Junior Rangers

 One activity that our family enjoys at national parks is for the kids to work on their Junior Ranger books to earn badges from each park we visit. Depending on their age they do a certain number of activities that vary from park to park. The Junior Ranger mission is to Explore, Learn & Protect. After they finish their activities they take it to a park ranger who looks at their book, talks to them about what they learned and has them recite the ranger pledge. So far this trip 3 of our kiddos have earned their Junior Ranger badges from Chickamauga & Chattanooga NMP, Mammoth Caves NP, and Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace NHP. I’m so proud of the kids and all the things they’re doing and learning. 

Annabelle hiking Lookout Mountain at Chickamauga & Chattanooga NMP

Josh working on his booklet for Mammoth Caves 

Josh showing Liam how to do a bark rubbing

Side note: Liam got pushed out of his camping chair and got a gash in the back of his head. It was bleeding profusely and pretty scary looking, but we got it cleaned up and creatively bandaged. Thankfully he’s ok. 

A map of the spaghetti like caves from the visitor center exhibit 

Learning about the different kind of rock that makes up the caves 

Small space at the visitor’s center for the kids to experience what it would be like to crawl through caves 

Reciting the Junior Ranger pledge 

Building with Lincoln logs at the visitors center in Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace 

Nancy, Thomas, big sister Sarah, and baby Abraham 

The memorial of his birthplace 

The Lincoln’s log cabin inside the memorial 

Domes & Dripstones

 Today was our tour of Mammoth Caves called Domes & Dripstones. We met Park Ranger Maddie and then rode the bus to the “new” entrance of Mammoth Caves. George Morrison founded this entrance in 1921 by blowing it open with dynamite and sending his nephew down with a rope tied around his waist to explore it. This tour consisted of over 700 steps and I was impressed with our kids who hiked without complaint. I learned that Mammoth Caves are the longest caves (over 400 miles) and if stretched out they would reach to Detroit, MI. Our guide said the caves actually only expand to the size of the park. She described them as a bowl of spaghetti, layering and intertwining each other. It was also a cool 54 degree inside the cave which felt nice. We ended the tour with the “Frozen Niagara” which was a huge stalactite that looked like falls frozen in time. 

Goodbye TN, Hello KY

We woke up in the morning with evidence of a visitor from the night before! Dave and I woke in the middle of the night to rustling and discovered a raccoon running around with Josh’s beef jerky from his backpack. Josh promises the backpack was closed. If so, the raccoon is good with zippers. He must have walked across our oiled griddle because we now have his footprints over our wheel well…and they’re not washing away. We’ll have memories of the midnight snacking raccoon for a while. 🦝

Our 4 hour trip to Mammoth Cave was through fields and backroads so we didn’t find traditional gas stations or rest stops. We stopped at this small town library for a bathroom break and quick peek at their books. Libraries are my happy place and I love visiting them in other places. 

Our campsite at Mammoth Cave NP and family bike ride around the campground ⛺️ 

Serendipitous Moments

 Some of my favorite travel moments are the surprises…stumbling upon an event, activity, or place you weren’t aware of. My Aunt Jeanne taught me to look for and appreciate those moments of serendipity. Today was definitely one of those days. 

We wanted to hike Lookout Mountain, but wasn’t sure where to go. We found Pointe Park (a part of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park we went to yesterday), free parking, and a kind ranger who got the kids set up with Junior Ranger activity books. We went on a short hike from the top of Lookout Mountain and saw beautiful views of the valley below. The kids worked on their activity books and received their Junior Ranger Badges. The only downside to this part of the day was that our little one had a giant accident and it was such a disaster we loaded him in the car with no bottoms on. Thankfully Walmart was close and we were able to buy new clothes. Oh the joys of traveling with littles. 

The battle at Lookout Mountain was called the Battle Above the Clouds 

Entering Pointe Park 

Our family hike and beautiful views from the top of Lookout Mountain.

After the mountain we headed into Chattanooga to eat at the Yellow Deli. Funny enough Dave used to eat here when he flew for work training young pilots. The crew would fly up to Chattanooga from Pensacola, eat, and fly home. He would bring us loaves of fresh baked bread from this deli, so I was so excited to eat here in person. It has a funky vibe and the food is all homemade and delicious. 

Eating upstairs 

Butternut Squash soup and Jalapeño Bread

Before we headed back to the campsite we stopped by Coolidge Park on the Tennessee River Walk. We saw a yoga class beginning and even though I felt a little awkward Dave encouraged me to join and I’m so glad I did. I miss my buddies from Pensacola Beach Yoga but it was a beautiful place and a really nice time. I just couldn’t believe we happened to be at this park, on this day, at this time…it’s such a nice surprise when things work out. And the kids played in the splash pad and threw the football. 

It was a lovely, last full day in Chattanooga. 

History and Playtime

 Today we drove back across the border to Georgia to visit Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park where we learned about the battles that took place there in 1863 during the Civil War. The battle of Chattanooga, particularly Missionary Ridge was considered “the death knell” to the Confederacy that ultimately led to Union victory. 

It was a beautiful drive around the park. And we listened to a self guided audio tour from the national park app. It was cool to see how interested the three older kids were. 

Late this afternoon we took the kids to Nooga Splash which is an inflatable obstacle course in Chickamauga Lake. The older three had a blast climbing, swimming, and jumping…for 4 hours! Hopefully it means they’ll sleep well tonight. Liam played on the kiddie inflatable, but I think he was a little lonely without his siblings. There was a nice beach set up by the lake and he definitely enjoyed playing on the playground and in the sand. 

Cooking dinner on our new griddle! It fits way more than our sauce pans and cooks evenly. It’s a new toy that’s working out well.