Ghost Stories And Mammoth Cave

Mammoth Cave is a national park in south-central Kentucky, consisting of the longest cave system known in the world. The Green River runs through the park, with a tributary called the Nolin River feeding into the Green just inside the park.

The cave system has formally been known as the Mammoth–Flint Ridge Cave System since 1972, when a connection was discovered between Mammoth Cave and the even-longer system under Flint Ridge to the north. As of 2022, more than 426 miles passageways had been surveyed,  over 1.5 times longer than second-longest cave system, Mexico's Sac Actun underwater cave.

One of my favorite childhood memories was taking a tour of Mammoth Cave and the guide stopping us in a part of the cave known as the Great Room and then extinguishing all our light sources. That was my first experience with total darkness, darkness so deep it makes you question any other reality, and the immense impact those moments can have on one's psyche.

The cave, as you can imagine, has also spawned many tales of the supernatural which even taken with a grain of salt, make for great campfire fodder.  

Old Faithful

I'm continuing an informal series of posts about places of interest that I have visited in my life. One of my favorite destinations was Yellowstone Park and one of the most intriguing sites in that park was the Old Faithful geyser. 

Old Faithful is one of the most well-known geysers in the world.  This incredible natural feature has been drawing visitors for more than a century. However, despite its celebrity, there is still plenty most people don’t know about Yellowstone’s most popular geyser.

So here is a brief history of Old Faithful, along with a few little-known facts about this famous landmark for a better understanding the next time you tour Yellowstone.

Old Faithful was named by the Washburn Expedition of 1870, who explored the area that would later be called Yellowstone. Members of the expedition entered the Upper Geyser Basin after traveling down the Firehole River and saw the geyser, which they called Old Faithful because of the regularity with which it erupted.

Geysers like Old Faithful are only formed under specific conditions, making them relatively rare. Magma under the Earth’s surface superheats pockets of underground water, building pressure that eventually pushes the water upwards. Rhyolite, a volcanic rock high in silica content, lines the tunnel through which the water escapes its underground pocket, creating a pipe that can withstand the incredible heat and pressure as the water erupts above ground.

My Board Game Collection

 

Jesus Appearances After His Death

One of the main reason the disciples believed in the resurrection of Jesus is that they saw Him alive after He was dead. In fact, Jesus presented Himself alive on a number of different occasions to His followers.

Want to learn more about Jesus' resurrection? 

The strongest evidence we have on this matter is Jesus' own personal testimony is that He was raised from the dead. "I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." (Revelation 1:18).

In the book of Luke we also see Jesus providing proof to His disciples, "Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." (Luke 24:39).

What if I told you that hundreds of people saw Jesus after the resurrection? Let's take a closer look at some of those appearances . . .