Mammoth Cave National Park

It was a January day with no plans and nice weather, so we decided to revisit Mammoth Cave, about 2.5 hours from here. We left about 8 am taking the Bluegrass Parkway from Versailles to Bardstown then Rt, 31 east to Abraham Lincoln’s Boyhood Home at Knob Creek which is part of Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park. Lincoln lived here from about 1811 until 1815 while his parents leased a 30-acre plot after they lost their Sinking Spring Farm in nearby Hodgenville from a property dispute. There is a cabin on the site dating to the time that the Lincolns lived in Knob Creek, but the cabin is unlikely to have belonged to Thomas and Nancy Lincoln.

Lincoln's Boyhood Home

We drove the short distance to Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park where we walked up the 56 steps (Lincoln’s age at death) to a stone building. This building with 16 windows (for the 16th president) houses a log cabin that was reconstructed in 1911 as similar to Lincoln’s birthplace. We watched a 15 minute film on Lincoln and his family where we learned that, contrary to what we learned in school, Lincoln’s family was not poor but was probably upper middle class. Thomas Lincoln farmed and was a carpenter, so the family lived well for the time. We walked around the recreated cabin and Mary got her National Park stamps in the passport.

Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace

A short drive to R & S Salvage Grocery in Horse Cave was our next stop. Emily told us about this place from one of their visits to this area. We ordered sandwiches from the Amish deli then browsed the shelves. They have lots of marked down grocery items that are overstocks or dented cans. They also have a large selection of bulk items that have been packaged in smaller plastic clamshell containers. There were spices of all kinds, flours, dried fruits and groceries of all types. Our sandwiches were huge. Mary had roast beef and I had turkey. On a slice of sourdough bread they put a slice of cheese, then a quarter pound of shaved meat, another slice of cheese, another quarter pound of meat, a third slice of cheese and a top slice of sourdough. It was quite a meal.

We arrived at Mammoth Cave National Park in plenty of time for our 1:30 tour. Since we did the Historical Cave Tour when we were there in 2010, we decided to take the Domes and Dripstones tour this time. Because tours fill up quickly, we made our reservations a few days before to assure our spots. I traded in three annual senior National Park passes for a lifetime pass for $20. The pass got us discounts on the tours nearly returning the $20 cost of the pass.

We thought that the group was large, but the ranger said that it is common to have groups of over 100 touring during busy times. Our guide, a National Park Service ranger, was a former teacher who had a great presentation style and injected a lot of humor in the information he presented to us.

Unlike the parts of Mammoth Cave that we visited before; this two-hour tour was to some of the wetter parts of the large cave. The water caused the formation of tubes that we walked through on our tour as well as formations of stalactites, stalagmites, and pillars. We very much enjoyed the tour except for two twenty-something girls who insisted on ringing a bell as they walked to “ward off ghosts” in the caves. We tried to position ourselves as far from them as we walked through the caves.

When we finished the tour we headed back home, arriving by 6:30 and had a small supper at home.

Cumberland Gap

Total lunar eclipse

I was awake at 4:30, so I went out in the lodge parking lot in the pre-dawn and saw the full moon starting to eclipse. I went in and got Mary so she could watch the eclipse as well. We were pleased that the morning wasn’t cold at all even though we were a week into November. We decided the best place to watch the eclipse was from the back porch of the Cumberland Falls State Resort Park lodge. We enjoyed chatting with a lady from Michigan who was there early watching the eclipse as well. We stayed outside until after 5:30 and saw the moon become totally eclipsed and turned dark red. It was quite a sight. We were happy to see it since there will not be another total lunar eclipse until 2025.

Back at the room we had the breakfast we packed from home. The lodge’s restaurant was closed and there was no other place to eat nearby, so we were happy to have brought last night’s dinner and this morning’s breakfast with us. We had cold cereal with Greek yogurt along with fresh fruit.

Chained Rock

We checked out of the Cumberland Falls State Park lodge and drove toward Pine Mountain State Park where we planned to hike up to “Chained Rock” on the mountain over Pineville. Pine Mountain was Kentucky’s first state park, established in 1924. Early in the history of Pineville, parents told children that the rock perched on the hillside above the town was chained to prevent it from smashing into the town while they slept. The story grew over the years, so in 1933 a group in Pineville decided to actually put a large chain on the boulder. They used a 3,000-pound chain from a steam shovel that they hauled up the trail by mules in two trips. This was more of a publicity stunt than anything, attempting to attract visitors to the area. The stunt was a success, being reported in over 6,000 newspapers across the country and bringing visitors to the area nearly 90 years later. The trail to Chained Rock is a about .7 miles round trip and has some steep and narrow locations.

