KY

We were looking for an easy getaway this weekend and didn’t have to look too far. Fort Knox is a quick trot from our farm. In fact, we are on the helicopter flight path to the base and squads of Blackhawks regularly fly over the house. You can hear them coming for miles – nothing stealth about those big bruisers.

In addition to the famous Gold Vault, Fort Knox was also the base for Artillery Divisions for decades. Think tanks. And tank target practice. KABOOM! Their shots would rattle our windows from miles away. The base also hosts a large museum commemorating General George Patton. (Why here? Think tanks!)

It’s been a long time since either of us visited Fort Knox. Things sure have changed in 30 years. Back then you could drive up to the vault, take some pictures and wander around. No more. They’ve got this place locked up tighter than Fort Knox!

At the main entrance on Bullion Boulevard, armed personnel stand guard at a security checkpoint. We threaded our 8-1/2′ wide motorhome through a 9′ wide barricade only to be told that we needed to register at the Visitors Center first. We were escorted to a turn-around and reported to the proper authorities to present identification. Then we maneuvered back to squeeze through the checkpoint again.

Fort Knox is a vast and sprawling base with main avenues winding through clusters of training buildings and living quarters – some new, some old, some historic dating back to WWI. We followed the signs toward the museum and I noted that many of the side streets had low bridges – well below our RV’s towering height of 12′ 2″. 

The Gold Vault, while clearly visible from the highway, cannot be approached at all. In fact, there are no roads leading up to it and it doesn’t even appear on the base map. It’s encircled by a series of fences and you can only catch a glimpse of it from a distance. We were told very sternly that photographs of the Vault are forbidden. Even the gift shop postcard is a drawing rather than a photo. Kinda disappointing. Not that I expected to see our nation’s wealth stacked up in gold bullion, but I would have liked to get a little closer to the fancy marble building.

The Patton museum was arranged as a chronicle of the General’s life. Did you know he was an Olympic champion? Bronze medal for the Pentathlon in 1912.

There were many artifacts of his military career, including tanks, his mobile field office, and the armored car in which he had his fatal accident. He died a few days later, giving orders not to prosecute the two drivers involved because “it wasn’t their fault” and he didn’t want their careers ruined. That’s a true leader.

In addition to the Patton museum the base also has other buildings open to the public. But after consulting the map it looked like most were located down those side streets with the low bridges, so we opted out of further exploration. Fort Knox may be the gold standard of army bases, but it’s not the best place to cruise around in an oversized RV.

Kentucky Horse Park
Lexington, KY

Every so often we need a little change of scenery… just a wee get-away to knock the cobwebs off. So taking advantage of a short warm spell in the weather, we trotted out to Lexington to spend a couple of nights at the Kentucky Horse Park.

The campground is nearly empty and winter ticket prices for the park are deeply discounted. We like playing tourist in the off-season – we had the museums practically to ourselves. And the large campus of horse barns and show ring stadiums were easy to explore without crowds clogging up the scenery.

This was (the puppy) Coco’s first camping trip and she was a bit confused at the small living quarters. The trick has been to tucker her out with long and frequent walks so she won’t spend the evening running up and down the aisle in the motorhome. The long walks also served to tire us out, too!

Tomorrow we’ll take a leisurely cruise home and re-winterize the RV for the frigid temperatures that are coming next week. Then it will be a waiting game for another mild spell before we can trot out again and shake off some more winter webs.

Kentucky Railway Museum
New Haven, KY
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On this bright fall day I took a late morning walk around the Kentucky Railway Museum. Here the remains of by-gone days are hulking in the side yard, each waiting patiently to be restored.

There are club cars and freight cars, steam and diesel engines, and massive iron tools – all in various stages of rust and deterioration. Hints of their former glory are shown in splashes of color and chrome between the rust. I’m not a train aficionado, but I do appreciate the beauty of these old-timers, representatives of Industrial Age engineering at its finest.  

Roaming around a silent train yard can seem a bit melancholy – one would expect a cacophony of noise and hustle-bustle at a depot. But in today’s sojourn down the tracks only the soft click of my camera was heard. 

A glorious early autumn day, warm and brilliant, found us hiking the woodland trails around Mammoth Cave National Park. It was an impromptu trip – decided on a whim to throw a few provisions in the motorhome and head out while the sun was shining and skies were bright. 

We bungee’d our day-hike packs tight to the motorcycle and took a short ride from the campground to the park. The summer crowds were gone, the forest was empty save for woodpeckers and blue jays, and we ambled at a relaxed pace down the trail, pausing often to peek under mossy limestone boulders for fox and fairy folk. Instead we found a tiny black snake wearing a gold necklace at the busy entrance to the cave. He was gently guided by a long stick to a more suitable location.  

