Mammoth Cave National Park, Lincoln’s Boyhood Home, Nashville Sounds Ballpark, Mud Island, Memphis Cardinals Ballpark, Hot Springs National Park

In early 2012 our little family of 5 moved halfway across the country from Georgia to Texas. It was a hard move, but ultimately the best thing for our young family. When we moved here we took 3 days to get here… looking back at that we laugh! We have done multiple 16 hour long trips in a day since then. We knew that, although our babies were little, if we wanted to see as many parks as possible we needed to get a move on it! So during the summer of 2012 we made our first itinerary and set off on an adventure with a 7 year old, 5 year old and 2 1/2 year old. My sisters, Mandy and Kate were living in Nashville so we incorporated a visit to see them (and a few honky tonks) into our trip.

We loaded down the mini van with all the camping gear, snacks and car entertainment we could gather and hit the road. We spent the night in Nashville with my sisters before heading to Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. It is a short 1 1/2 hour drive from Nashville so we were there by lunch. We had packed a lunch and planned to do the self-guided cave tour and then Mandy and Kate were going to head back to Nashville with the youngest Andrew (many of the caves had age requirements and he didn’t meet many of them) while the rest of us camped. NOTE: PLANS CHANGE… BE FLEXIBLE!

Ya’ll… let me tell you… it is hot as blue blazes in Kentucky in July! After arriving at the park and going to the visitors center for the kids to get their Junior Ranger books (wonderful program… more to come on that!) we quickly decided that camping in 100+* with two kids was not going to happen. Luckily we were able to secure a room at the Mammoth Cave Hotel (the H in Hotel should have probably been replaced with an M… just saying). Shew, melting averted.

We took the self guided Mammoth Cave Discovery Tour which only took about half an hour. Inside the caves it is a steady 54* F so although it was sweltering outside, it was cool in the caves! After a picnic (and a little overheating incident) we decided to send Aunt Mandy and Aunt Kate back to Nashville with Andrew. We did a little more exploring but the heat ultimately got us and we took a nap in the motel room.

The next morning Thad and I took the big kids on a longer cave tour. There are over 360 miles of caves that have been discovered at Mammoth Cave but we were only doing what we needed to get the kid’s to check off the things in their Jr. Ranger book.

The kids enjoyed the different geological formations and loved searching for them. In all honesty, this was a difficult park with young kids. They were only able to go on a few tours and there are only so many stalactites and stalagmites a 5 year old can handle! The kids were able to complete their Jr. Ranger book and get sworn in for the very first time as National Park Jr. Rangers.

The next day we took a quick ride north to visit Lincoln’s boyhood home. It was a nice little area with tons of history. The actual log cabin is inside a building but was very cool to see and think about ole honest Abe growing up in the hills of Kentucky.

We headed back to Nashville and spent the 4th of July with family watching the Nashville Sounds Minor League baseball team and fireworks. There is so much to do, see and eat in Nashville but this go round we stuck close to home with the heat and the small kids. God Bless America!

On the 5th we headed to Memphis for more baseball and BBQ. We spent a hot day exploring Mud Island. It is a free attraction and has a fun gondola ride across the Mississippi River to get to it. The island has a visitor’s center and a to scale replica of the entire Mississippi River that you can walk through. The kids loved getting their feet wet and we loved seeing just how mighty the Mississip is! Highly recommend it!

That night we had world famous BBQ and ribs at Charlie Vergo’s Rendezvous and took in the Memphis Redbirds Minor League game.

The following day we drove from Memphis to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Hot Springs is a small town with tons of history. In the late 1800 and early 1900s it was a retreat town for the wealthy. The natural hot springs were thought to have healing powers and brought visitors from all over the US. While the National Park has a lot of history, beautiful architecture and the natural hot springs it was just a quick visit for us with 3 small children. I do think that it would be a fun destination for a girls trip or couples get away to take advantage of all of the bath houses and spas. Our first Penuelparkapalooza was a success. Starting small was the best thing for our family!

Next up: Big Bend National Park