Day One

Much sooner than expected, the start of the Lincoln Trek was here.

My daughter and her husband and two kids picked up Carolyn and me at our hotel near the Louisville airport and drove us to the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site just south of Hodgenville, KY. Lincoln was born here February 12, 1809. He lived here until slightly over two years old (about the same age as our grandson Ryan who accompanied us to the site) and then moved to the Knob Creek farm, about 10 miles away. My plan was to walk this route, but I also had determined I wasn't going to walk any route twice. Since I had arranged to stay at the Birthplace overnight, I decided to have my family drop me at Knob Creek and I would walk back to the Birthplace as the first leg of my trek.

First, we all toured the Birthplace. We climbed the 56 steps (one for each year of Lincoln's life) to the classical, John Russell Pope-designed marble and granite memorial building housing the log cabin that may have been the one in which Lincoln was born, but probably isn't. In any event, it is of the type - one door, one window (no glass), the whole thing about the same floor space as a modest living room. We also saw the Park Service film, narrated by Burgess Meredith and featuring numerous hand-held shots of walking through the woods, which draws a line to Lincoln's greatness from the humble origins just yards from the visitor center. We also bought a felt stove-pipe hat for Ryan.

I had an interview with the publisher of the local paper and then stowed most of my gear in the cabin I would occupy later. (Yea! Day one I walk without my heavy backpack.) We drove to Knob Creek and I immediately wondered about my choice as we continued to go down and down a long incline that I would shortly be tackling in reverse.

We looked around Knob Creek. There's not much to see there yet; the cabin is undergoing study and restoration under the new ownership of the Park Service and you can only look at its exterior.

I bid farewell to the family, slathered on the sunscreen, and took off just a few minutes before high noon. I don't know the temperature, but I'm guessing high 80's or more. About a half hour later, I had topped the long incline and just kept going for another seven miles or so until I got to Hodgenville where a seated statue of President Lincoln dominates the small town square. I visited the small but engaging Lincoln Museum with its wax figure tableaux of various key episodes in Lincoln's life. With the recommendation from the museum staff person, I headed across the square to a hamburger place, Laha's (pronounced lay-haze), which opened its doors in 1935. I found myself next to one of the sons of the founder, who told me that 5 of his brothers served in WW2 and a sixth in Korea; all came back safely. He sprinkled pepper on his buttermilk which he drank with his bowl of chili. I had the cheeseburger (I shouldn't mention it was a double in case my doctor reads this note) - excellent.

I headed back to the Birthplace with two stops along the way. The LaRue County Public Library, open Saturdays until 3 pm, housed an interesting Lincoln collection that probably makes a return visit some day in order. And McDonald's golden arches gave me a place to do some further liquid replenishment.

I was back at the Birthplace shortly after 4 pm, with a little over 10 miles of my trek under my belt. I soon discovered that cellular connections at the Birthplace are few and far between. After finding a high point at the front gate of the site, I was able to leave messages that I had safely concluded my first day's effort.

It was then on to the cabin, but that's another posting......