I chose this small and cozy campground, Singing Hills, for its proximity to the national park. This is a popular overnight stop for folks traveling the north-south corridor. And here, all equally tucked into graveled pads under the stars, is the best evidence of how camping is the great common denominator. Rich, poor, young, old, means and by no means – we are all here. 

There’s a French couple living in their minivan who studied maps all afternoon.Two families are crammed into skimpy nylon tents next to the fishing pond, their gear spilling out of open trunks and strewn about the grass. Adjacent is the tiniest A-Liner trailer – small enough to be towed by an electric car. A couple of old school pop-out campers are parked under the pin oaks. There’s a freshly rehabbed 1965 Scottie nearby, and an archaic van camper that seems permanently docked, no doubt decades since it last rolled on the road. 

In the back row are the gleaming Class A buses and towering Fifth Wheel trailers, each with half a dozen slide-outs, matching tow vehicles, and his and her bathrooms. These are the full-timers; snowbirds who are migrating south for the winter. And in the middle, betwixt and between, are folks like us just out for a pleasure cruise. 

It’s wonderful to see the full spectrum of wherewithal represented in a single campground. And how everyone is having the same shared experience of a splendid autumn day.

It’s the simple things that are so much fun. Like a hot summer weekend spent camping with a whole bunch of family. 

We revisited the Mammoth Cave area last weekend, staying again at Jellystone Campground. Our RV was parked in a site right across from a sweet little (air conditioned) cabin where our multiple families could camp out in relative comfort.  

It was Water Wars weekend – for a whole afternoon the entire campground engaged in water battles. Armament included squirt guns and water cannons, garden hoses and water balloons, and plain old buckets. Two groups of campers waged war with homemade catapults that lobbed water balloons an impressive distance, with shouts of “Incoming!” heard around the park. Bands of roving snipers roamed around in electric golf carts ambushing bystanders with squirt guns. Even the local fire department got involved, spraying their hose on anyone who seemed game for a soak. 

We posted a white flag of surrender at our campsite which worked well to spare us from the worst of the drenching! 

The next day we toured a couple of local caves – dark and deliciously cool. Followed by visits to the peculiar rock shops and antique emporiums in the area. A great way to treat visiting family to some good clean fun.

Green River Lake State Park
Campbellsville, KY
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We settled into Green River Lake State Park for a few days hoping to enjoy some time floating in the water. However, we encountered a few challenges along the way.

There was a kerfuffle when we arrived. Someone was squatting in our lake-view site (for which I paid extra). They were told by Park Officials to vacate in the morning, but Mr. I-Don’t-Care Redneck opted to jump in his truck and head into town for the afternoon to rotate his tires at Walmart, have lunch, and probably down a few more beers. He left his young wife and kids behind to deal with me sniping at them to move out of our space. It was a four-hour delay, chewing up the best part of the afternoon and cutting off any hope of floating in the lake that day. Just rude, dude.

Early evening found us finally set up in our campsite, just in time to hunker down as the tail of a humongous storm, stretching from the Great Lakes to Memphis, whacked us with monsoon rain, hail, and dire tornado warnings screaming from all channels. I thought the storm was rather thrilling but Tim was nervously searching for the closest tornado shelter.

A day later the weather improved long enough for us to cruise around the state park in the afternoon. We found the dam and tail waters that form this large lake and a surprisingly good nature museum at the Corps of Engineers main office. The nearby marina is quite large, with many swanky pontoon boats moored under cover, and it also offers floating cabin rentals for a hefty cost.

The rains returned again for a second evening, turning the sky a wicked orange color with dark, looming clouds. It’s been a summer of record rain, and while we were there Green River Lake swelled to flood stage and jumped its banks. The campground was already soggy and muddy, and then a few campsites disappeared under water along with the designated swimming beach – making it far too dangerous to attempt a dip.

So we hung out at our campsite with the lovely view for another day. And then the crowds arrived with their motor scooters, dogs, boats, jet skis, and smoky fires. Sigh. It was time to leave. Never did get that relaxing float in the water.

– – – – –

The Rant

On the off chance any State Engineers are listening, here’s some suggestions for planning a campground at a state park…

• The most popular campers and trailers are 35′ long or bigger. Don’t make the parking pads only 20′ long.
• RVs come with slide-outs, which means they extend 4′ on both sides. Don’t make the sites only 8′ wide.
• Most trailers are hauled by huge pickup trucks. Don’t cram campsites so close together that there’s no room to maneuver a vehicle. Or park it.

