mhomac

Back to Kentucky 2 ….One Mammoth step ahead of claustrophobia.

We arrived at Mammoth Cave National Park with no real expectations, but it was much busier than we predicted with no tickets left for the Historic Tour on the first day we were there…so we booked what we could…which was the last slot in the afternoon of the following day. Although not terribly convenient for us, it’s great to see these sites being well appreciated.

The self guided tour has less restriction on numbers so we did it as a ‘taster’ for the ranger led tour. It turned out to be a quite magnificent experience and left us quite excited for the next day.

We took the opportunity in the morning for the Green River Bluffs above ground hike…..then munched our packed lunches and headed for the gathering point.

Really lucked out with this tour selection (being the end of the day) as there was a much smaller than usual number of people (37 instead of 110).

There was a list of dire warnings from the rangers to not go in if you had heart conditions, breathing issues, claustrophobia, fear of heights etc. Honestly…they keep you moving at a steady pace as there’s a lot of terrain to cover and the whole thing is so darn fascinating that you kinda forget how far underground you are…..

The lead Ranger stopped at this historic point to show us the ‘pictures’ on the ceiling….

There are coloured mineral patches on the ceiling that look like bears, and a grim reaper….

Maybe you have to actually be there to see it……but apparently this has been part of the tourist presentation since the very first tours in the cave back in 1816.

You really can see some pretty awesome scenes in the ‘pictures’….but maybe its a bit like staring at clouds and seeing balloon animals…LOL

The pace continues through the cave….one Ranger in the lead and one as the caboose making sure no one is left behind……we were hanging back at the rear to try to take some pictures without the whole group in them….

Deep into the cave there is lots of 1800’s graffiti. Names and dates of often slaves who were some of the first tour guides. They daubed the letters using soot from tallow candles. It’s remarkably neat.

The bottomless chasm……there is (thankfully) a rail….no I did not look down…!!!

The way they described the next part of the cave….fat mans misery…..an hourglass shaped channel through the rock…..

I was dreading just how narrow it might be…..other than the rock being a bit slimy…..it wasn’t that bad…!!!

Then ‘tall mans agony’…..a challenge on the neck creeping through…..This is where I’d expect claustrophobia to catch up with us, but you’re moving along at such a clip I think we were staying just ahead of it.

At the lowest point that the tour goes to…86M/263ft…there is a big chamber that is one of the places that fills with water after stormy weather…..the recorded flood levels had reached record highs a couple of times this year……again….it was a place you had to be standing in to really appreciate how impressive the thought of it being filled with flood water…!!!

Then we started climbing again….

to ‘the fire tower’…the rock formations here were massive…..these cone shaped vertical channels look like something out of a sci-fi movie……and the 270 stairs up had a real ‘Batman Begins’ look to them

… the long ascent up these wet and slimy (and numerous..!!) stairs….

I have to say it was almost disappointing to come to the end….it sure did not feel like 2 hours down there……

The Rangers do a great job……the lead Ranger explained at the end that they pass the stories and the histories down largely by word of mouth…the intent being to keep this Historic tour as authentic to the origins of the Mammoth tourist experince as they can.

I am still blown away by how much I/we enjoyed this experience. What started as a ‘push the comfort zone’ turned out to be a ‘so glad I did that’ life experience.

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Back to Kentucky, Mammoth Cave National Park.

Continuing north and beginning the travel westward (towards home) took us back through Kentucky, but this time on the west side of the state. We had bypassed Mammoth Cave National Park on the journey south…so we took the opportunity to visit on the return northward. As I searched the campgrounds around the area , and found a Boondockers Welcome site just 15 minutes from the park gate…… Ideal.!!

This BW host had power and water available…bonus in the warm, humid July weather in Kentucky.

Mammoth Cave NP, despite its proximity to The Great Smoky Mountains (the US’s most visited park) is one of the least visited parks. I’m not sure why….we found it to be a fabulous place to visit.

