Day 1295: Abe Lincoln

I've been mentioning in blog posts for days that you don't need to travel far from home to find some really spectacular sights, and for me, Abraham Lincoln's home in Springfield, Illinois is one of those sights! Over the past few months, we've had more than one discussion about Springfield and the Lincoln Tomb, so when we realized we could swing an extra day on our trip, it wasn't hard to come up with where we would go! 

Springfield, Illinois is actually a wonderful city, and I enjoyed our time there thoroughly. We pulled in Sunday evening and stayed at a local house nearby the tomb so we could get an early start the next day, which was a great idea. Even on a Monday morning, there was a whole crowd of visitors at the National Park Service Visitor Center for the home. Tickets to tour the house, which is the only home Lincoln ever owned, are free thanks to his son Robert, who sold the house to the Park Service for a dollar with the promise that no one would ever be charged to see it. 

Much of the home is original, with the main floor featuring the original doors and banister, among select furniture throughout the house that the Lincoln's added over time. If you look closely at one of the below pictures, you can see Lincoln's original desk in the corner! They also have a great visitor center and various other historic buildings bought out in the area, all a part of the National Historic Site that celebrates Lincoln's path to the Washington D.C.

Nearby, you can also visit the Lincoln Museum and National Library, both of which we were unable to see due to time restraints, as well as the Lincoln Tomb, where Abraham Lincoln himself is buried along with much of his family. The tomb is beautiful, and while pretty much the only thing to do there is pay your respects, it's still an extremely important location for all of us. I'm a fan of Abraham Lincoln myself; he's my favorite president, so visiting seemed extra special to me. Here I was, standing only feet from someone I look up to, and that, if nothing else, was worth the stop in Springfield. 

Although, I guess touring Lincoln's house with Lincoln himself was pretty great too. This man works as an Abe Lincoln impersonator and just happened to be touring the house the same time we were. What a spectacular way to end our trip! 

Have a magical day!

Day 1292: Mesa Verde

Time for another National Parks Adventure! 

Previous to only a few weeks ago, I'd never really thought much about Mesa Verde. I'm actually embarrassed to say that I hardly knew anything about it, and probably didn't even realize it was a National Park. After all, when someone says National Park, you probably recall some of the more famous locations: The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, or Yosemite. Still, when we planned our trip to Colorado and we realized that Mesa Verde would fall on my birthday, I had no qualms about the idea. 

For my fellow vintage Epcot Center fans out there, you might just remember a connection to Mesa Verde in a lost attraction: Horizons! Essentially a continuation of the Carousel of Progress, the family has now split up between various futuristic colonies, one of which is located in the desert, or more importantly: Mesa Verde. Daughter Patricia has found her home in Colorado, working as a farmer on a desert colony. I will say that Disney's Mesa Verde looks a bit more rocky than the real Mesa Verde, which is pretty flat. They did get the dry part right though. The area is frequently devastated and leveled by fire. It takes decades for the vegetation to grow back, and it's never more apparent than driving through Mesa Verde National Park, where they leave much of the natural area alone to regrow on its own. 

I also spent quite a bit of time marveling at the fact that civilizations built and lived in the cliff dwellings that seem rather impossible to enter, at least from a distance. Today there are stairs and man-made pathways that get you into the dwellings quickly and safely. When the builders lived there, on the other hand, they'd climb down using footholds along the side of the cliff, and I can't help but wonder how many fell rather than hanging on. It seemed rather dangerous to me, although when you include the idea of safety, it makes more than enough sense as to why they built there. 

And speaking of the farming that takes place in Horizons, that isn't actually all that far off. Another reason the civilizations moved to the cliff dwellings was to increase the available space to grow crops, which mostly consisted of foods easy to dry: corn, peppers, etc. I'm not sure they would have been growing oranges like Patricia was, but she lives in the future, after all! 

I'll say this one more time though: if you haven't visited one of our many glorious National Parks, do so soon! There are tons of special events and discounts going on for the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, and it's one of the greatest times to visit! And for those of you saying "Yes, but Lizzie, there aren't any National Parks in my state," all I have to say is go out and find one nearby! We don't have any in Wisconsin either, and yet in the past couple of weeks I was able to visit two National Parks, two National Monuments, and a National Historic Site! They're all out there, waiting for you to explore, so get started and find your park! 

Have a magical day!