For 2026, anyway
We had a very pleasant “chore day” (5K service for The Monster, LOTS of laundry, scrubbed the floor in Lizzy, and started planning our last 2026 trip (Hawai’i!) Yesterday, we drove to Nancy, Kentucky for a…
Visit to 1 new National Park Site:
- Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument (#321), where the US won a significant victory early in the Civil War, in the rolling fields of Kentucky. On January 19, 1862, through foggy and mired conditions, federals under Brigadier General George H. Thomas defeated Brigadier General George B. Crittenden’s attacking confederate forces. The battle resulted in the US’s first major victory in the Western Theater of the American Civil War and the death of Confederate General Felix K. Zollicoffer, a “fan favorite”, and who probably should actually take the blame for the loss.
We watched the movie, checked out the museum, drove the tour road to where the Confederates retreated accross the Cumberland River, took one of the best Battlefield Ranger Walks we’ve ever taken (90 minutes), and hiked around the extent of the primary battelfield. When all that was done, we had the best understanding of how a battle unfolded we’ve ever had.
Mill Springs Battlefield NM-entrance to Zollicoffer Park, which encompasses a much of the battlefield. That’s the Zollicoffer Memorial in the middle. 
Mill Springs Battlefield NM-Ranger William giving us a great tour of the battlefield 
Mill Springs Battlefield NM-at Last Stand Hill, where one Confederate Regiment stalled the Union, while the rest of the army escaped…looking back at the main battlefield area 
Mill Springs Battlefield NM-Memorial to the Confederate dead, with markers for those whose names were known, on top of what is actually a mass grave
Zagging farther south, back into Tennessee
Although this is our last stop camping in Kentucky (for 2026), it’s not our last visit. Our next 2 camp sites (in Tennessee and Virginia) are in National Park Sites which include segments in Kentucky (Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area and Cumberland Gap National Historical Park). Also not our last visit, all together, as we must return in late 2029 to visit the Kentucky capitol, closed August 2025 for a 4 year renovation!
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Note…Planning Updates!
What’s Comin Up? has been updated with our latest plans, reservations through September, when we’ll be returning to the Northwest with Lizzy and The Monster. We’ll be there through the remainder of 2026, other than ~3 weeks in Hawai’i, late October into November.
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