On our first trip in to the park we booked tickets to do the self guided tour into the first part the Mammoth cave system. Being a bit on the claustrophobic side, I was expecting this to be slightly challenging…….but no……. Mammoth Cave is just that….mammoth….!!! Going down the steps into the cave you transition from that warm humid air of the surrounding forest….. quickly into the cool 54F (12C) of the cave.

After moving through the security gates at the entrance, the cave quickly opens up into the Rotunda, a chamber that feels like a huge ballroom. The dome of the chamber looks like a carefully crafted coffered ceiling.

There is a bit of an adjustment to the low light and a realisation that a flashlight would have been a good thing to bring.

At the far end of the area available for this self guided tour we met and chatted with a young and enthusiastic ranger who had many stories and insights into the history of the cave.

Like much of Kentucky and Tennessee, the cave has its own history of enslavement. It was a rich source of saltpeter during the War of 1812 when slaves were utilised to extract the minerals to feed the war machine. (NB. The Revolutionary war ended in 1783 and resulted in the Declaration of independence of the United States from British rule. The War of 1812 was about establishing Maritime rights and resolving trade restrictions imposed by the British fleet hence requiring a domestic source of gunpowder ingredients…!!!)

Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system in the world…..with much of it still unexplored. The whole system has been formed by water seeping down through the limestone layers…….the architecture of the walls and ceiling are a testament to the power of water and time.

On our way back out we were fortunate to meet up with the young ranger again as he shared more stories and pointed out some of the relics found in the cave from its pre 18th century history.

We were quite enthralled by the cave….so the plan for the next day was to find an above ground hike for the morning and then follow the Historic Tour underground in the afternoon.

The Green Bluffs Trail.

Green Bluffs trail was the overground choice. We packed a lunch and a change of clothes. (It was a very warm and very humid day……this part of the world seems to experience sudden short thunderstorms with impressive….but thankfully short downpours)

….and set off on the trail.

The trail follows a high path above the Green River, luckily in shade most of the way.

The trail weaves back down to the river…….we followed the boardwalk out of curiosity and found that it led to the outflow river from the cave itself….

Continuing on the path which was not the most challenging we have ever done….but definitely as hard as one wanted to be working in the humidity.

Beautiful trail….strangely no bugs…!!! (not complaining)…then a bit of a diversion as they were constructing boardwalks on part of the trail.

We found one of the strangest….and coolest fungi I have seen on our travels……

….and much evidence that the river has seen very large volumes of water recently. The ford and boat launch were closed and you could see how high the muddy waters had flowed recently.

Due to the harvesting of the early settlers, the native trees of the area have been largely replaced by maples which were considered low quality lumber…..so were not harvested thereby reseeding and becoming the dominant tree species…..

a very beautiful morning…..but now we were ready for the cool cave in the afternoon…….after a sandwich and a lot of re-hydrating.

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Tennessee 4. Nashville and the Hermitage.

We were so close to Nashville that we just had to go.

I know we don’t generally venture into city centres….but this was Nashville. The bourbon search was uninspiring as, again, most of the distilleries were moonshine…..or just not that appealing. Yes, I know….Jack Daniels is there…..but we had already decided that we were not there to do any of the big name brands.

Instead we opted to find a cute little breakfast spot…and wander around Music Square….

….wandering past Sony Publishing…

….Carnival music…

..and across the street from it……the original RCA Studio…..

….and just some interesting buildings and architecture…

On Sunday evening we took a trip in to check out Broadway in Nashville anticipating it being a little less crazy on a Sunday.

This town is craaaaazy….and loud….every bar on the strip (and pretty much every building is a bar) all windows and doors open and live music playing from every single one.

We stopped at Roberts...based on a recommendation from a friend…..had a beer, some snacks ….and listened to some pretty good music…

On the walk back to the car (wishing I’d put on my cowboy boots …. absolutely everyone on the street was wearing cowboy boots…!!!) we passed the Johnny Cash Museum…..

….and detoured off across the Shelby street footbridge…..

…..just at the right time to catch some filming for Nashville 911…a scene where an Airstream trailer had been lodged on a road bridge by a tornado……seemed oddly appropriate….!!!( not the tornado part…!!)

