About Carleen Harner Expertise I can answer questions on every aspect of the Mammoth Cave National Park adventure. Questions can be about from where to stay while visiting including Mammoth`s own facilities of camping, hotel and cabins to near by Cave City hotels. I also can answer questions on all of the many cave trips available by the park rangers through each part of the expansive cave, rates, and park hiking and activities outside of the cave inside of the park system. I visit the cave frequently and keep up to date on all the cave happens as well as being a spelunker and can answer questions about general caving or structures in the cave, how caves are formed and such for students doing reports.
Experience Some very interesting caving experiences I am
willing to share with anyone who would like to
talk about caving in more depth....I am especially interested in cave diving in areas like
Florida where some very old paleontological
specimens have been found....
Expert: Carleen Harner Date: 7/1/2000 Subject: Travel time and accommodations
Question How much time should I plan to take a driving trip from New Orleans to Mammouth Cave, and back? Please include time to be spent touring the caves.
Answer Dear Mary, July 4, 2000
Thank you for your question...How ironic, my family
is just planning our New Orleans vacation for August to
the French Quarter! (smile)
I can't give you the exact milage to the Cave City
area in Kentucky, next to Mammoth Cave from New Orleans
and you'll be pulling some hills up through Tennessee and
all...At least a two day drive, I suspect. There are sever-
al sites on the internet that can give you milage informa-
tion for travel destinations.
Cave tours sell out quickly so they "suggest" you
make reservations ahead of time but I have never had to do
that...up to you.
You can reserve cave tickets by calling 1-800-967-2283
Online: reservations.nps.gov
Mammoth Cave's address is:
U.S. Department Of The Interior
National Park Service
Mammoth Cave National Park
P.O.Box 7
Mammoth Cave, Ky 42259
Now, Mammoth offers a huge variety of cave tours.
You could spend a week there going on tours and hiking the
very interesting trails and etc...Just depends on your
interests and how much time you have to stay.
Here is a sampling of the tours they have:
1. Historic Tour: A two hour tour, they say is in
the strenuous category (I went through at nine months
pregnant and only got winded on the stairs at one point)
so it depends on how physically fit you are and I don't go
to the gym! The tour talks about the history of Mammoth
and you view grand avenues, go past civil war mining opera-
tions, view Native American artifacts, "bottomless" pits
and etc...
2. Frozen Niagra Tour: Two hour strenuous trip but
beautiful. View huge pits and domes, and the most decorat-
ed part of the cave.
3. Discovery Tour: View the largest room in Mammoth,
huge avenues, geological origins of the cave...
4. Travertine Tour: 1 hour tour classified as "easy"
Contains beautiful decorative cave features.
5. Gothic Tour: 2 hours. Moderately strenuous.
6. Great Onyx Tour: 2 1/4 hours. Lanterns used to
light your way!
7. Mammoth Passage Tour: 1 1/4 hours. Moderately
strenuous. Visit the largest passages of the cave...
8. Making of Mammoth Tour: 2 1/2 hours. Mod. Stren.
Investigate the caves origins from 325 million years ago.
Takes you clear to the bottom of the cave to the water
table.
9. Violet City Lantern Tour: 3 hours. Strenuous.
Pretty neat tour! Use lanterns to light your way!
10. Wild Cave Tour: 6 hours! For those who have
always wanted to try spelunking! They provide ALL equipment
for you.
Please feel free to ask any follow up questions.
I'm at toledoblade99@hotmail.com
Most Sincerely, Carleen Harner
