Sinking Spring Farm...

...the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln.

Less than an hours drive from the caves, this was our next destination...

A peaceful place, even today...

We popped into the visitor center to grab Jr. Ranger books and check out the exhibits, then we followed the path over to the cabin.

little boy+slingshot shoved in a back pocket=<3

What greeted us at the end of the path was not a cabin, but a marble building.  A monument housing a monument (the cabin is safely tucked away inside)...

The Ranger that was inside near the cabin was super nice.  It was obvious that he has a heart for children and happily shared some great facts with the kids in a fun way.  I just love it when other adults take the time to invest in my kiddos like that <3...

There are 56 steps that lead up to the monument, one for each year of Lincoln's life.  This really touched the kids for some reason and they insisted on all gathering at the top together and walking back down while I took a picture.  Ok, kids, you got it...

We followed one of the paths that led us to the farm's namesake, the Sinking Spring...

This was really neat to see because it is where the Lincoln family got their drinking water so many years ago.  And it still flows!  Very cool...

After walking the grounds we headed back over to the VC to have another look at the exhibits.  Do you ever do that?  Look at them first to get a general idea of the park, then look at them again after touring the park to really cement what you have seen.  Anyway, we did that and then the kids were all set to turn in their Jr. Ranger books.

All Rangered up and we were once again on our way.  There are only a small handful of states that we have never visited and when we realized just how close we were to one of them we just had to go say "HI"...can you guess which one ;)?

Mammoth Cave National Park

When we were looking at going to Mammoth Cave National Park, we saw that they have onsite lodging.  We love a good rustic cabin and were super excited for the chance to stay inside the park.  There was only an opening for one night, so we snatched it up and headed in that direction...

Once we got there and got checked in, I asked at the desk if there had been any cancellations for the following nights.  Nope, but check back in the morning.  Ok...

Guess what?  Bright and early the next morning...after a wonderful night's sleep in our woodsy little cabin...I checked back in with the reservation desk.  Annnnd, there was a cancellation on our EXACT cabin!  How completely awesome (for us) is that???  Of course, I snatched it right up again (haha!) and we enjoyed a few lazy days of legos (yes, we travel with legos), long walks, and simply hanging out around our cabin :)...

The cabin itself had no a/c so we were forced to throw open all the windows and even the wooden doors, leaving just the screens shut.  Sitting underneath the trees provided shade and a nice breeze that kept us plenty cool.

For all of our meals, we just walked over to the restaurant that sits near the Visitor Center.  Sometimes we ate there, sometimes we got it to go and took it back to our cabin.  The servers were all extremely nice and it was always pleasant :) (and surprisingly very affordable).

All the lazing around was great, but we also wanted to check out the caves while we were there.  You have to buy tickets for the tour of your choice and apparently you should do it as far in advance as possible.  Several of the tours were completely sold out, but we still had a few options.  We chose the Historic Tour...2 miles, 2 hours, enter and exit through the natural entrance...

It was ok.  I didn't love it.  The tour group was very large and the guide kept up a really fast pace.  I think if you could manage to be at the very front (so that you could actually hear the guide talking) that it would be better than just ok.  Anyway, the times that the guide stopped and waited for everyone to gather around before he talked were great (and no, we weren't at the back...somewhere between middle and front) and we learned some neat history on the caves.

old saltpeter mine...

marks on the ceiling from tour guides many, many years ago...they would throw up torches to light the room...

it was also acceptable way back when for folks to "sign" their names on the cave ceilings and walls using their candles...

They do warn you that it is a tough walk and anyone with issues should bow out.  We had seen on the description that part of the passage winds through a narrow cut in the rocks called "Fat Man's Misery".  That part was really cool, the tough parts were the tiny little stairways that you had to scrunch up and bend over to navigate...and at the very end the long walk back up out of the cave to the Visitor Center.  No elevators here folks ;)...

a picture of a picture showing the Fat Man's Misery portion of the cave

The kids participated in the Junior Ranger program while we were there (of course).  They picked up their books the first day and worked on the puzzles and fun stuff while we hung out at our cabin.  For the parts that required some studying to answer, we headed over to the Visitor Center...

Overall, we had a great time at Mammoth Cave National Park.  Their "summer camp-ish" cabins were our favorite part...I just love finding neat little places like that :)

Going to Kentucky...