The Hermitage.

We found a little special ‘off the beaten track’ thing in the form of Andrew Jacksons Hermitage. Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States…and by all accounts a very interesting man.

” I was born for a storm and a calm does not suit me.’

He was a complicated man…the first self made (common man) to rise to the office of president….he was the only US president to pay off the national debt. He was also credited with creating the foundation of what would become the Democratic party………but he was also a slave owner….and the president responsible for the ‘Trail of Tears’ and displacing thousands of Native Americans from their ancestral land. He also believed the only way to avoid the inevitable slide into corruption of politicians was term limits.

Its always difficult to truly judge the character of historical figures…there are so many factors involved in their actions which are so different to the values we hold in present times. So perhaps best to describe him as fierce…and influential.

The Hermitage itself is another facility run by a group of ‘friends’. They protect its architecture and history for good, for bad and the future.

The original floor coverings, fancy wallpaper and furniture all intact.

The tour we booked allowed us onto the balcony.

…and also afforded us the privilege of taking pictures inside the house.

Alfred’s house is a real window into a life being ‘owned’.

Alfred was born a slave on Jacksons estate…..and was one of the few who stayed after becoming officially freed by emancipation. He led tours of the property once it was opened to the public, living his life in this very small cottage…and was buried in the gardens after his death.

The gardens were created by Jacksons wife , Rachel. (hers is a tragic story). The mausoleum Jackson built for her, and eventually himself, is central in the garden…the place she loved most.

The tour guide we had, Brian…..was excellent….knowledgeable, and patient. The group had many questions and he had a wealth of information to give.

The answer he gave us to the question ‘Was Andrew Jackson a good slave owner?”…was really the only answer possible…..”There is no such thing as a good slave owner”

The Hermitage is a lovely, but sobering place to visit. But it is important to acknowledge the reality of history….whether we like it….or not.

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Tennessee 3. Cedars of Lebanon

As I said before, we were scheduled to be in Knoxville for a week…but between the torrential rain and the crummy campground I had landed us in…we decided to leave early. After a search around some of the state parks nearer to Nashville I made a reservation at Cedars of Lebanon State Park.

My hopes were not high as there were a couple of other state parks in the vicinity that were completely booked. Cedars of Lebanon was mostly empty…..but when we got there…what a beautiful park. From the main gate to the campground office is just under a mile and a half …but it felt much longer. It was a beautiful treelined roadway that got quieter and quieter and felt wonderfully secluded……so far off the main road that the only real noise is the cicadas and the katydids.

Lots of lovely shade trees and recently renovated so the power and the water is pretty much new. …lovely friendly staff…level sites what more could you ask. Cat was happy …!!!!

Well the showers were in dire need of upgrading…but given the work that’s been done on the park that may be next on the list. (😬)

There were a few trails to hike around the park. We picked the longer one……Hidden Springs trail………

…..a five mile loop trail…….

Compared to many of the trails we have trekked…this one was an easy level loop…

….so the blogtographer entertained himself finding some of those fantastic little details to satisfy his photo taking needs…..

This spiderweb picture is one of my favourites……

The trail description said there were multiple sink holes along the way…..and they were referred to as interesting. I may be a big fail at geology….they were mostly vague holes or depressions in the ground….

Around the halfway mark the trail turns and then follows a dry creek bed….revealing a more interesting landscape briefly

….and then a more impressive sink hole shaft…..

….and one that looked almost like a carefully drilled well. It was fenced……. Mr Photography still has to scare the bejeezus out of me by leaning in there to ‘get a better shot’..LOL

The rest of the trail was much as the first half. A pleasant stroll through the forest…(if a little on the hot and humid)…..but he does take good pictures….

Just as we were finishing the loop we started meeting more people heading out. Seems to be a ‘thing’…we like to hit these trails early and be heading home as the temps start heating up around midday. The crowds are often beginning as we finish up…either people cook themselves out on the trails …or they are far more heat tolerant than me.

It was an easy trail…and most importantly got us out and moving.

