This morning, the Domes and Dripstones Tour started at 8:45. This time, instead of starting from the visitor center, we took a bus ride to a different entrance!

Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system in the world, currently with over 400 miles of mapped passages.

   After the tour, we ate a quick meal at TrogloBITES, and then were on our way. Immediately after we began riding, I messed up the directions; fortunately, we figured it out quickly. Once we got on track, we crossed the Green River on a ferry, although we both probably could have swam across just as fast.

 As we made it out of the park, thunder clouds loomed on the horizon; they were on us in what felt like only a few minutes. Rachel had a mild panic attack, since we were riding straight towards the front of the storm and could see lightening striking not far ahead.

I was hoping we could beat it to a convenience store just a few miles up the road, but we ended up seeking shelter at the Cub Run Elementary School just as it started pouring– less than a half mile from the convenience store.

Later on, we got water from a kind man’s house and pedaled across some very flat farmland to finish the day.

  
The night was spent at the White Mills Christian Camp. We set up the tent as soon as we arrived and then began cooking under a nearby pavilion. After eating and showering, a strong  thunder storm arrived, which brought a wild light show and plenty of rain. When we returned to the tent for sleep, we were unhappily surprised to find that we left the rain fly door open, to let the tent air out. Instead, we were greeted by a puddle inside the tent. It could have been worse, though; the tree we were near must have blocked some of the rain headed for the inside of the tent. Our towels were up for the job, and then we tried to fall asleep as quickly as possible.

Trip stats, to date (Day 36)

• Mammoth Cave, KY to White Mills, KY
• Daily mileage: 52.9mi;  Trip total to date: 2,063mi
• Daily riding time: 4hr 15min;  Trip total time: 183hr 46min
• Daily ascent: 2,590ft;  Trip total ascent: 111,265ft
• Flat tires: Rachel – 1; Chris – 0