From National Parks

Skylight Cave at Cumberland Gap NHP

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park has over 85 miles of trails.  Skylight Cave is a popular destination along those trails.  After the Wilderness Road Trail, it is the most hiked trail in the park.  But only a small number of people hike anything except the Wilderness Road Trail. A lot of people who come to …

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Iron Furnace at Cumberland Gap NHP

Sometimes people come to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park and they aren’t hikers.  They ask what they can drive to.  The Pinnacle is the first place we send them, but the second place is the Iron Furnace. The Iron Furnace is the oldest man-made structure in the park.  It is located in the town of …

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First Visitors to Cumberland Gap

Last week we had our first visitors to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.  Although we have hundreds of visitors every day in the park, these visitors were special to us:  Eric and Sandy Shaw; Steve, Amy, and Emma Winstead; Bob Walliser, Megan Spade and Cheryl Giddens.  This group was the core of our Boy Scout …

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Juneteenth and the Enslaved People of Kentucky

We recently celebrated Juneteenth in a special living history event at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.  We had a great weekend being outside and interacting with visitors.  For me, however, celebrating Juneteenth in Kentucky was a little problematic. Juneteenth is a federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans.  It is celebrated on the anniversary of the order by Major …

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