Tennessee 2. Great Smoky Mountains. Grotto Falls

The Knoxville leg of the journey turned into a bit of a mixed trip. The Bourbon search was meagre…most of the Knoxville distilleries produce moonshine not bourbon….and there were really not any that grabbed our attention.

We had planned to be in Knoxville for the week but the weather later in the week was promising huge thunderstorms and lots and lots of rain. This left us with one more day of hiking in the Great Smokies…..so we picked a trail and did a repeat of the unholy hour start to the day to get to the gate before opening.

Grotto Falls was the pick…and we knew it was going to be busier than the Abrams Falls trail. The drive in took us through Pigeon Forge…..none of the images of Pigeon Forge could prepare you for the experience of just driving down the main drag. Its a clown nightmare of rollercoasters, permanent fairground style entertainment and huge cartoon buildings.

We were both a little stunned after driving through…..

On to the trailhead. The now familiar slow roll drive up the single track paved road winding ever upward through the forest to the Trillium Gap trailhead which is also the start point for The Grotto Falls trail.

Our early start got us there with half a dozen parking spaces still available….and many people already out and up the trail.

The smell of everyone else’s bug repellent must have kept the bugs at bay cos we did not see any …which, given the shade and the humidity, was surprising.

It was a well marked trail with quite a few people out, lots of families and lots of kids…which was nice to see.

The trail is around 2 and a half miles ( a bit more than 4 km ) out and back…so it was not long before we were in sight of the falls.

…and then the Grotto Falls themselves…..very cool…..

People were very polite about allowing everyone else to take their photographs…and taking turns passing under the falls….

The path continued up and around the corner…..

….but as far as I could tell from the map there was no other viewpoint and lots of dense forest ahead…so we turned back down….

The challenge for the blogtographer was getting the shots that make it look like we were the only ones out there……LOL….

…and of course he also had to clamber out into the rocks in the middle of the creek to get the best shots…!!!!

We met some very lovely people along the way….chatting as we followed the trail ….

I’m not sure how he managed to get those shots without the people we were chatting to…LOL….!!!!

Having started out early we still had half the day to fill. So we had brought a change of clothes and the means to do a military style wash down skillfully concealed by the doors of the truck…and then followed the continuing slow roll of cars back to the gate of the park.

There were a few stops along the way……

….for picturesque waterfalls……

…and mother nature’s water features…..

…as the photography guy goes clambering again……. (spot me at the bottom and him at the top..!!)

….and a young bear along the road……

We had found our favourite frozen custard vendor, Andy’s Frozen Custard , in Gatlinburg….so a little reward for the morning hike….!!! ( lunch….!!!..Key Lime pie frozen custard….a whole slice of key lime pie crumbled into frozen custard….Wow….!!!😁😋)

As close as we got to Dollywood….the sighting of the bus was as far as we got drawn in…

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Tennessee 1. Great Smoky Mountains….Abrams Falls Trail.

We were close enough to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited of all the U.S National Parks, that it became our next ‘must see’ stop. Leaving Corbin and headed to Knoxville Tennessee on the I-75 South is a journey not to be taken lightly. Its not that far ..but the road is mountainous and pot hole ridden…indeed the pot holes had pot holes……and in two lane steady traffic it coaxed a few interesting words and phrases from the lips of the driver –

I selected a campground that seemed close enough but not hauling the trailer up some of the trickier mountain loops. Hindsight being 20/20…the road across the Appalachians to get to Knoxville was scary and the road from there up to the park was actually not that bad…!!!

My campground selection turned out to be not the greatest either…..our site was at the bottom of a hill…with a rough gravel uphill corner to get us back out. Visions were forming of the back end of the trailer scraping its way back up the hill ( Argh..!!)

But we were in…and there was power to run the very necessary AC as the daytime temps were 34-35 degrees C (93-95F)plus humidity ….not baking the cat alive being the priority.

All the trail reviews tell you to get in early as Great Smoky Mountain National Park is busy and has limited parking. We were up (well the coffee making guy was up) before 5am to leave by 5.30 am to be at the parking area before 7.