Chained Rock

From Pine Mountain State Park, we drove southeast to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. This pass through the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky was used by Native Americans for centuries then carried pioneers and settlers westward across the mountains. Famously, Daniel Boone led groups of frontiersmen through this gap in the mountains.

After a brief stop at the ranger station entrance to the park, we drove up the mountain to the trailhead for the Pinnacle Overlook. The road leading to the trailhead was steep and curved, being nearly a continuous set of switchbacks up the mountain. We parked at the trailhead and walked on the handicapped accessible trail up to the Pinnacle with an elevation of 2440 feet. Upon reaching the Pinnacle Overlook, we were treated to a beautiful view.

Standing in three states

We returned to the car and drove to the trailhead for the Tri-State Marker, a 2.2-mile round trip trail to the point where Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia come together. The trail starts easily on a wide gravel trail called the Object Lesson Road. Built in the 1920s, this section was designed to show the public as well as political figures that roads through the mountains were necessary and attainable.

As the trail to the Pinnacle Overlook continued, the path became narrower and steeper. However, the day was beautiful for early November, and we were happy for the walk. We passed several markers for the Wilderness Road, a trail blazed by Daniel Boone in 1775 from Ft. Chiswell, Virginia to the Cumberland Gap. The Wilderness Road was later extended from Cumberland Gap to the Falls of the Ohio River near present day Louisville. We also passed a large pyramid shaped marker honoring Daniel Boone that was placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution from Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.


We only saw a few other hikers on the trail, but we suspect that the area would be very busy during peak tourist seasons. There were two groups resting at the top once we arrived. We posed for a photo with our feet on the marker where the three states joined then started by down toward the car. The walk back down to the parking area was easier but just as nice. We ran into several visitors from Michigan as we walked but overall, very few were on the two-mile (up and back) trail.

1819 Iron Furnace

After returning to the car, we decided to make a brief stop to the 1819 iron smelting blast furnace nearby. We passed through the nearly one mile tunnel on Rt. 25E and quickly arrived at the over two-hundred-year-old sandstone iron furnace. We took a few pictures but were ready to be on our way since we wanted to be through Lexington before rush hour traffic.

A lunch stop at the Arby’s in Corbin for a very spicy Diablo chicken sandwich was just the thing. Back on I-75 north, we made a quick pit stop at Buc-ee’s at the Richmond exit then drove home by 5:30.

 

Cumberland Falls

We left home at 8:30 am and drove to Sam’s Club in Lexington to get a few things on our shopping list that we needed. Nothing was perishable or needed short term, but we thought that since we were passing through the area we may as well pick up things that are on the current sale.

It didn’t take long to get through Sam’s especially with the self-checkout app, and we took the short drive south on I-75 to Berea. We parked at the Kentucky Artisan Center first and walked around looking at the locally made furniture, clothing and crafts. We enjoyed walking through the exhibits and sales areas. It always reminds us of West Virginia’s Tamarack Center near Beckley. We drove into Berea’s Old Town since tourist season is over and the shuttle wasn’t running. We parked at the Berea Welcome Center in Old Town and walked around the college and shops in Berea’s historic section. We enjoy the abolitionist history of Berea College and the town. Berea continues to be a very diverse learning community, serving first generation college students across Appalachia. Although many of the artisan shops have changed since we last visited Berea, there were still many craftspeople in the small shops near the college.

Col. Steve with Col. Sanders

We continued south on I-75 to Corbin, Kentucky where we ate at the KFC that is near the location of Col. Harland Sanders’ original restaurant from 1937. This new site contains not only the restaurant but the Sanders Café and Museum, a collection of artifacts and memorabilia detailing the life of Col. Sanders and the history of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants. We enjoyed our “Finger Lickin’ Good” meals and chatted with the friendly docents in the museum. The original restaurant from 1937 was in a service station across the street from the present building. That restaurant was destroyed by fire in 1939. Several buildings have housed the restaurant, all within a few yards of each other, but the current restaurant and museum was constructed in 1990. Harland Sanders was in the military but was given the honorary title of Kentucky Colonel by Governor Ruby Laffoon in 1935. He was later recommissioned by his friend, Governor Lawrence Weatherby in 1950.

