2013 Road Trip – Part 2

The 2013 RoadTrippingForKids.com road trip is going great.  We will be on the road for several more weeks and are loving the time on the road.  Like us on facebook to get real time updates.  Enjoy!

On our way to Bowling Green after we left Lake Ouchita, we took a drive through the Land Between the Lakes.  We stopped off in Paris for the night before we went through the mystical Land Between the Lakes.  We saw T-rex  and lots of other dinos, including the Buffalo.

There are tons of amazing places to camp, fish, and hike in this great state park.  There is a 68 mile hiking trail that runs from south to north through the entire state park.  This looks like a great warmup or practice for the AT.

I am a buffalo hear me roar
I am a buffalo hear me roar!

In Bowling Green, we spent a week hiking and playing while my dad conducted an AP Computer Science Summer Institute at Western Kentucky University.  Thanks, Dad.
Our first adventure was a visit to the Louisville Zoo.  The Zoo was great and especially the Siberian Tiger.  Ben loves kitty cats and wants to be one someday.

At the zoo
At the Louisville zoo

Next, we went out to Mammoth Cave, one of our most favorite National Parks, so that I could do a Boy Scout service project to finish up my Star requirements.  We spent 6+ hours in the sweltering heat and rain blazing trails out through the park.  We were happy to give back to Mammoth Cave as it has given us many amazing memories.  We love this park.  We also did a tour through the cave to see the new entrance just to do some exploring.  We love caves and hiking.

27_kelley's iphone 07.13 2917 26_kelley's iphone 07.13 2911 25_kelley's iphone 07.13 2907

Beech Bend is Bowling Green is our favorite amusement park.  It is not real big, but has enough to keep us going and always has really nice people running the park.  The drinks are cold, the sunscreen is free, and the rides are terrifyingly scary.  What a fun day.  Big Wile loves the whip as you can see in the following pic.

Wile on the whip!
Wile on the whip!
riding rides at Beech Bend
riding rides at Beech Bend

On our way to Fort Necessity, looking for squatches along the way.

hunting for squatches
hunting for squatches

at Fort Necessity, we all learned a ton about Indian Lore.  I was able to complete my Indian Lore Merit Badge and my brothers and parents learned a ton.  We learned how to make wampum bracelets, played a few indian games and heard allot of cool stories. Afterwards, we checked the fort and learned about how even great men like George Washington make mistakes from which they learn.

this fort is in the middle of a wide field surrounded by trees
this fort is in the middle of a wide field surrounded by trees
turns out lacrosse originated with the indians
turns out lacrosse originated with the indians
its my indian look alike
its my indian look alike

Shenandoah National Park is up next.  We are looking forward to some fun camping and hiking on the AT.  Washington DC is just around the corner as well as we will hit some museums and all of the cool National Monuments on the mall.