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Mammoth Cave by Lantern Light
Long before Yellowstone became the world's first national park and way before Coney Island had a roller coaster (1872 and 1884 for those of you who care), vacationers already flocked to tour Mammoth Cave. When tours began at the cave in 1816, charging people good money to go in a big hole in the ground seemed like a wacky scheme, but the idea worked and has been working ever since.
To learn what a trip to the cave was like in the old days, I read every 1800s journal, article, letter and book on Mammoth Cave I could find. Some experiences early cave visitors wrote about are familiar to modern visitors - gazing fearfully down Bottomless Pit, and ducking through a narrow, winding passage called Fat Man's Misery. Others are long gone - arriving by stagecoach, slaves guiding tours, and wearing your petticoat and corset in the cave.
Reading bunches of old papers and looking at a lot of old photos and art led to Mammoth Cave by Lantern Light; a look at how early visitors experienced one of America's oldest tourist attractions.