We took a few snapshots then left the restaurant for Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. We stopped at a Walmart in Corbin to buy a turkey sub from the deli that we would have for dinner and items for our breakfast tomorrow. The restaurant at the resort is closed on Mondays so we planned ahead to bring food. Although it was only 1:30 when we arrived at the lodge, we were able to check into our room. Much of the lodge was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s with the sandstone block construction so common in CCC buildings. We appeared to be in one of the original areas of the building.

Our room was small but comfortable and, to our surprise, had an adequate number of electrical outlets for charging our devices, electric toothbrushes and other electronics. After changing clothes, we decided to hike down to the falls from the lodge rather than driving to the falls parking area. Although the trail was only ½ mile, it was steep and narrow, so we made the walk slowly to get to the visitor center.

Double rainbow at Cumberland Falls

The recent dry weather throughout the area caused the volume of water in the Cumberland River to be lower than usual, but the falls were still pretty great. We thought that the self-described title of “Niagara of the South” to be something of an overstatement. The bright fall sun struck the mist rising from the waterfall causing a double rainbow over the river. We had hopes of seeing the moonbow during tonight’s full moon.

Eagle Falls

We walked across the river on the Rt. 90 bridge to the Eagle Falls Trailhead parking where we took the 1.5-mile trail to Eagle Falls. Unlike Cumberland Falls, Eagle Falls is a high narrow waterfall from a small stream down toward the Cumberland River. We met several other hikers along the way, took a few snapshots at the falls, then made the hike back up to the lodge where we showered and cleaned up before dinner.

Moonbow over Cumberland Falls

We enjoyed the sub sandwich from Walmart while we sat in our room in the lodge. Mary had packed some fruit and snacks as well. Around 7:30, not wanting to walk the steep path from the lodge to the falls in the dark, we drove to the parking area at Cumberland Falls. The full moon had risen, and we were pleased to see the moonbow clearly. The moonbow didn’t show a color spectrum like the rainbow earlier in the day, and it was not as bright. However, we could clearly see the arc over the falls. Many people were lining the railing to see the moonbow, but we still had a decent view. A couple standing in front of us needed to walk to the restrooms and asked us to hold their prime viewing place which we were happy to do. By the time they returned, we were ready to drive back up the hill to our room. We planned to get up early on Tuesday morning to see the full lunar eclipse, so we wanted to get to bed early. When I looked at my Fitbit, I wasn’t surprised to see that I had walked over 12 miles today.

 

John J. Audubon State Park

A stretch of warm dry weather in early November we decided to take a couple of days to drive to parts of Western Kentucky that we hadn’t seen. After our normal omelette breakfast, we drove toward Eagle Slough Natural Area, mostly on I-64. This area is near a part of Kentucky that is across the Ohio River into Indiana. This is because the Kentucky state line is defined as the low water mark on the Ohio River as of 1792. The New Madrid Earthquake of 1812 caused changes in the river’s course making an area approximately one mile wide by four miles long on the north side of the river part of Kentucky. An elevated path through the area followed an abandoned railroad bed overlooking wetlands and leading to a small open lake. We were surprised to see bald cypress growing native in this area. We were used to seeing cypress swamps in the Everglades but not in Indiana and Kentucky. The trail has a number of interpretive signs and a few boardwalks in need of repair. We saw one gentleman on a bicycle going out the path to enjoy his morning coffee. We chatted briefly and he recommended Sloughs Wildlife Management Area for a hike. A nice observation deck at the end of the mile-long trail overlooks the small lake. We saw numerous Canada geese and some smaller waterfowl but didn’t spend much time there. We found a few small geocaches along the trail then returned to the car to drive to Sloughs WMA.

Great Blue Heron at Eagle Slough

Because we started our walk around 10 am (Central Time), the air was still a little cool so we were wearing jackets and hats. By the time we returned to the car, it was nearly noon and the air was much warmer so we took off our jackets and hats along with the binoculars and cameras for the short drive to Audubon Wetlands across the river near Henderson Kentucky. As we turned from the Eagle Slough access road onto Rt. 41 south, we heard something bounce off the roof of the car, hit the trunk and land on the road. Because the divided highway was very busy, we had to drive a couple of miles into Kentucky before we could do a U-turn to come back and retrieve the item. It turned out that Mary’s Samsung A51 was on the highway after being run over by many cars and large trucks. There was little remaining of the cell phone to pick up, although we gathered up what we could.