The main gate into the park opens at 6.30am and we were there by 10 after…..with a queue of around 20 cars in front of us. The best part of the day in almost any National Park is first thing in the morning and all those people in the queue had also played this game before.

Entering the park you drive along Cades Cove Loop road. It is a single track, one way (paved) road through the forest with some quite lovely views of the mountains living up to their name with that morning hazy, smoky look.

The drive is lovely….but slow. With no opportunity for passing and the line of traffic slowly crawling, taking in the breathtaking landscape…and ALWAYS stopping for every deer, turkey or bear sighted along the way.

Our first pick for a trail to hike was Abrams Falls and we were the first car in to the parking at 6.50 am….boots on, water bottles at the ready, Alltrails tracking…off we went.

Right from the start…at the first bridge there were dire warning signs posted….

We were not planning on entering the water…!!! ( Editor. Well that’s not strictly true)

It was good timing with the cooler air at this early hour on a mostly uphill trek on the outbound leg of this hike.

As a non-fan of heights and little tree trunk bridges I was slightly dismayed at the numerous little balance beams and relieved by presence the handrails.

Each and every one has a sign to point out how many people have been injured slipping on them…!!!!

One of the upsides of the popularity of this park was how nicely finished the trail reinforcements were….it’s the only place I have seen the structures built this way to accommodate the water flowing through.

It was a lovely path to walk with some spectacular fungi and intermitent views of the river to keep us entertained….

Yet another warning of impending doom…and then the flight of stairs down to the falls…..which were treacherously wet and slippery

Our early bird strategy worked, we had the falls to ourselves…….

……with enough time for the blogtographer to clamber about on the rocks for some terrific images before the next hiker arrived. (Editor. I can confirm the water looked very inviting, and would have been even more so as the temperature climbed later in the day)

(if you click on the images…see if you can find where he got himself to…!!!)

The route back……

I counted 70 people passing us, heading to the falls as we headed down…….

….but as you can see the blogtographer ‘missed’ them all…!!!

…definitely worth hoisting out of bed early to miss the crowd.

From the parking area to the exit of the park, the road continues in a long (single lane) winding, scenic loop around Cades Cove. The posted limit is 10mph…..a pace I can only imagine has never even been approached b/c of the number of cars slow rolling along the route in anticipation of sightings of bear, deer, elk or trees…..and that’s not a complaint….it’s a place that totally deserves that slow appreciative pace…..

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Kentucky 5. Stone Bridges.

If you ever have the occasion to look into the main attractions of Kentucky, besides the obvious bourbon attraction…what you will find is many images of the natural rock bridges, predominantly in the Daniel Boone National Forest. The forest itself is a phenomenal landscape covering 708,000 acres of land.

Having seen some of the pictures, and after a bit of map research…I plotted a route that would let us get in a moderate hike (leg stretching) but also visit a few more places of wonder……. we were not disappointed.

It was another early morning start (1. beat the heat and 2. beat the crowds) and a drive up to Grays Arch trailhead. It promised a 6 km out and back hike with a view.

After a torturous 4 mile drive up a pothole ridden gravel forest trail…the trailhead had nicely shaded parking.

Gray’s Arch Trail

Off we trotted on a mostly downward trail into the valley where the arch was promised.

For how moist and shaded the trail was (and how much fluid was leaking out of our skin) there were surprisingly few mosquitos.

There were a few trees downed on the trail…….

There are some pretty impressive rock formations on the way down….

…some stairs…then the path descends further….then more stairs down…….

Almost at the bottom you are rewarded with a glimpse of the stone bridge…….

..and then down at the bottom the huge rock formations are impressive to say the least.

A short scramble up the other side has you standing under this enormous other worldly stone arch. Just WOW…!!!

Now all you have to do is climb back out of the gulley…..!!!

Princess Arch

The next stop along the loop was Princess Arch..this one was a 15 minute walk in…to an arch that you could walk over the top of then loop around and walk underneath……lending itself very nicely to photo ops.

Right across the parking lot was a bonus trail and lookout point at Chimney Top.

