Hodgenville, Kentucky
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Black Mountain to Hodgenville Kentucky. After 1/2 day of clean up and packing the RV, we set out for a party at lovely lake Tomahawk. Our local park is one of the most beautiful I have seen. Seeing the sunset over the mountain range provides a certain amount of relaxation and serenity that is hard to put in words. We departed from Black Mountain in the evening and camped for the night at a Walmart in Tennessee near Knoxville. The 2.5 hour night drive through I 40/I -75 became more exciting than it should have because the gas light went on and there was no where to stop for gas or even pull over for at least 30 miles. I was getting concerned that the RV would just stop in the middle of the interstate. Driving through the mountains with the trucks and having low visibility and no gas is not the way to tour the Smokies. Well, it turned out that the diesel gague was way off and we had six gallons left when we pumped gas near Gatlinburg. The next day we continued our trek toward the lake Michigan National Seashore
. We felt guilty that we were driving through Kentucky without taking in any of the tourist traps ...ahem attractions so we took a turn at Berea and headed due West to see where Honest Abe was born. It was a scenic, but grueling trip through the Kentucky back woods. Except for the mostly paved roads we probably turned the clock back at least 100 years or more. Tiny farms, tiny towns rolling hills. It looks like a cliche. After completing the 100 mile trip, we get there with about 30 minutes to actually see the birthplace of Lincoln. Its not anything too exciting, especially not worth the harsh road trip but we felt fulfilled seeing the resized remade log cabin inside a Shrine built at the Sinking Spring farm which his father bought for $2.73. We watched the obligatory 15 minute movie and the kids played with Lincoln logs. The good news is that the actual attraction was free. Kentucky boasts that the first seven years of Lincoln's life (his family left Kentucky after that for good) molded him. Well if that's true then my girls have been molded by Miami, Florida. I am in big trouble. Well you can't blame the Kentucky tourist marketing machine for trying. Luckily, we did not have to back track to get back on course and were able to hop on the interstate from Hodgenville in about 10 miles. From there we took I-75 straight up heading to Indianapolis. We got close and decided on Driftwood RV camp for the night. It was a good full hook up overnight facility. It was right off of I-75 near Crown Point, Indiana and cheap.
