebar link.




 I hope you enjoyed my post and photos. Thanks for visiting. 

Rockbridge Ohio

 On 5/4 we made an early morning stop before leaving Ohio. Nearby was the Clear Creek Covered Bridge and the Clear Creek Metro Park in Rockbridge Ohio.

Clear Creek Metro Park

This chicken was in the park near Lake Ramona.

Lake Ramona

"Clean water is such a treasure that we take for granted in America."  Hannah Teter

This was a birdy area, saw the American Redstarts, Common Yellowthroat Warbler, Catbird, Bluebirds and Chipping Sparrows.

Some of the birds we saw were the male and female American Redstarts, Common Yellowthroat Warbler and Catbird. I am sorry the photos are not the best, they moved quickly and were camera shy.

We took the Hemlock Trail for a little distance, there were many wildflowers, a little creek and the hemlock trees.

"In joy or sadness, flowers are our constant friends." Okakura

 I hope you enjoyed my post and photos. Thanks for the visit!

Rockbridge State Nature Preserve

 While on our trip in Ohio we found the Rockbridge State Nature Preserve. We enjoyed a great loop trail that was very birdy. The park is known for it's natural rock bridge or arch. The Wood Thrushes were everywhere, singing and just hopping along on the trail in front of us. 

We started off on this trail, which was next to this farm land. Very pretty location, we could hear the cows nearby mooing. It was hard to believe this trail was going to lead us to a natural bridge. 


"A walk in nature walks the soul back home." Mary Davis

We entered the woods, we saw and heard a lot of Wood Thrushes. 

The Natural Bridge. 

Birds seen in the forest and along the trail, Brown Thrasher, Wood Thrush, American Goldfinch, Scarlet Tanager, Common Yellowthroat Warbler,  White-throated Sparrow and more Wood Thrushes. 

Some pretty wildflowers along the trail. 

"Nature is the art of God." Dante Alghieri

Looking up from underneath a view of the natural bridge and a waterfall. 

A beautiful sky and the farm land, a view on our walk back to our car. 

A peek at the near by farm. 

I am thankful for all the park lands that are set aside and are kept as green spaces and all natural. 

I am thankful to be healthy to enjoy all these wonderful parks and trails for hiking. 
I am thankful for all your visits and comments. 

Eileen's Random Travels

A Photoblog post of my random travels.

"If you open your eyes very wide and look around you carefully, you will always see a lighthouse which will lead you to the right path! Just watch around your carefully!" Mehmet Murat Ildan

Havre De Grace Maryland is a cute little town located where the Susquehanna River meets the Chesapeake Bay. There are various specialty shops, antique stores, many B&B's  and lots of Restaurants serving Maryland seafood. We visited the waterfront boardwalk and the Concord Point Lighthouse. 

The Keeper's House.

I am sharing some of my random travel photos, this is not only for my followers but more of a reminder for me and my hubby of where we have been and what we have seen over the years. All good memories for us, I hope you enjoy too.

" We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone." unknown

I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Eileen's Random Travels

A Photoblog post of my random travels.

"Life is like the ocean. It can be calm or still, rough or rigid. But, in the end it is still beautiful."



Washington State trip 2017, Ediz Hook is a 3 mile natural spit in  Port Angeles and the Straights of  Juan De Fuca. It is a popular area for birding and the scenery is beautiful too.

A large flock of Brant Geese

This view from the Ediz Hook spit looks back at the Olympic Mountains, close to the Hurricane Ridge area of the park.

This ship was anchored in the Straights of Juan De Fuca in Port Angeles, the view from our hotel room.

I am sharing some of my random travel photos, this is not only for my followers but more of a reminder for me and my hubby of where we have been and what we have seen over the years. All good memories for us, I hope you enjoy too.


" We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone." unknown


I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Eileen's Random Travels

A Photoblog post of my random travels.


On this post I am sharing some images from our walk on the Tommy Thompson Trail in Anacortes Washington. The trail follows the waterfront and is about 3.3 miles. We only did a small section and we saw a few ducks nearby. It was a dreary moody sky day so the photos are not as beautiful as I would like. But, I wanted to record our walk and visit to this area.

Looks like recycled materials used in this artwork.

A view of the Fidalgo Bay

The rocky causeway trail

The views were somewhat industrial and a field of cattle.

A Common Merganser on the shore.

I am sharing some of my random travel photos, this is not only for my followers but more of a reminder for me and my hubby of where we have been and what we have seen over the years. All good memories for us, I hope you enjoy too.


" We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone." unknown


I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!