We drove back across the Ohio River to the wetlands. The Island Loop Trail begins with a 750-foot boardwalk across the wetlands, followed a mile long dirt trail through the woodlands.  We saw several Great Blue Herons and turtles from the boardwalk. The forested path was surrounded by lots of pawpaw groves and led by a lake and slough.  We walked the loop then made the short drive to the main part of the John James Audubon State Park.

The main trail at Audubon State Park

Upon arriving at the park, we ate the packed lunch of a turkey sandwich and apple in the parking lot at the park visitor center. Like many of the state parks in the area, buildings here were constructed by the WPA and appeared to be well built and in good repair despite being over 80 years old. It appeared to us that the craftsmanship was better than some of the parks built by CCC camps that we had visited before. We were a bit surprised that the visitor center had almost a Tudor look with an unusually steep roof. 

We learned that the swamps in the area were drained in the 1930s by a Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) group from West Virginia. The CCC team also built roads and constructed the lakes in the area that is now Audubon State Park. The WPA built the major structures in the park. There are a lot of interconnected trails in the 700 acre Audubon State Park of all levels of rigor. We hiked out Warbler Road and were amazed by the number of pawpaw trees in groves along the trail. We took the Scenic Overlook Trail and the Wilderness Lake Trail, chatting with several other visitors as we walked. On our return to the parking area, we took the short King Benson Trail where we saw a large black rat snake sunning on the path.

Turtles basking at John J. Audubon State Park

While there, we learned that John J. Audubon lived in Henderson, Kentucky from 1810 to 1819 when Henderson was a small town on the Western frontier. Although we didn’t take time to visit the park’s museum, we learned that it houses one of the world’s largest collections of Audubon’s art as well as artifacts from his nine year stay in the area.

We drove further west to Sloughs WMA, but it appeared to be a few small observation towers overlooking wildlife food plots. 

We drove about an hour east to Owensboro, Kentucky, where we would spend the night and the day on Tuesday. Like Georgetown, Owensboro is a fast growing small city in Kentucky. The city has capitalized on their Ohio River frontage, frontier history and proximity to population centers to become a mecca for festivals, hosting about 30 each year. I had been to Owensboro in the mid 1980s while a UK graduate student, but I really didn’t remember anything about the city. Our first stop was to Best Buy and Target to shop for a replacement cell phone for Mary. She decided on a Samsung A52 to replace her damaged A51. Although it was more than she hoped to pay, she was happy with the phone’s features. Once at the motel, we recovered the SIM card and memory chip from the old A51 and put them in the new A52. To her surprise, once she logged in to Google, all of her apps and settings returned to the new phone.

The Super 8 in Owensboro was very nice, having been remodeled recently. The room was spacious and had new flooring, furniture and bathroom fixtures. Because we have points with Wyndham Hotel Group, we were able to stay without charge. The lobby had fresh Dunkin Donuts for free through the day including the seasonal pumpkin spice donuts.

Sliced mutton dinner at Old Hickory Bar-B-Que

Friends have been telling us about how good the mutton barbecue is from Western Kentucky. One of the restaurants in Owensboro getting top reviews was Old Hickory Bar-B-Que. After looking at the menu and consulting the waitress, Mary had smoked turkey, barbecued beans and coleslaw, while I ordered the sliced mutton shoulder barbecue with coleslaw and a cup of burgoo. Burgoo is a traditional stew that was made on the frontier using a variety of wild game with available seasonal vegetables. This burgoo appeared to be made from mutton, beef and pork with a few beans and potatoes. It was quite good and reminded us a bit of chili. Both of us enjoyed our meals greatly and were glad that we came. 

We returned to the Owensboro Super 8 and turned in after a long day of hiking. Since our bodies were on Eastern Time we were happy to go to bed a little early.

Returning Home - Day 2

We awoke around 4:30 at the Cartersville, Georgia Day’s Inn and quickly got on the road after making a couple of cups of tea and taking quick showers.  We were traveling north on I-75 before 5 am.  We figured the earlier we got through Knoxville the better we would be.

Although Knoxville wasn’t nearly as bad as Atlanta driving, we were happy to be through the city early in the morning.  We passed by Corbin, Kentucky, and thought about Colonel Sanders and the origin of KFC.  When we got to Mt. Vernon, Kentucky, we looked up the shows that would be coming to Renfro Valley soon and considered going to a show there.  We were especially interested to see that the Oak Ridge Boys would be there and that tickets are very reasonably priced.

