Lexington was on our way to Callies’s Lake and Campground, our home for the next three days. The Kentucky Horse Park is closed today, so we drove into downtown Lexington to see the houses where Mary Todd Lincoln lived as a child. The first home has a marker out front with No Smoking and No Trespassing signs at the door, and the second one is a museum. Having stopped at President Lincoln’s Kentucky homes, we thought we’d see the First Lady’s houses as well. She lived an educated, privileged life in the city of Lexington; a contrast from Lincoln’s childhood on the frontier.

We both thought this museum did a good job of stating plainly that slavery was harsh, slave families were separated, white families erroneously thought the slaves were okay and happy, and the Todd family were slave owners. Mary did not own slaves and was anti-slavery as an adult. I doubt her marriage would have happened otherwise.

Callie’s Lake and Campground is a perfect spot to be close to the Natural Bridge State Park (all campsites were full) and the Red River Gorge area. We will do some hiking in both places. This campground is quite large, and some of the primitive sites are nicely secluded. We chose an RV site for the electricity so we can run the air-conditioning for the cats while we are parked at trailheads and get the batteries charged back up at night. This makes for worry-free hiking:)