with rattlesnakes, copperheads, black widow and brown recluse spiders.

We want to hike in the Mammoth Caves National Park - they warn of the above hazards. Normally, we have Ami on a 14' leash and let him sniff and poke and walk in the lead. Is this wise in an area with poisonous snakes and spiders? My usual is just to believe our tromping, scuffling through the leaves and talking will cause any wildlife to go the other way - is this sufficient? The big boy has been known to pounce on the the garter snakes in the garden and the back of the house border.

Coming to my neck of the woods aye? If you come through Louisville, let me know and we may can meet up and let the kids play!

As far as snakes and spiders, I have never seen a brown recluse here, but usually they live in houses and dark places. Black widows make webs and also like to stick to man-made buildings. It's rare that you'll see either in the woods. The only snakes I've seen have been non poisonous. I think you'll be fine as long as you keep an eye out.

Tyler - never looked, did not know you from Kentucky. We're going on a club tour to Bowling Green to the Corvette museum...but have to take TWO cars, one so Wayne can take the corvette and the WRX so we can bring Ami (Wayne won't board him...long story )

We have 1 free day before we had to Ohio for the Rock and Roll museum in Cleveland, I think. Have you been to Mammoth Cave?

I haven't, but I've heard it's amazing! I have friends who go often and they love it.

I have been to Mammoth. You should be fine though I probably would shorten his leash a little. If I use a leash that long mine end up wrapped around trees. you are kinda in that season now and the weather is cooling where the snakes are slowing. I didn't see much of anything when I was there a few summers ago. For the most part movement through the park keeps things back from the trails. Keep him on the trails and don't let him get off in thick areas and you shouldn't have a problem.

Jenn - I was hoping keeping to well traveled trails would minimize the risk. And think a shorter leash might be advisable.

Amy, on the little mountain by my house where I take my two, I thought sticking to the trail would minimize risk from the rattlers too, but way too many times rattlers were right on the trail...just watch where you guys are stepping and kinda scan the trail ahead of you, those things move quick! A few times I've seen people jump straight into the air cuz one zoomed across the trail right in front of them.

I'm sending this from my phone, hope it works, haha, I hate this thing.

I would shorten the leash a little and stick to the trails. I have been down there to the museum but not the caves yet. I have done northern KY hiking but not that area to the SW. It is a populate or well used park / trail system there though. The season is ending so nothing should be as fast but they will be basking in the sun a little bit more maybe (?)

Ps I am off I75 in Monroe Ohio -between Cincinnati and Dayton, if you travel that way when you head to Cleveland let me know.
I got a fenced yard for so wander over if needed!!!!

Plus the trails do have areas that have "sink hole" in the off trail areas. The whole are have the underground dissolving so the land sometimes gets swallowed by a cave from underneath.

Speaking of that I wonder if they still have the sink hole feature at the Museum. When we went last summer they still had all the cars and the sink hole on display. ie a sink hole opened under the museum and some 10-15 cars on display ended crashing into a big collapse. It was very interesting to see and devastating to see too.

I just recently saw that sinkhole at the Corvette Museum on TV, one of those weather/nature channels, it was pretty amazing! Some cars had little to no damage and others were unrecognizable.

Yep Jimmy there were some that I wept at and thought OMG I would be unconsolable if it had been my car one loan.

We saw pictures of the museum sink hole on CNN when it occured...heart-breaking.

So - how often do these sink holes occur in Mammoth Cave park? Do you get any warning? Or, can you just be walking along and suddenly you are being swallowed by the earth? I guess we are really spoiled up here in the northeast - our natural disasters are mostly snow with the occasional hurricane. Those all come with at least a 3 day warning and usually a week long "hey - you might want to watch out...snow may be coming" sort of thing. No snakes, poisonous spiders, very rare and very slight earthquakes, very rare, low velocity tornadoes (although the last one was within a mile, along a route I walk, tore the roof off a house and was on a day with no thunderstorms forecast and Ami was on his trolley home alone

In general the sinkholes will be small and will be equivalent to Ami digging holes. The engineers and architects usually figure the structure of the ground out before building. It is something that happens over time slowly. Think of karst topography as swiss cheese and water passing through the rock over time is the same as a mouse eating the holes bigger in the cheese. I am not sure how common it is for the surface to be effected by the holes below which is in reality what is happening with a sinkhole. But the rock is very holey down there. But it is not a oh crap this is continuous or at least not a surface. Never really thought about how common or not it is. (It s a different region than my topography and structure of bedrock here.)