21 May 2016 Saturday
Our quiet campground was invaded last night by an army of boy scouts who must have arrived after 10 pm. I must admit they set up camp very efficiently and without too much unnecessary noise.
We wake in the morning after another drizzly night and are reminded of why we don’t like to camp in parks on weekends. The tent sites are all full. There are new families camped here in addition to the boy scout army. It is our last morning camping for this trip. We take our time packing up because everything is so soggy. We check at the cottage reservation desk in hopes our cottage might be ready early. We are both eager for a shower. We are told to check back at 2 or 3 pm.
We decide to spend the time walking more of the trails that begin past the historic entrance to the cave. We also want to see how high the water in the Green River is after yesterday’s 1-2 inches of rain.
As we approach the historic entrance, one of the rangers with whom O had been chatting yesterday comes over to say hi. The ranger standing next to him also says hello and asks if we are there for the self-guided historic cave tour. I notice that this ranger, who is African American, is named Jerry Bransford. Two Bransford brothers were also enslaved guides along with Stephen Bishop. They were freed after the civil war and stayed on as cave guides. I had heard that one of the rangers here is a fifth generation guide so I exclaim to Ranger Bransford, “Oh, you are the fifth generation guide!” He seems pleased that I recognize this and gives me his business card. On it is a website where I can learn more about his family’s history. (or you can search on Jerry Bransford and find a NY Times article about him which also references union soldier James Fowler Rusling’s interview of Jerry’s great great grandfather, Mat Bransford.) Ranger Bransford insists that O and I should take the historic tour. O points out that we have no tickets. Ranger Bransford replies, “I have your tickets,” and ushers us through the entrance.
The historic tour is quite interesting. We walk past the cave section where salt peter was mined by slaves to help produce black powder during the War of 1812. The lucrative business died after the war and salt peter became almost worthless, hence the expression “petered
out.”
Next we pass specimens of gourd bowls, woven slippers and cane torches
used by paleo-indians 2000 to 4000 years ago. They entered the cave
to scrape gypsum from the walls. Archeologists are not certain what
they used it for. Carbon dating shows the mining ended 2000 years
ago.
Further into the cave another ranger waits. He explains how the roofs of the
cave became arch-like. When the water level drops as the Green River
carves its channel deeper, the underground rivers also seek a lower
level. The roof of the tunnel where the water had been flowing is no
longer supported and it collapses. The limestone walls tend to flake
off in an arch-like pattern because that is the strongest structure
for maintaining tunnel integrity. Adding to the collapse of the
walls is the drying and cracking of the limestone.
The ranger explaining this to us is ready to head to the surface. Jerry
Bransford is his replacement. He tells us that there were four groups
of CCC boys that worked at Mammoth. Three groups worked above ground
clearing the houses, churches and farmlands that used to exist in the
park and replanting trees. Below ground it was an African American
crew that smoothed the passageways with pick and shovel for later park visitors.
Ranger Bransford also notes that the chamber where we stand was at one time
a designated fallout shelter around the time of the Cuban missile
crisis. It would not have been very effective however, because, as a
natural cave, Mammoth ‘breathes.’ The air in the cave turns over
every 30 hours. People taking refuge would have been exposed to
radiation.
We finish our tour and return to the surface. We walk down the gravel
road again. The pileated woodpecker tree is all quiet as we pass.
Down at the river we can see a marked change in water level. The
river has turned from green to brown, and whole trees are floating
down in the flood. By the opposite bank we spy a pair of wood ducks
through our binoculars.
We walk up the Green River Bluff trail and come to the Dixon Cave trail.
Dixon cave used to be part of Mammoth Cave, but a sinkhole collapse
around a million years ago cut off this cave from Mammoth Cave and
created the historic entrance. Dixon Cave is now a haven for
endangered Indiana and gray bats.
Time now to return to cottage check-in. We finally get our showers and head to
Meme’s Diner for another excellent dinner. Meme herself comes out
to say hello and is very pleased with our praise of her soups and
sandwiches. After dinner we take the opportunity to call Grandpa and
G (who is visiting) while we are in cell range. The cottages have no
phone or wi-fi reception. We will try to get a good night’s sleep tonight in
preparation for the first leg of our trip back to Pennsylvania.