Half a Hundred Acre Wood

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Another State Added to our “50 States before They Graduate”
South Central Kentucky:  Things to do in Bowling Green and Cave City, KY
 
Our main focus on this trip was to experience Kentucky’s Cave Country.  We only live about an hour and a half away from Bowling Green, but we really wanted to immerse ourselves in the Cave Country experience, so we stayed overnight for a week (stopping short of staying all night in a cave).
Let me just say, my husband was a trooper.  I am a Buzz Lightyear kind of person, and he is… well… not.  So, when I showed him the schedule and he didn’t even flinch, I thought, “Hot Diggity Dog!  We are going to have a BLAST!!!”

THE SCHEDULE

Day 0
Wait until we GET to Cave City to even think about where we’re going to stay.  No vacancies at Wigwam Village?  No problem.  My husband has always wanted to stay in Jellystone
Park.
But there’s no bedding in the cabins!  Why isn’t there any bedding?  Oh, yeah.  Because this is a CAMPSITE.
Go shopping for sleeping bags.  None available.  Apparently, MOST campers BRING their
sleeping bags with them.
Opt to buy overpriced bedding sets at Fred’s instead.  And Febreeze because it smells… not as fresh as Hampton Inn.  And… be prepared for four nights of no sleep because the green gumby mattresses are not quite the memory foam mattress I’m used to.
Later discover that no linens also means no towels.  Dry off with a bunch of T-shirts and go back to Fred’s to pick up towels.
(NOTE TO SELF:  Next time when you do all this trip planning, PLAN where we’re going to stay – and then actually make a reservation.)
Day 1
Head to
Mammoth Cave .  Stop off at Sand Cave Trail to learn about the Floyd Collins story.  Stephen twists his ankle while standing there reading the sign.  Go back to our cabin while Stephen recovers from his traumatic injury.  We have a miraculous healing and are able to once again venture out into Cave City.  Now, we are finally ready for the schedule:
Kentucky Stonehenge in Munfordville, KY
Day 2
Mammoth Cave –
Frozen Niagara Tour, where some Canadians thought Stephen was super-brilliant and funny… that is until they asked if he was in advanced studies in school.  When Gary responded, “Well, we homeschool,” the lady hightailed it as far away from us as possible.  She COULD NOT get away from us weirdos fast enough. (sigh…)
Kentucky
Action Park:  Outlaw
Cave, Jesse James Riding Stables, Alpine Slide & Chairlift
Day 3
Day 4
Head South to Bowling Green
We head back to Cave City when we find that there are
no vacancies ANYWHERE in Bowling Green because of the “Big Game.” (This was basketball season.  And spring break.  I’m glad I worked so hard with our schedule to avoid the summer crowds!)
Stay at Wigwam Village. (It just so happened someone canceled their reservation that day.  We had a place to stay!  And a really cool one at that!)
Day 5
Cub Run Cave
Check in to Mammoth Cave Hotel
Explore trails in Mammoth Cave National Park
Day 6
Mammoth Cave –
Self-Guided Tour
Trip back to Cub Run Cave
Day 7
Big Mike’s Mystery House
National Corvette Museum
Head Home

Here we will detail our trip, minus the caves… because those deserve a separate post!


Jellystone Park
This is a fun, kid-friendly place to stay, with a playground, miniature golf, campfires, and hey-hey-heyrides.  Just remember to take your own linens.

Jellystone Park.  Since this trip, the boys have
been fascinated with Yogi Bear and are already
planning a family trip to Yellowstone.

Dinosaur World

With a museum, boneyard “dinosaur” excavation site, Touch-and-Tell exhibit, real fossil dig, and a playground, along with the many statues on the scenic Dinosaur Walk, the boys rated this one very highly.

 

Kentucky Stonehenge in Munfordville, KY
This place is literally in someone’s backyard.  In fact, we were in a residential area when the GPS told us we had arrived at our destination.  Lo and behold, someone actually built this in their backyard and has opened it up to the public.  It felt really weird parking in their driveway, but… this was a great place to get out and walk around!  I was in complete and total awe.

 

 

 

 

Battle for the Bridge Historic Preserve

We stopped off here to explore a little Civil War history.
The history:  Anthony Woodson’s father received this land from Thomas Jefferson for his service in the Revolutionary War.  It was developed into a prosperous homestead, later being the location of L&N Railroad’s bridge across the river.  Unfortunately, due to its strategic location and importance, this site was occupied by both Union and Confederate armies and was the location of two battles during the Civil War: The Battle of Munsfordville and the Battle of Rowletts Station.  Woodson’s fertile earth was piled into fortifications, his barns and buildings burned, and his fences used for firewood, resulting in the destruction and devastation of one of the finest homesteads of the time.

