Leaping for joy

Leaping for joy
Originally uploaded by Olivia Linkel

We started the day around 8:30 EST but quickly crossed into central time and gained an hour. Our first stop was Russell Cave National Monument, just north of Bridgeport, Alabama. This is a cave that joined the park service in 1961. It represents the pre-historic people of North America and dates back to 10,000 BC. We were the first people in the building and I have to give a huge shoutout to Ranger Antoine Fletcher. He gave us a personal tour of the cave, answered all of the kids questions and even found Lorelei some wild ginger to take home. He was a true representation of the best of the parks service. Of course, we did the junior ranger program and once finished, we headed on our way.

By the time we finished there, we were ready for lunch so while Scott drove towards Stones River National Battlefield, I made lunch for everyone.

We drove about 2 hours northwest to Murfreesboro, TN. At Stones River, we walked the cemetary, checked out the museum and had a look at the battlefield. Some of the same generals and commanders we learned about at Chickamauga were also key players here. The battle that took place here can also be marked by the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation by Lincoln. It was one of the bloodiest battles with over 24,000 wounded, killed or captured.

Once we finished there, we drove abour 40 minutes to the Parthenon in Nashville. The kids were excited to see the Athena statue from the Percy Jackson film but OOPS, it wasn't open. They were very excited to run free in the grass field as evidenced by the picture in this post.

Next we headed to the campground. The kids played on the playground but found the sand base annoying in their shoes so they returned to the camper where we played a highly competitive game of disc golf with our one hole. Then we made dinner and had a relaxing evening together.

Tomorrow we head into Nashville for some country music and the state capitol.