The signage was………interesting….!!!!

The view was spectacular……

Sky Bridge

Sky Bridge is reviewed as one of the most impressive arches.

It’s another one where the trail loops over the top and then back underneath. We set off in opposite directions expecting another photo op….. but …unfortunately there is not a point from the top where you can see the trail underneath and vice versa….

..it was still a pretty impressive stone bridge tho…

Angel Windows

Last but not least, another trail heading down into a valley (15 minute walk) to Angel Windows.

A very pretty little spot with a double arch. The kind of place that would be perfect for a picnic….if it was not quite so busy.

In its defense there were not loads of people there…but a steady stream of visitors coming down the trail, taking their pictures (just like us) and then climbing back out.

All in all a beautiful drive through the forest and some spectacular pieces of natures architecture. All in all a grand day out on a hot day….so of course we had to finish it up at an ice cream store….. 😁🍦

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Kentucky 4. Finger lickin’ edible

Corbin turned out to be a great spot for a bit of R and R….(as well as the occasional killer hike…!!!)

After the long weekend of fireworks (yup from Thursday to Tuesday…fireworks every night) our big ‘who-knew-it -was-there for Corbin Kentucky was…… the actual birthplace of KFC, Kentucky Fried Chicken.

I cannot confess to being a fan of KFC….however…when in Rome…..

So of course we had to go down to the Harland Sanders museum..

..and yes we had to eat there.

I can’t tell you if it was finger licking good cos we had the pot pies (who knew KFC did pot pies) which were surprisingly good…not overly salty or greasy and made with real vegetables…..LOL…..

Like so many American icons…the museum is a much more fascinating place than you might expect……

….and like most things…when you look at where they started…….there’s an interesting story…and Harland Sanders was definitely an interesting man.

Kentucky 3. Trying to kill Steve (unsuccessfully..!!)

As we continued our journey south, searching for a spot that was accessible for the Daniel Boone National Forest…and had a site available over the long weekend (July 4th being a ‘thing’ in the USA…!!!) I snagged a site at a KOA campground in Corbin, Kentucky.

It took us close enough to another expat friend (Hi Steve..!!) who lives in North Carolina to make an epic drive (he drove up through the tail of the dragon) to come and join us for the weekend.

Searching for this campspot, I was really more concerned about finding a decent location to stop during America’s ultimate party (and fireworks) weekend…..not following the brief of the bourbon trail. So…I managed to book us into a town that bridges two counties….both of them dry counties…LOL…so much for obscure bourbon tours and tastings.

We made up for it by having Cumberland Falls State Park right next door. Between us we picked a hike, which according to Alltrails was a moderate, 9.3km, 2 and a half hour hike. …and enticingly named Cumberland Falls and Dog Slaughter Falls (we preferred to read that as Dogs Laughter Falls….it just felt less disturbing.)

An early rise to beat the heat and the parking lot had a few vintage vehicles show up before we started….

We admired them for a bit then donned our boots, hoisted our packs and set off……

The trail was lovely and followed the river….as we began there were multiple rafts and kayaks lowering into the water to follow pretty much the same path as us.

The path was rocky and up and down most of the way………

Many parts had stone, or wooden constructed stairs…the stairs blended with the environment by being extremely uneven and treacherously moss covered.

All requiring careful foot placement.

There were spots where we opened out onto the river again……and the rafts were not catching up to us…

The trail proved trickier than its promise…..lots of little ups and downs ……

A bit of rock clambering and a few spots where downed trees blocked the path requiring looping up and scrambling through some pretty dense forest.

We were grateful for the shade on this trail as the temperature climbed….. also grateful for having started early enough that we were not at the peak heat of the day.

But there were lots of rock formations and overhangs to stop and stare at….

….and many stone ‘staircases’ (mostly moss covered and slippery)

Many spots with downed trees that required climbing over …

….or completely re-routing around

…..and a few narrow paths to edge around…… (not my favourite)

Crossing one of the tributary creeks to the river we came across a well placed bridge. I am not a fan of jumping into the unknown…..so after the boys leapt ably across the rocks….

