Salt seeps at Big Bone Lick State Historical Site |
Since we were a little early we walked through the displays in the
visitor center learning that the area has long been used as a source of salt by
Paleo-Indians as far back as 15,000 years ago.
The area continued to be used even by early settlers to the area. It was here in the 1750s that Mary
Ingles escaped from her Shawnee captors and began her 500 mile journey back
to Draper’s Meadow, Virginia.
For centuries the salt seeps have been recognized for the
abundance of mammal fossils. President
Thomas Jefferson was so impressed with the fossils that he received from Big
Bone Lick that, in 1807, he dispatched a collecting party led by General
William Clark to gather more of the large ice age mammal fossils. Some of these specimens remained in Jefferson’s
personal collection at Monticello while some were distributed to museums in the
Northeast.
Bison at Big Bone Lick |
As 1 pm neared we gathered outside for the 2 mile hike. Photos from the 2018 First Day Hike showed
about a dozen attendees so we were shocked when we saw over 100 people present
for the walk. The beautiful weather was
almost certainly a major reason for the large turnout. The temperature was in the mid 50s with a
light wind and plenty of diffuse sunshine.
It was great to see the event so well attended and that residents are
taking advantage of the natural beauty of the area. However, there was much evidence of poor
judgement on the part of many attendees.
Perhaps the most frustrating for me was the number of people who brought
their dogs. While bringing the family
dog on a trail walk on most days would be a great idea, having it along with a
group of that size was not a good idea.
Dogs were constantly growling at each other and even fighting from time
to time. Owners were constantly trying
to keep the dogs under control in the crowd with leashes wrapping around people’s
legs and dogs underfoot.
Salt seep at Big Bone Lick |
The first part of the hike was up a hill with a number of
switchbacks in the muddy trail. There
had been record rain earlier in the week leaving the trail a muddy mess. Several prospective hikers came with shoes
that were poorly suited for the steep and muddy trail. Conversely, we saw a few hikers who were equipped
as though they were log trekking the Appalachian Trail. Camel-Packs, carbon fiber walking sticks and
high end gear abounded on many of the inexperienced but well equipped day
hikers.
The walk up the trail was difficult because of the mandatory slow
start and stop pace and the condition of the muddy trail after so many visitors
had gone up. As we were going up to the
field where the bison herd is kept the trip leader heard from the “bison
coordinator” that the herd was near the trail and visible from the path. We were amused by the title “bison
coordinator” and wondered where that career path was when we were at our high
school career days.
We saw nine bison of differing sizes and ages there in the well
maintained pasture. They were obviously
accustomed to visitors on the trail since they readily came to the fence. They were beautiful animals and made the walk
up the muddy trail worth the trek.
After watching the bison for a while we continued on the path back
to the visitor center where were took the short paved path to the salt seeps
where many ice age mega fauna fossils were found. As we approached we could smell the
salt-sulfur stench of the seep. There
was a oily film on the shallow seep and a little crystalized mineral deposit
along the water’s edge. There were a
number of informative signs around the mineral seep that described the geology
and history of the area. We didn’t stay
long and moved back toward to the visitor center away from the smell.
Rabbit Hash General Store |
The main building remaining at Rabbit Hash is the general store that was built in 1831 but
was destroyed by fire in 2016. The store
was rebuilt with reclaimed lumber allowing it to retain status on the Register of
Historic Places. The population of
Rabbit Hash have capitalized on the campy reputation of the town and have even
elected a dog as the town’s mayor every election since 1998.
The town attracts many more visitors than the towns 300 or so
residents. It is very popular among
motorcyclists as well as groups of seniors.
It is the kind of place that visitors can sit on the porch of the
general store and have one of the vintage snacks from the store’s
offerings. Hats and T-shirts from Rabbit
Hash are very popular.
Ian and Emily at Rabbit Hash, Kentucky |
We took a few snapshots and browsed the general store before
gathering for our drive back to Georgetown.
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