welcome to the callenharty.com great smokies trip page one

Our goal on the first day was to relax, but drive straight through to somewhere near Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. We were 20 minutes ahead of a tornado in Illinois, about the same ahead of a dam break and flooding in Indiana, but managed to make our goal. The following day we explored Mammoth Cave and Lincoln's birthplace, boyhood home, and hometown.

Fence Flag
American flag made from colorful plastic cups inserted into a fence in Illinois.

Six-spotted Tiger Beetle
One of my favorite insects this brilliant metallic beetle was seen at Abe Lincoln's birthplace.

Lincoln Birthplace Memorial
Memorial building marking the spot where Abraham Lincoln was born. His cabin is long gone, but a similar type of cabin symbolizing the cabin he would have been born in is located in the memorial.

Little Wood Satyr
Everywhere we looked the entire trip there were scads of butterflies around us. This is one of many little wood satyrs we encountered.

Hackberry Emperor, Lincoln Birthplace Memorial
A friendly species, these kept landing on the clothes and bodies of visitors.

Thistle Flower
A beautiful thistle flower head found at Knob Creek, Lincoln's early boyhood home.

Cicada Nymph Shells
We arrived at Knob Creek in the middle an explosion of 17-year cicadas. Empty nymph shells were lined up on virtually every tree from top to bottom.

Emerging Cicada
Most of the periodical cicadas were already at adulthood, but we did see several that appeared half way there.

Periodical Cicada
Both ugly and beautiful these cicadas live underground for 17 years, and then emerge as adults and live for a couple weeks before mating and dying. The sound of thousands of them singing mating calls at one time is indescribable.

Robin Fledgling
One of several baby birds encountered on our trip.

Lincoln, Hodgenville, Kentucky
Statue of Abraham Lincoln by Adolph A. Weimann, situated on the town square of Hodgenville, Kentucky..

Dinosaur, Cave City
While we bypassed the tourist trap town of Cave City we had to stop near Dinosaur World to capture this prehistoric beauty.

Little Hope Cemetery
A somewhat appropriately named place on the grounds of Mammoth Cave National Park.

White-tail, Mammoth Cave National Park
Shortly after entering the grounds of Mammoth Cave National Park we saw our first wildlife.

White-tailed Deer, Mammoth Cave
A curious young buck on the grounds of Mammoth Cave National Park.

Pair of Cave Crickets
Very, very large crickets inside the entrance to Mammoth Cave.

Stalagmite, Mammoth Cave
An oddly shaped stalagmite reaching for the ceiling.

Column, Mammoth Cave
A beautiful thick column seen during the cave tour.

Stalactites, Mammoth Cave
Stalactites looking like dripping candle wax in Mammoth Cave.

Question Mark, Mammoth Cave National Park
Yet another type of butterfly, this one is called a question mark.

Rosy Maple Moth
Looking a little worn this moth was near the cave entrance.

Definite Tussock Moth Caterpillar
One of the funkiest-looking caterpillars I've ever seen; on a park bench near Mammoth Cave.

Buck Moth Caterpillar
Yet another odd caterpillar this one was seen at Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park in Kentucky.

Indian Pink
A delicate and pretty flower I had never seen before.

Dale Hollow Lake Marina
Boats lined up at the Kentucky state park marina.

Page last updated 06/22/08