Rock N' Coal 2014

This past July 4^th week I embarked on my Rock N’ Coal roadtrip: 7 days, 2,100 miles, 6 states, and 10 NPS sites. I set off bright and early on June 28^th and my first stop was the First Ladies National Historic Site in Canton, OH. I had driven by the site twice on previous trips but it was never open at those times so I was glad to finally make it inside. I started in the Education & Research Center where I took in a video and several exhibits about the first ladies. Then I was whisked away to the Ida Saxton McKinley Historic Home where a costumed guide took me and two other ladies through the Victorian era house. While the tour is mostly focused on President and Mrs. McKinley, there is a room with pictures and bios of all the first ladies that relay interesting tidbits about their lives. It was pretty cool to see how the role of a First Lady evolved over time.

McKinley's office

Before I arrived at my campground for the night, I swung through Wilberforce, Ohio which is the future site of Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument. Right now, only a historical marker exists so I’ll have to come back when it is more fully developed. As I was reading at the campground that night a cat came around and decided to explore my tent before curling up in my lap. I think she actually belonged to a neighboring home but it was a nice perk to have a furry friend. 

Campground cat

Sunday I drove the Lincoln Byway in Kentucky. I stopped to stretch my legs in Louisville at the waterfront but continued on to the Jim Beam Distillery where I had a liquid lunch. The facilities didn’t open til noon so I wandered the grounds where you can see the family home, the rackhouse where the whiskey is stored, the cooperage which tells the story of how the barrels are aged and the stillhouse which is the gift shop and launching point for the guided tours. At the stroke of noon, I headed into the tasting room where you can taste 2 whiskey’s for free.

 

 With a fire in my belly, I headed to the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site. There are two units: his birthplace and his boyhood home. The birthplace is the main unit and has a memorial building which encases a symbolic log cabin, representing where he was born.

Lincoln Memorial

There is also the sinking spring which was the water source for the Lincoln Family. It's amazing how quickly the temperature dropped when walking down to the spring so it was a nice respite from the heat and humidity.

Sinking spring

The Boyhood home is a few miles distant from the birthplace and is where he lived until age 7 and is along Knob Creek where he almost drowned. There's not much to see here other than fields of hay.

Boyhood home

Lincoln is so revered as a president that it was nice to see his humble roots and get a better sense of how his upbringing shaped him. Even though its not affiliated with the NPS, I stopped by the Lincoln Museum in downtown Hodgenville to learn even more. It presents life size dioramas of significant moments in Lincoln's life which I found fascinating. Mainly just to see how tall he was.