I chose to scramble down the mudbank (yes I am a big wuss..!!!! )

Hydrating amply as we walked (between the humidity and the sweat we were all pretty soaked by this point) we made it to the last little climb to Dogs Laughter Falls.

Very pretty. Other people had come in via a much simpler route so we left them to frolic in the cool water with just a mild spat of envy. Checking out some huge dragonflies and weird ‘ufo looking’ spiders….!!!

Time to trudge on back……

The return journey was made harder by the fact that we were now on tired legs (and on our first real hike of the season)…….

…the path always seems a little steeper…..the stairs more numerous….

..the coolness of the rock overhangs and falling water was most welcome.

But at last we returned to that long flight of stairs we recognised from MUCH earlier in the day. A couple more turns and at last the Cumberland Falls re-appeared…..

Suffice to say that the trail description lacked accuracy. Five and a half hours later we emerged muddy sweaty and ready to admit that it might take a few days before that seemed like fun.

Back at the visitor centre/parking lot……ice cream and large pops all round to lift us a little before heading home for showers and cold beer.

It was a good hike…but maybe a bit more than planned for a first outing of the season. Steve was a good sport allowing me to take frequent rests and slow the pace on the way back.

Thanks for joining us Steve…..I thoroughly enjoyed the company on the hike. (Does it seem like more fun now ?….or still too soon…!!! 😆)

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Kentucky 2. Bourbon County Bourbon, Paris Kentucky.

After a quick (google) search around Blue Licks….the nearest Liquor Store (Kentucky has this radical notion of selling liquor , wine and beer from the same store) was on Old Paris Road….in Carlisle. That alone made it worth the trip to see what kind of beer we could find.

(Nb. We lived in the town of Paris Ontario….for 30+ years…)

Whilst browsing the store we came across a Daniel Boone Settlement Rye Whiskey. It seemed to be one worth further investigation given the history we had found ourselves in the midst of.

We struck gold with our first official Kentucky bourbon stop on this bourbon trail adventure, Regeneration in Winchester KY. They have a partnership with a local restaurant, Beech Springs Cafe, making it a perfect lunch spot with free whiskey/moonshine tasters. (and the service was excellent too…!!) They make a whiskey made from rye grown on land Daniel Boone farmed……how cool is that…..and it tastes not half bad…!!! (yes I have a bottle.) Winchester is a lovely town…beautiful old brick buildings constructed between the late 1800’s to early 1900’s.

Winchester itself is a pretty little town…we had a wander up and down the main street….

Having passed around the edge of Paris, KY on the way to Regeneration..it was most fortuitous to find the other nearby distillery, Hartfield and Co…was located in the middle of the town of Paris itself. It seemed like too good an opportunity to miss…so we hot-footed back there and found a parking spot to run in and book ourselves on the tour.

This was a great one to pick….not only are they a young, family owned company (opened in 2016) but they are also the only Kentucky Bourbon Distillery actually operating in Bourbon County where it all began. (Pre-prohibition Bourbon County had 29 distilleries…!!)

It was a superb tour looking at the bones of this growing operation as they follow in the footsteps of many before them to becoming established in the bourbon world.

It speaks of the ingenuity, the grit and graft of this family as they make it work.

Tour done…..and thoroughly enjoyed……it was time for a bit more discovery in the town itself.

I did not know, but do now…!!….that Paris is a major thoroughbred horse town. Driving between towns takes you through the most amazing, lush, rolling landscape filled with horse farms, manicured fields dotted with beautiful horses, picture perfect fences and magnificent stables.

The sidewalks through town have the names and shoes of all the famous horses from here….

The most famous being Secretariat, who was owned by a local stable…and was buried locally after his passing.

Thus far the decision to stay off the beaten track and search for smaller, lesser known distilleries has paid off. Not being lead by the nose through glitzy tourist information, but happening upon obscure but fascinating historical bubbles has so much more appeal.

I will raise my glass to the next ‘who-knew-it-was-there’ spot.

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