Mammoth Cave National Park, Corvette and More

Ever since we visited Jack Daniel's Distillery in Tennessee, Dave kept saying that we should go to Maker's Mark in Kentucky to see what's the difference between them. So last weekend we did that, together with some other places.

1. First we stopped at the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory in Louisville, Kentucky, where we saw how baseball bats were made.


Next stop was Maker's Mark, located in Loretto, Kentucky, ~1.5 hours drive from Louisville. Their production is much smaller comparing to Jack Daniel's. Maker's Mark makes ~40 barrels a day, where Jack Daniel's makes ~10,000 barrels a week.

2. Barrel cart.


3. Attention to detail. Did you notice the shutter design?


4. Cypress fermentation tanks. You can even dip your finger into the tank, and taste the fermented stuff.


5. Inside one of the Barrel Houses. According to our tour guide, Maker's Mark is the only distiller in the U.S. to rotate their barrels during the aging process to achieve even aging.


Our third stop was Mammoth Cave National Park. This is our second time coming to the park. Our first time was in 1999. It is hard to believe that nine years have past since our last visit. It felt like yesterday. I still remembered that last time we couldn't get on the cave tour we wanted, it was sold out. So this time I booked the tour in advance.

We took the Grand Avenue Tour (4.5 hours, 4 miles). It is labeled very strenuous, but it is not that bad. There are some steps (670), mostly in the beginning and at the end of the tour. The walk was very interesting, totally different landscape along the way. First we went through Cleveland Avenue where we saw gypsum growing everywhere. It's beautiful. Too bad I don't have any good picture to show you. It is not a easy place to take pictures since:
- We were constantly moving except at lunch and bathroom breaks.
- There was barely any light down there and you can't bring tripod.
- Camera flash is too weak to shine far and distorts colors of everything.
We just have to remember that it is cool and come back to experience it again sometimes.

6. Gypsum growing on the ceiling of the cave.


After Cleveland Avenue, we had lunch at Snowball Room which is located at 1.1 miles of the tour. For $7.50, we got a box lunch which had: a small sandwich with one thin piece of ham or turkey, a bag of chips, a cup of hot vegetable soup, a small drink, an apple and a cookie. 

7. Snowball Room (267 feet below surface). We were walking toward the food counter to buy lunch.


8. Food counter. In case you wonder, there is an elevator shaft behind the wall, so food can be carried in, and trash out. Also, modern plumbing is installed so flush toilets can be used at several places along the tour route.


After lunch we went through Boone Avenue, which is so different than Cleveland Avenue. It has amazing narrow, twisting passages. Then it is: Thorpe's Pit, Mt. McKinley, Grand Canyon ... where there are more grade changes. We finished the tour at Frozen Niagara where we saw tons of stalactites and stalagmites.

9. Frozen Niagara.


10. Frozen Niagara.


11. The cottage we stayed at Mammoth Cave National Park. It is conveniently located inside the park. But the air-conditioning was so loud that I am not sure I want to stay there again in hot summer. Camping is an option. Their campsites look descent, and there are some sites set aside for walk-ins.


Our final stop of the trip was Bowling Green, Kentucky, home of the Corvette & Cadillac XLR. The assembly plant gives tour on weekdays at 9:00 am, 11:30 am and 1:15 pm. We booked the 9:00 am tour. They divided us into three groups. We watched some video first in a waiting room. The first group started their walking tour at 9:15 am. We were in the second group. We started at 9:25 am, and finished an hour later. No camera is allowed inside the plant, so I can't show you any picture. All I say is that the tour is awesome, one of the best tours we have ever taken.

Within the hour, we walked through the assembly plant slowly, only feet away from the workers. We saw near empty Corvette bodies coming down the assembly line, pieces being installed at different stations according to the order sheet. Finally the finished cars (coupe, convertible, Z06 and even ZR1) coming off the line. Workers would start the car, drove a short distance to a gate through some bumps on the floor. If things didn't feel right, the car would be rechecked after the gate. Otherwise, the car would be waiting in line for a water test. If it passed the test, the car would be drove off to the parking lot outside. Random test drive and full checkup are performed for quality audit outside, but not every car is thoroughly checked and test drove.

12. A 1957 Corvette model on display in front of the assembly plant.


Besides Corvette, the plant also builds Cadillac XLR, a $85,000 luxury car. Since demand is so small for the car, there is no assembly line for it. The car is built through a much more labor intensive process. Comparing to ~148 Corvettes built per day, only 8 Cadillac XLRs are built per day, and we got to see some of it on the tour as well.

I am not a car person, I am not even a Corvette fan, but I have to say, seeing Corvette in a parking lot is one thing, seeing it being built on an assembly line is totally another. It is beautiful, and the experience makes you love the car so much more than before.