After spending some time in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee, we decided to drive on up towards Kentucky...with a few stops along the way, of course ;).

I could not help myself...I kept stopping to admire these quilt paintings on barns that were sprinkled everywhere.  For every one that I managed to get stopped enough to snap a picture of, there were half a dozen more that I had to be satisfied with only a picture in my mind.  So pretty...

We were able to visit and let the kids complete the Junior Ranger programs at the Obed Wild & Scenic River and also the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area.  Each park in the NPS system has their own way of doing the program, some are longer and some are shorter.  Just a FYI, plan for quite a bit of time to complete the Big South Fork one...it was looooong.  Oh, and pack a picnic lunch if you go up there...you'll be very glad that you did :).

the only photo i have from those parks.  camera glitch ate the rest of them...

Big South Fork is right up next to the Kentucky line, so we took the time while we were stopped to look at a map and decide exactly where we wanted to go next.  We saw that Mammoth Cave National Park was only a few hours away and a couple of the kids were instantly intrigued.  We put it to a vote and it was decided...we were heading to the caves... 

The mountains are calling...

The ocean is our first love, but the mountains, they run a close second.  After several months apart the pull is there, the need to go.  And so we did...

After a wonderful night's sleep in Cherokee (hehe), we headed off to spend the day in the Smoky Mountains.  But first, food...  Upon the recommendations of a good friend (thanks B.!), we drove over to Bryson City to pick up a picnic lunch to take with us.  Ya'll, seriously, The Filling Station Deli is worth going out of your way for.  Cuban sandwiches, sweet tater fries, and the biggest richest brownies evah.  Mmm...

We set Cades Cove (one of our all time favorite spots) as the destination for the day, but we didn't rush the drive over.  We took our time, enjoying the scenery and several stops along the way...

their "look, i'm in two states at one time" pose ;)

The kids had wanted to play in a mountain stream.  We found the perfect one...

the boys...always wandering farther and farther away...

When they'd had their fill of the rocks and water, we got back on the road.  We drove and drove and drove, Cades Cove is way on the other side of the mountains.  Just before we got to the cove, we came to a group of cars parked along the highway with people standing and staring into the trees.  Ya'll know in the mountains that means one thing:  wildlife sighting.  Of course we had to check it out :).  We had to park up the road a little ways and walk back...and then we saw them...

Baby bears all snuggled up in a tree!

There was a Park Ranger there, keeping everything safe, and she was happy to fill us in on the details.  What she told us was that there was a momma bear just out of our sight at the bottom of the hill.  The momma bear had her three little baby bears with her...two up in the tree and one down below that she was feeding.  The Ranger said that the momma had been feeding one baby at a time while the other two hung out in the tree, then she'd call them down and they'd swap turns. 

We stayed there for a while, hoping to see them climb down/up, but they never did.  Oh well, that's ok.  They sure were cute little things :)...

There's a campground just outside of the cove.  We've never stayed there, so we pulled in to check it out.  Wow!  It was beautiful...definitely one to come back to someday...

Ok, finally, we pulled into the cove.  There is a one-way road that loops around and takes you to quite a few old structures that have been preserved.  I recommend getting the little tour booklet at the beginning.  It's worth the small fee and it gives a great history of each stop along the drive.

This place is just super special.  When you visit, it really feels like you have taken a step back in time...

i <3 honeysuckle

We've been coming here for many years and it never fails to impress...

can you still spot the deer in this picture?...

...they could :).  My little photographers :)

By the time we got all the way around the loop (and stopped about 100 times), it was getting dark.  We made it out of the park just ahead of what looked to be a big storm that was heading our way.  Hoping to stay ahead of it (driving at night in the rain is the worst), we spotted a Sonic and pulled in to grab a quick something to go.  While the kids all hopped out to use the facilities, I stayed behind to order our food.  The kids all still had full drinks, so I just ordered one Route 44 Diet Dr. Pepper (yep, the giant soda) for me and then two corn dogs a piece for each of us.  One giant drink and a dozen corn dogs.  Annnd, I was still the only person sitting in the car when it was delivered.  Ha ha, kids.  Sooo funny ;)!  (actually, it was pretty funny...hehehe...)