We made it to our Georgetown, Kentucky home a little after 10 am.  We spent much of the morning unloading, packing the frozen wild boar meat into the chest freezer in the basement and calling family to let them know we were home. 

We were pleased that the meat remained firmly frozen and that most of the dry ice that we purchased on Wednesday morning remained in the cooler.  We could probably have done with far less dry ice, but we didn’t want to take a chance in case the trip was delayed for any reason. 

As always, we were happy to be back home although the temperature in the 30s was not like the 70s that we were enjoying in Florida.  The forecast is even calling for a few flurries in the next few days.  However, by Sunday we may see temperatures approaching 70 degrees but will have another cold snap by mid-week.  That is typical February weather for Central Kentucky. 

Along the 15 hour drive Mary and I reflected on the trip and the good times we shared with our friends there.  We value our friendship with Steve and Marcia and look forward to seeing them when they come to Huntington in May.  The hospitality they showed to us was sincere and warm.  We were made to feel welcome in their home. 

Family Weekend at Berea, Kentucky

For my Father’s Day gift this year, my daughters and their families gave us a weekend at Berea, Kentucky.  For a number of years we have been wanting to have a weekend where we could all congregate and have things to do that would appeal to everyone.  Berea was the perfect fit.

We picked Gran up at 8 am and took the drive down I-64 West to I-75 south taking about two and a half hours.  We parked at the large modern Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea and picked up the free trolley that travels all around the small town.  The driver was an excellent guide giving us a lot of information on the history of the college and the town.  When the trolley arrived in the Old Town part of Berea, we saw Ian and Emily parking so we beckoned them onto the trolley to take the rest of the tour with us.  By the time we arrived back to the visitor center Greg, Sarah and Peter were at the college area so we met them there.

Lunch was at the Main Street Café which is in the same block as the Boone Tavern.  The salads and sandwiches that we had seemed to suit everyone.  After lunch, we all walked around some of the many shops and crafts in the Old Town and college areas of Berea.  There are glass blowers, a pewtersmith, weavers, painters, a dulcimer maker and many other artisans and craftsmen.

When we were tired we sat on the porch of the Boone Tavern being entertained by Peter while we waited for our rooms to become available.  We enjoyed catching up and playing with the baby.  We were able to get to our rooms around 3:30 and rested a bit before dinner.  The rooms in the old somewhat small but that is not surprising for a hotel that opened in 1909.  The rooms were furnished with beautiful well-crafted cherry furniture.  The furniture was built by Berea College students in their classes.  The bed was comfortable and the rooms were quiet.

We met for dinner at 5:30 in the Boone Tavern.  Until very recently, a jacket and tie were required for dinner. Although there is no longer a strict dress code, diners are generally appropriately dressed for dinner at the restaurant.  Servers and much of the kitchen staff are students at the college.

We all had some of the spoon bread for which the Boone Tavern is famous.  Popular menu items for our family were the pork chops, rabbit pot pie, lamb meat loaf and southern shrimp and grits.  We all enjoyed our meals and had no room for dessert.  We believed that the $220 price for the seven of us wasn’t bad considering the quality of the meal and service.  Gran treated us for the dinner.  We changed clothes after dinner and took a short walk around the campus and up the observation tower a couple of blocks away.

We awoke early and enjoyed being lazy on a Sunday morning.  As people started to awaken and move about, Emily and I took breakfast orders and made a run to McDonalds.  Emily, Ian, Sarah and Greg took a drive toward Bighill while Peter hung out with us.  He played for a bit then took a short nap on our bed.  We walked around town for a little then went to lunch at Papaleno’s where Emily and Ian treated us to some good Italian food.  Many of us had the baked spaghetti or one of the pizza varieties they offer.  We enjoyed the lunch.  After lunch we walked the short distance to the Log House Craft Gallery where student arts and crafts are sold. 

Most of the items for sale are made by Berea College students so we all bought a few things and enjoyed looking around.

We made our way back to our cars and said our goodbyes after a great weekend as we went to Cincinnati, Georgetown and Huntington.  On the way home, we stopped for a couple of geocaches along the way and still made it back by 5 that evening.  Everyone had a great weekend and look forward to seeing each other soon.