Day 3: November 6, 2020
No Cabin for You
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Cat lovers best savor this picture. It could be the only one you will see on these pages. I took it this morning when I returned to the Trustee's Office for breakfast. The cat was sitting on the steps near this spot when I came to dinner last night. The lighting was dimmer, it was turned directly toward me, and I was 100% certain it was one of those plastic owls folks have around to scare away birds... until it began turning its head... very... slowly.
Granny referred to Hodgenville as "Lincolntown" back when it only had one Lincoln statue. It now has two. The big Lincoln was newer (1909) when Granny saw him than little Lincoln (2008) is today.
The first photo is the only one known to have been taken on the 1920 Florida trip and that is only because its subject is unique and recognizable. I became aware of that after the 2001 visit and was really looking forward to attempting to duplicate it today. The photo is of the cabin displayed at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park near Hodgenville. I stopped at the park and climbed the fifty-six steps (one for each year of Abe's life) but was met with a locked door. Following posted signs, I was able to get inside through the back entrance but just barely. A low wall confines visitors to a small area inside the door where you can view, but not touch, the back of the cabin. So the best I can do is share a picture of where I think Frank or Gertrude stood to take the picture.
Although Granny never mentioned the names in her letters, it was the Jackson Highway that took them to the Lincoln park but they soon shuffled their way over to the Dixie Highway to enter Cave City. At that time the road passed behind the spot where Wigwam Village #2 now sits. Of course, there were no wigwams there at the time. Heck, it would be fifteen years before Frank Redford built Wigwam Village #1, and #2 came two years later. The ruins of Bell's Tavern definitely were there in 1920. My guess at the Robbins' route takes them right by the ruins but Granny doesn't mention them. Granny didn't mention everything they passed, of course, but this big collection of rocks seems rather hard to miss so my guess could be off.

Not far from Bell's Tavern is a bypassed bit of Dixie Highway that the locals are slowly turning into a parking lot. With selective framing, it offers a glimpse of the sort of view that Frank had while driving. Horseshoe Camp Modern Cottages opened about the same time as Wigwam Village #1 so has no connection with the 1920 trip but it's a place I'm incapable of passing without taking a picture.

The Robbins were also too early for this Bowling Green gas station, but not by much. According to a sign near the station, Standard Oil purchased the lot for the station on July 18, 1921. Granny reported two-foot long icicles hanging from this fountain in 1920 but there certainly were none today. My thermometer was showing 75° F when I stopped.
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