Day 9: Natural Bridge State Park to Mammoth Caves National Park, KY

We had a wild adventure this morning on a guided clear kayak tour through an old limestone mine! It was amazing - the kids gave it an eleven out of ten. Alistair was adamant that he wanted to pilot his own mini kayak. He gave it a valiant effort and (thankfully) graciously accepted the guide’s suggestion a few minutes in that he might enjoy being towed behind the guide’s kayak to minimize zigzagging. The big boys nailed it. It was so cool to see the huge trout swimming right beside and underneath us throughout our time on the water.

After a lunch of leftover pizza, we drove toward Mammoth Caves National Park, stopping at Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto, KY to hand dip our own bottle of bourbon into their infamous red wax.

We also dropped in to Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park to see a replica of the log cabin where the 16th US president was born and the sinking spring that was the reason his father selected this particular homestead. The spring was most underwhelming as it is today but we could see how it could have been important in the past.

After gaining an hour to our afternoon due to moving time zones, we rolled into Mammoth Caves Campground around dinner time and settled in. We have another exciting adventure planned for tomorrow. Stay tuned to see what we get up to.