Kentucky was another state we were eager to explore, a place new to us.
For our first overnight as we entered the state, we again picked an Army Corps of Engineers spot – the Eureka Campground – at the north edge of a national recreation area we would never get to otherwise: the Land Between the Lakes.
In the early 20th century, the Army Corps built two dams for navigation and flood control in Kentucky, only four miles apart – one on the Tennessee River and one on the Cumberland River. When the dams became operational, they created two huge lakes: Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Thousands of residents in small, impoverished towns were relocated, and the communities are now under water. The land between these two lakes became a national recreation area, with much of the property acquired through eminent domain.
After arriving at our campsite along Lake Barkley, we took the recommendation of a park ranger and headed for a catfish dinner at Willow Pond in Eddyville. When we got seated, the waitress immediately put a huge bowl of hush puppies and some kidney beans in front of us. But I couldn’t get a beer; they don’t serve alcohol.
Karen wanted pie for dessert. I told her that’s what the hush puppies were for.
The next morning, we inflated our stand-up paddleboards for only the second time during our trip, and paddled out on Lake Barkley. The water was very low, and I noticed lots of zebra mussels — more invasive species and environmental damage. For our daily run, we drove into the Land Between the Lakes recreation area itself, headed out on a trail and found a spot for a quick cool-off dip in Kentucky Lake. It was beautiful and glorious, and our first swim of the trip.
When we stopped at the visitor center on our way out, we learned that there are herds of bison and elk in the park. In Kentucky! Who knew?
We soon departed the campground and headed out for our second distillery and a drive through Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail. Our destination was Whiskey Thief Distilling in Frankfort, which had agreed to accommodate us as a Harvest Host location for the night.
We arrived about 30 minutes before they were closing for the day, but after walking through the visitor’s center, I decided to splurge and buy a bottle of bourbon that they let me fill myself, from a cask. It was more than I’ve ever spent: $130. But it was memorable and tasty.
The sun was setting, and we walked down to the distillery itself. The vans for the bourbon tours pulled away, and we had a lovely chat with the owners. They took over the distillery from owners who were less committed, and are having fun raising their boys and building a business.
We had the whole place to ourselves at night, and cooked some mac and cheese in Prufrock and washed it down with booze. The next morning, we ran through some Kentucky backroads hollows and packed up.
We at breakfast and walked around in Frankfort, the state capitol. A small bridge across the Kentucky River caught our eye. When we walked across – we saw a sign that provided history of the lynchings that took place on that bridge. This nation’s painful history continues to be reassessed, and we are thankful for that.
Then we drove on to perhaps our most luxurious camping spot of the journey: Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.
This is an enormous, spacious, well-maintained camping spot in Bluegrass Country, amid rolling horse farms. It’s connected to the International Museum of the Horse.
We had dinner in downtown Lexington, and strolled around, seeing the house Mary Todd Lincoln was raised in and Rupp Arena, where the University of Kentucky basketball team plays. You can’t escape the blue.
We wanted a long run the next day, and ran on the Legacy Trail, a 10-mile plus path that links downtown and horse country. The idea and execution came after Lexington was selected to host the World Equestrian Games in 2010.
The equine industry is strong in Kentucky. Our walk through the horse museum grounds taught us the legacy of Man O’ War, the greatest racing thoroughbred of all time – who was trained in Maryland on the Eastern Shore.
We were left wondering if Baltimore and Preakness could duplicate some of the grandeur of the horse industry in Kentucky. People are trying, but its a tough industry to preserve.
For our final dinner, we picked OBC Kitchen – or Old Bourbon Country. The food was terrific, and we were given an iPad to help us make choices from among 600 bourbon and whiskey options. About 200 were from Kentucky alone. Astonishingly 95% of the world’s bourbon is made in Kentucky.
One of our realizations: We can’t do everything during our travels, given time and distance constraints.
We didn’t get to Louisville. We don’t feel we saw all of Lexington. We only stopped at a couple of distilleries. We didn’t see the freakin’ bison! We got a taste. We may come back.