The visitor's center is in the coal town of Strearn, at the rail station. Then we went into the park, to Blue Heron, an old coal mining camp. The buildings are gone, but they have skeleton buildings. Inside the buildings is a button to press and hear real people who lived there talk about life in a coal camp.
We explored the Cumberland Gap by hiking to the saddle of the Gap and then on to the Tri-state marker, where I stood in three states, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia - all at the same time! The hike was about 2.5 miles roundtrip. Uphill for 1.25 miles and then downhill on the way back.
We visited Chickamauga on a very rainy day, but most of the Junior Ranger booklet could be completed at the visitor center. Later, it quit raining so we visited Point Park.
I saw the home of the former president and the hero of the Civil War near St. Louis. The magic mirror was pretty neat.
I completed a Junior Ranger booklet at the Old Courthouse and learned about Dred Scott, architecture and how the city of St. Louis has changed over the years. Then we went up in the arch, and on a riverboat ride.
The Lincoln Home in Springfield Il. was fun. There was a whole neighborhood of homes, just as they were when Abraham Lincoln lived there. Don't miss the Lincoln Presidential Museum if you go there.
