It's nice to get a lot of parks done on a trip, looks like we're gonna get 5 on this one. Already finished Mammoth Cave, Big South Fork, and Cumberland Gap National Historical Park today. Tomorrow it's Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park. And then driving down to Gulf Islands National Seashore, by Pensalcola, FL on Wednesday.
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Cumberland was nice, good views and good history. It's a historical park for a couple of reasons, most of which being thousands of immigrants passed through this point in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It's the only break (Gap) in the Appalachians for a hundred miles in either direction. It was the "Gateway to the West" back then, which is kinda tough to imagine today. "The West" conjures up a lot of different images for me and none of them contain Kentucky. But this was the West at one point. I can't imagine crossing it without air conditioning, it was hot as hell today. Here are some pics from the overlook
View of the town Middlesboro, KY - West side of the Gap.
View of the town Middlesboro, KY - West side of the Gap.
Another pic looking West.Watched a movie in the visitor center which talked about how Cumberland Gap was of great strategic importance during the civil war. In face Grant called it the "Gibralter of America." No battle was fought there though.
Took a hike up to where Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky meet. Not quite the 4 corners, but pretty neat nonetheless. That's me standing in Kentucky and Virginia; Tennessee didn't make the cut.
Excited to collect a military park tomorrow, hopefully we get done early so we can check out the park a bit.
The truck...
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