Mammoth Caves and Abe Lincoln's birthplace

Mammoth Caves and Abraham Lincoln's birthplace

Nolin Lake State Park...April 9-16

We have spent the last several days in SW Kentucky near Mammoth Caves National Park.  We are in a very rural (pronounced "rule" by the locals) area with lots of bluegrass and rolling hills.  It is very beautiful.  We had a few extra days here as they were expecting high winds and possible snow where we were headed, so we stayed a couple extra nights.  This gave us time to go and visit Abraham Lincoln's birthplace...a small cabin in rural Kentucky.  The National Park Service has made a stunning memorial on the spot, with the small cabin inside of it.  The museum also had artifacts from his life including his family's bible.  He was quoted as saying, "In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man."  WOW!!  He only had 2 formal years of school and likely learned to read and write from his mom as she read to them from the bible.  It was so neat to see all that he had overcome in his early life to become one of the nation's most influential leaders. 

 Striking a somber Abe Lincoln pose.

 This is the monument that they created early in the 1900's, before any other Lincoln Memorials were made.  It has 56 steps outside the monument...one for each year of his life.  It was designed by the man who designed the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C.  

 Here is a small replica of Lincoln's log cabin. 

 One of my favorite "snapshots" from our trip has been seeing the boys reading so much!!  We try and have a reading/quiet time each afternoon and it is so peaceful.  

 We spent a day at Mammoth Caves National Park.  We went on a tour of one of the almost 400 miles of caves in the park.  It has the longest known cave system in the world.  It was a very busy park and we would have preferred touring on our own...but we got a chance to see some amazing rock formations.  

 We also went on a short hike down to the Green River.  We met an interesting park ranger on a ranger led walk who grew up in this area.  Her childhood home had no running water, electricity, and she only attended school when "they felt like it."   She never wore shoes and said that she and her siblings regularly had to pick ticks out of one another's hair. YET...she always had loved to read and decided that she wanted to go to college and became a Botany major.  It was fascinating talking to her.  We also saw several horse drawn buggies with Amish people in them on our drives through the countryside.  This is a very diverse state.  Tomorrow we will head to the eastern edge of Kentucky to Cumberland Gap National Park.