 

 

Stephen and David pose with the
historic bridge in the background.
Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace
We had to run through this at lightning speed because we crossed into the Eastern time zone.  DRAT!  We didn’t even have time to earn a Jr. Ranger badge. After all that running at lightning speed, it was a refreshing trip down to Sinking Spring!  This was the water source for Abraham Lincoln’s family when he was a baby!
Due to land disputes, Lincoln’s family moved from Sinking Spring Farm a little farther north to Knob Creek.  This was a thrilling place to visit, especially because the boys had previously read Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek:  A Tall, Thin Tale by Deborah Hopkinson.  For them, this visit was a book brought to life.

 

The boys play in Knob Creek, the same creek Abraham
Lincoln once played in!

With Outlaw Cave, Jesse James Riding Stables, bumper cars, miniature golf, go-carts, a 1/4-mile alpine slide, and a chairlift that nearly gave me a permanent panic attack, this place was loaded with fun and exciting things to do.

Everyone did really well on the horses – except for me.  I don’t know what it is with me and horses, but I always seem to get the feisty ones.  At least he didn’t buck me off.  That was good.

 

The chairlift was a great alternative to the slide for me and Levi… that is until I noticed that there was this huge gap between the seat and the bar that Levi could easily slip through. (JUST LOOK AT IT!) My heart was beating in my throat as I prayed nonstop that the Lord would keep him securely glued to that little bench.  And, He did.  But I am still recovering from the anxiety I felt.

 

The alpine slide was a hit for the older boys (including Gary), except David got stuck halfway down.  I was trying to hold on to Levi for dear life and yell suggestions to David as we passed by him.  They almost had to send a rescue team to get him down the slide, but my exuberant, heartfelt coaching seemed to get that stubborn slide going once again.

 

 

Imagine me hollering at him at the top of
my lungs.  I didn’t even know how the
silly slide worked, but I just kept yelling,
“Lean forward!” hoping that Levi
didn’t think I was talking to him.
This was such a fun and exciting place!  We petted a kangaroo and emu, sluice-mined for gems, watched a sheep dog herd sheep, played a didgeridoo (or in Levi’s case, drew pictures on the ground with a didgeridoo), discovered a little about the aboriginal peoples, fed lories and budgies, learned how to set a sheep (while participating in Aussie sheep-farm chores), and toured Kentucky Caverns (which is located in the middle of Kentucky Down Under).  One of my favorite activities was making the Kookaburra laugh.  I never knew I had such talent.
Big Mike’s Mystery House
For only 50 cents per person, we entered one of the strangest places I’ve ever been:  a house full of optical illusions.  Check this out:
What fun! What fun!  The boys toured it twice!
 
Wigwam Village:  A unique and fun place to stay in Cave City
Originally built in 1937, this is not your upscale hotel, but STILL, without reservations you will likely not get to stay because is just so … unique.  Out of 7 original Wigwam Villages scattered throughout the U.S., this is one of only three Wigwam Villages that are still open today.
When planning our trip, we originally thought we might stay here, but from the on-line reviews, we wanted to check it out first.  But then… there were no current or upcoming vacancies for our entire trip!  When we discovered that we would NOT be able to find a place to stay down in Bowling Green, we started calling hotels in Cave City.  When we called Wigwam Village, we found out that someone had just canceled that morning and they had two Wigwams still available (and because we are a family of five, we needed two wigwams.)
The boys absolutely loved this place.  There were several children to play with on the playground, which was situated in the middle.  (I’ve always thought hotels needed to install playgrounds. It was great!)  This was just the best place to stay for a family with kids!
 
Heading South to Bowling Green…
This was a great museum for the train – or Civil War – enthusiast.  There were model railroads, many interactive exhibits, and a complete tour of a train with an authentic Railway Post Office mail car, Pullman Sleeper, Diner Car, RR Presidential Office Car, and caboose.  Talk about living history!  It was great to see how each car operated and what it was like back in the 1920s and 1930s.  By far, this is the best Railway museum we have ever been to!
With several fun interactive exhibits (like the pit crew challenge), a good deal of Corvette history, and many lovely vehicles to gaze upon, this ended our trip to South Central Kentucky on a positive (and somewhat wistful) note.  Stephen has since stated that he wants a Corvette when he grows up.  Don’t we all?

That about wraps up our non-cave experiences during our “Cave Country Experience.”

One of my favorite sites to check out before leaving for a family trip is familydaysout.com.  It contains such a great assortment of activities and is very well organized!

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Our family has an exciting goal of experiencing all 50 states together before the boys graduate from high school.  To take a look at some of the places we’ve been, go to Traveling America.  If you want to offer suggestions for off-the-beaten-path places to visit in the 50 states, we would love your input!


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