Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for kentucky
Wall to Wall in Paducah
By Linda Tancs
One of UNESCO’s Creative Cities, Paducah, Kentucky, is graced with a floodwall that protects its historic downtown from surges of the Ohio and Tennessee rivers. But as you might suspect, this isn’t just an ordinary floodwall. Like Portsmouth to the north, it includes a number of painted murals. In fact, three city blocks (at Water, Jefferson and Washington) boast more than 50 life-sized panoramic murals by renowned artist Robert Dafford and his team, representing such crowning moments of the city’s history as its role in the riverboat trade and the day in 1803 when the Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery passed by Paducah on their trek to find the Northwest Passage. Guided tours are given on request.
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Grand, Gloomy and Peculiar
By Linda Tancs
Grand, gloomy and peculiar. That’s what cave guide Stephen Bishop said in the 1800s about south central Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave. Spelunkers might not agree with that assessment, but mammoth is certainly an apt description, considering it’s the world’s longest known cave system, the oldest part of which began forming over 10 million years ago. Over 400 miles of this national park have been explored; the main passageway alone is seven miles long. Short on time? Take the popular two-hour Domes & Dripstones Tour. As for that cave guide? He’s buried at the park’s Old Guide’s Cemetery.
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Boone’s Forest
By Linda Tancs
A legendary huntsman and pioneer, Daniel Boone dared to cross the treacherous Appalachians to explore Kentucky’s great wilderness. A great part of that terrain is commemorated in his name, the Daniel Boone National Forest. Over 700,000 acres of rugged terrain embraced by forested ridges, narrow ravines and thousands of miles of sandstone cliffs attract nearly five million visitors annually. Those guests may not need to trap, hunt and fish like Boone, but they enjoy the foothills nonetheless by backpacking, camping, picnicking, rock climbing and boating. Not sure where to start? Try the 269-mile Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail, which extends across the length of the forest.
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Pikeville’s Famous Feud
By Linda Tancs
Pikeville, Kentucky lies in the heart of Appalachia, appropriately nicknamed “the city that moves mountains,” a reference to the cut-through that relocated the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. It’s probably better known, though, as the site of that infamous feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys. Rival families in the Tug Valley, their animus was fueled by opposing philosophies during the Civil War. For starters, a member of the McCoy clan was killed by some Hatfield boys for being a Union sympathizer. The ensuing years saw additional bloodshed between the families arising from forbidden romance, political intrigue and property disputes. A two-hour tour will take you to several locations where the feud ensued. So what do the descendants of these famous families have to say on the matter? Oh, they’ve mended fences, you might say. They united for a special taping of the game show Family Feud in 1979.
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The Octagon Hall
By Linda Tancs
Kentucky’s only eight-sided house, Octagon Hall in Franklin boasts a storied past, its nooks and crannies serving as hiding places for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. This one-of-a-kind home, built by plantation owner Andrew Jackson Caldwell in 1847, has a storied present as well. Regularly featured on shows like Ghost Hunters, Kentucky’s marvel is reputedly haunted. Lest you think that you can book a night there to experience its ghostly apparitions, that privilege is reserved for reputable investigative teams.
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The Battle for Kentucky
By Linda Tancs
Prior to becoming President of the United States, James A. Garfield was a colonel during the Civil War who led the Union soldiers in battle against the Confederates in eastern Kentucky. Middle Creek National Battlefield in Prestonsburg commemorates the battle for Kentucky, the Union’s ninth most populous state. The interpretive experience at this historic site includes Confederate and Union loop trails with signage and a four-mile auto tour stopping at Graveyard Point, former site of Garfield Place,
May House and the former site of the May House Grist Mill.
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Bourbon Capital of the World
By Linda Tancs
Kentucky is known for its thoroughbreds. In addition to the four-legged variety, it’s known as the epicenter of bourbon, the thoroughbred of distilled whisky. They’ve been making liquid gold in Bardstown for centuries. Today through 18 September the small town celebrates its bourbon-making heritage at the annual festival (www.kybourbonfestival.com). Over 10 bourbons are participating in the event, including such well known monikers as Wild Turkey and Jim Beam. Rest assured, there’s plenty for teetotalers, too, like a historic walking tour, hot air ballooning and some tutelage in the ancient craft of barrel making.
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Lots to Know About Louisville
By Linda Tancs
Louisville, Kentucky is home to the Kentucky Derby and the official American baseball bat. That much a great majority of folks probably knows. But there’s so much more going on there. Did you know that one third of the world’s bourbon is made there? Or that it’s home to the nation’s largest urban forest and the largest Victorian neighborhood? It’s also the site of today’s annual Great Steamboat Race. Beginning in 1963, the event has been a contest primarily between Louisville’s steamer, the Belle of Louisville, and New Orleans’ Delta Queen, both added to the National Historic Register in 1990. Since the Delta Queen’s conversion to a floating hotel in Tennessee, the Belle of Cincinnati replaced her in 2009. The Battle of the Belles now includes a series of challenges and tasks throughout race day for the boats and their crews, culminating in the race down the Ohio River. Crowds in excess of 10,000 gather on the Indiana and Kentucky shorelines to cheer their favorite boat to victory. May the best Belle win.
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