Days 37 and 38--Benton, AR to Louisville, KY, with a stop at Mammouth Caves National Park

Yesterday, I had the long drive (~460 miles) between Benton, AR and Mammouth Caves National Park in Kentucky (which is about halfway between Nashville and Louisville not far off I-65). However, since I didn't need to arrive at Mammouth Caves until my scheduled tour at 6:15pm, I decided to get an early start and make a stop on the way. My decision for a stopping place was between the Bill Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock and the National Civil Rights Museum at the Loraine Motel (the site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination) in Memphis. Due to my departure time (around 8:20am) and the opening time of the Clinton Center (9:00am and it was a 25 minute drive from my hotel), I decided to go to the National Civil Rights Museum, which was one of the many attractions I missed on my brief stop in Memphis in March 2013 (sort of regret not making time for a longer stop in Memphis/a stop at the Clinton Center on the way in my route). What I did not anticipate was the crowds that would be at the National Civil Rights Museum. When arriving there at around 10:40am, there was about a 30 minute line for security and tickets. Due to that wait and my tight timeframe, I had to rush through the museum. However, the museum is quite effective at telling its message and is definitely worth a visit.

Exterior of the Lorraine Motel

A view of the balcony where MLK was shot

I made sure I got through the museum by 1:00pm at the latest so I could arrive to Mammouth Caves on time for my 6:15pm Focus on Niagara tour, which shows the most picturesque portion of the cave (a week before, that was the only timeslot during my visit that was available to reserve). Stopping only for lunch (and to pick up something for dinner since I thought my tour wouldn't allow me to make dinner at the park hotel on time--turns out I could have made dinner there on time after all since the tour was less structured and therefore shorter than I thought) in Jackson, TN, I made it to Mammouth Caves National Park shortly after 5:45pm.

The Focus on Niagara tour consisted of driving as a group (all in our own cars) to the cave entrance then being led into the cave by park rangers who gave a brief commentary and then allowed us to take pictures. While we were allowed to stay in the cave until 7:55pm, most people were done by 7:15pm. Here are some picture highlights:

After the tour, I went to my campground located in the park to set up my campsite. Then walked around a bit, had my dinner (late since I had a large, late lunch), did some reading on my iPad, and went to bed.

This morning, I had an 8:30am tour titled Gothic Avenue which entered the cave via the historic entrance. This tour did not show as picturesque a part of the cave as yesterday's tour but still had some cool sightseeing and the rangers told some of the interesting history of the cave (it originally had been used as a salt pewter mine then a for-profit tourist attraction which explained a lot of the graffiti on the ceilings). This tour lasted around 2 hours. Here are some pictures (no flash was allowed and there were fewer opportunities to take them):

Shortly after the tour (probably between 10:45-11:00), I headed towards Louisville, which is a 90 mile drive from the park and is supposed to take around 1.5 hours (although the clock would say 2.5 hours since you cross back into the Eastern Time Zone). I stopped for gas and lunch in Sonora, KY and got to Louisville around 2:00pm.

In Louisville, my first stop was the Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum, which is located in the downtown area. I don't have anything shareworthy for interior pictures since no pictures are allowed on the factory tour and didn't get anything in the museum, which shows off Louisville Slugger bats that famous players used.

 It was a pretty enjoyable (although not spectacular) way to spend around an hour. After that, I walked down the street to the Muhammad Ali Center, which tells the story of the famed boxer. It was pretty interesting and certainly worth an hour visit.

I didn't really explore downtown Louisville but it seemed like a nice city and there are some downtown attractions I skipped. I parked on the riverfront of the Ohio River (was tempted to cross over to Indiana so I could say I've been to Indiana but didn't and my route tomorrow skips that state). Tomorrow, I'll check out the Kentucky Derby Museum & Churchill Downs then go on to Pittsburgh to see my aunt & uncle there.

Next Stop: Pittsburgh, PA