Two lovely weeks of science camp rife with plastic rockets flying through the air done, we embarked this past week on our “Teen Excursion Camp.” And just where were we going?
We were going to Mammoth Cave, the longest cave system in the world! And just another one of Kentucky’s lovely natural beauties. As we loaded up the bus, one thing was apparent: It was gonna be a hot one. And it was. Temperatures above 100 degrees are not optimal for hiking trips, but we are tough cookies and will not be stopped by an intrusive heat wave.
When we got to the campground, we discovered a problem: It was infested with bees! This now, was a very unfortunate infestation as I happen to be allergic. However, I had come prepared with a pocket full of Benadryl and an arsenal of bee avoidance techniques.
We set up our tents, swatting and sweating. (Swatting at the bees, sweating ‘cuz it was so durn hot). Then we went off on a hike. We decided to take a hike down to the River Styx, which one of our teens was pretty excited about because he happens to be a Greek mythology enthusiast. The River Styx is a river that emerges from inside the cave itself. So we hiked. It was very sweaty. I think everyone was sweating pretty much everywhere you can sweat. We traveled through the forest, making occasional stops to peer into cave entrances or down into sink holes. I was looking forward to getting to the River Styx because (being from the Great Lakes State!) I know that it’s cooler closer to the water. But then we got to the river. And alas! It was pretty dried up. It looked more like a creek than a river. I guess the River Styx must have been sweating in this weather as well. Oh, well, I guess that means it’s easier for the dead to get to the underworld now. They don’t even need to take a boat. (Our mythology enthusiast was a tad bit disappointed.)
So we moved on. We went to visit a cemetary along one of the trails where one of the first African American slave cave guides was buried. Nothing like mixing a little bit of history with your nature.
When we got back to the campsite, we said hello again to the bees. Then we built a fire and roasted that common campfire food known as The Hot Dog. After getting their fill of hot dogs, the kids played corn hole, a game that a lot of Kentuckians like. (There are basically two boards with holes in them and the point of the game is to throw bean bags full of corn kernels into the holes. There are more rules and such, but as someone who has only played twice, I am not an expert, so I will not explain them. You get the gist.) The kids also played frisbee, and we ended up the night with some marshmallow roasting and an exciting game of Life (the board game version). It was different playing the game with teens than playing with my little cousin. My cousin gets tired of the game fairly quickly, then zooms his car around the board, and requests me, the banker, to give him some money so that he can go out to eat. The teens now, they made it through the whole game with no mishaps other than sometimes knocking their little plastic children out of the car. Way to go teens!
Then, of course, it was bedtime. I discovered something at bedtime, which I had suspected before but never really had to realize until now: Michigan ground is a lot more pleasant for sleeping on than Kentucky ground. So, despite the fact that I was on a mat, I felt like I was sleeping on a rock. And I didn’t sleep much. But that’s okay. Because, in the words of my father, I’m young and spry.
The next day was cave day! Today we would get to go on our Mammoth Cave tour. They have several different tours, some more rugged than others, some longer and some shorter. We went on the historical tour, which lasted about two hours and gave visitors some historical information about the cave. This was my first time really being in a large cave. It was pretty cool (both literally and figuratively). Our tour took us through Fat Man’s Misery, a rather skinny portion of the passage, which I imagine, would not be the most comfortable place for those wide of girth. We also climbed up the tower in the Mammoth Dome, which we had seen the sinkhole entrance to the day before. It was an awesome trip and definitely well worth seeing should you ever happen to be in Kentucky.
Once our cave tour was over, it was time for us to head home. We didn’t even have time to eat lunch, so Leah (one of my fellow CAP Volunteers) and I were delegated to make sandwiches on the bus (Aha! I knew my deli skills would come in handy some day) and hand them back across the seats to our hungry teens. Two and half hours of driving later, we deposited them all safely at their homes.
Just another awesome week of summer camp complete!
Elizabeth L. is a long-term volunteer at CAP's Eagle Child and Family Development Center. She is a member of the McCreary Volunteer Community.
