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Double-Whammy Field Trippin'


This week we had the very fun opportunity to go on an all-day field trip with some families from our homeschool group.  We decided to take in two national parks in one day!  Our first stop was at Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace near Hodgenville, KY.  


We really enjoyed the museum area in the visitor's center and also walking around on the grounds.  The kids all had fun working towards their Jr. Ranger badges, too.


It's fun visiting these sites with lots of kiddos because they have the best questions.  And the rangers here were very gracious to answer them all.


We had visited here before, but did have time to walk all over the grounds.  This time we walked the path where the local boundary oak used to stand.


We also got to see the Sinking Spring, which was one of the reasons Abraham Lincoln's parents wanted to settle here.  


The kids had fun working through their workbooks and earning their jr. ranger badges and also some fun trading cards.  

Then it was time for a quick lunch and we were off to Mammoth Cave!  While we were waiting on our tour the kids were able to participate in a jr. ranger program and also start their workbooks.  



Then it was time to enter the cave!  I can't even tell you how good that cool air felt after being out in the hot summertime all day.   This was our 2nd time to visit Mammoth Cave, but we did a different tour the first time (you can read about our other tour and about our camping trip at Mammoth here).


Our tour was a little over an hour and we had a great guide.  Of course, it's difficult to take photos in a cave (at least for a non-pro like me:), so you'll just have to accept that this black background was in the cave..ha


After being in the cool, dry part of the cave it felt unbelievably muggy and hot when we came out.  We all had a great time though and are looking forward to coming back to do some of the different cave tours.  


After a long but very fun day of walking, exploring, learning, caving and what-have-you, we were all ready for a good meal.  Then, 13 hours later, we arrived back home.  This day definitely inspired me to consider planning more extensive field trips for our group occasionally (did I mention that I'm on the field trip planning team this year?!).  

Do you still do things with your homeschool group through the summer?  What field trips have you taken this year?

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Kate Dunkin said…
Thank you for sharing this story with us Lora! I was online looking for tips and advice for group trip planning because me and my friends are planning a trip with a lot of people when I found your blog. I'm happy I came across your blog because it is filed with delightful stories and pictures. I'm definitely going to subscribe to your blog and share it with my friends and family.
July 25, 2012 at 11:15 AM
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