I’ve got plenty more suggestions, Mr. Engineer, so feel free to check in with me. Or better yet, grab your buddy’s big honking 5th wheel trailer and his giant-ass diesel truck and try camping at the nearest State Park. You’ll see.

Cub Run, Kentucky
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We are experimenting with short trips this summer – especially visiting popular camping spots during the middle of the week. It’s turning out to be a good strategy. The crowds of noisy families are absent Monday thru Thursday. And the cadre of local yahoos who usually yank their boat and ski jet throttles wide open and rocket around the lake at full-bore are at home, happily annoying somebody else. 

So we found Dog Creek at Nolin Lake nicely quiet this week, with only a sprinkling of campers who seemed just as content as us to enjoy the peace. It was hazy, hot and humid all week – the dog days of summer. Perfect for lolling around the campsite and taking dip in the lake whenever the mood struck or the sweat stuck. 

In this part of the country we’ve found the Army Corps of Engineers (COE) campgrounds are superior to the state parks. COE properties are found wherever a dam or man-made waterway has been created, which in Kentucky means any significant body of water since the state has no natural lakes. The COE campgrounds are spacious, well maintained, and always prettily arranged to highlight the view. That’s the difference that federal funding makes. Many of the state parks in this area are run-down from overuse and the campgrounds tend to be arranged like parking lots with no consideration for privacy or scenery. 

And there’s lots of scenery to be enjoyed here – not only at Nolin Lake but the surrounding countryside is always worth a lazy trip on the motorcycle. We made the pilgrimage to Webb Market, where Mr. Webb has run an old-fashioned general store of surprising size and stock for the past 47 years. I always enjoy a good poke around the over-stuffed shelves and a nice chat with Mr. Webb.  

Following a local suggestion, we had lunch at the newly opened Blue Holler Café. The owners are German and serve a fine authentic menu of schnitzel and brats. What they are doing way out here in the boondocks is anyone’s guess! 

We also got adopted by the Cotton family, a friendly and happy clan set up in four trailers around us. They all wanted a tour of our motorhome, marveling at its size and amenities, and in return we were invited to their brunch (Bloody Mary’s and bologna) and also to their family’s potluck dinner (peanut butter lasagna for dessert!) What a great group of folks! Some of their clan were “noodle fishing” all week – which turned out to be a contraption devised of plastic float noodles fitted with fish hooks. Fresh caught catfish were on display in a cooler to prove how efficient this method truly is. 

All in all, swell way to spend a sweltering week!

Danville, KY
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This is our summer for short regional trips. And we’ve found some delightful places quite close to home that are worthy of a visit.

Danville, Kentucky is steeped in old-timey history. It’s the site of an early pioneer settlement, back when Daniel Boone was traipsing about Indian Territory trying to tame the wilderness. The Shawnee Indians weren’t too pleased with this encroachment on their traditional hunting grounds, and many a bloody battle was fought with the white settlers until at last, outnumbered and outgunned, the tribes retreated. 

Early Danville residents then settled down to the important business of carving a town from the wild and wooly frontier, and here we find the First Post Office West of the Alleghenies, the log cabin courthouse where the Kentucky Constitution was written with quill and ink, and the pioneering efforts of Dr. Ephraim McDowell who performed the first successful abdominal surgery on Mrs. Jane Todd Crawford to remove a 22 lb. tumor – without the benefit of anesthesia! Legend has it that Mrs. Crawford rode a donkey some 60 miles to the doctor’s office and sang hymns throughout the procedure to steady her nerves. I suspect quite a lot of whiskey was also involved, although Dr. McDowell did not mention that particular detail in his meticulous report. 

Fast forward to the post-war boom of the 1950’s when Danville was fairly humming with promise and prosperity, and we find the industrious Mr. Eben Hensen building his eccentric dream. 

Mr. Hensen was a trained thespian, having studied drama in NYC with other notables like Tony Curtis, Bea Arthur, and Harry Belefonte. He brought his considerable talents and connections back to Central Kentucky to create a summer stock theater in the middle of nowhere. The Pioneer Playhouse was built, piece by piece, with materials scavenged from historic property demolitions during a time when the mantra of the country was out with the old, in with the new. The large campus of buildings was constructed from hand-hewn beams from the old town hall, lumber and street lamps from the train depot, and any other materials Hensen could find. He even salvaged the old firehouse bell and chairs from a local barbershop. 

Today, celebrating its 66^th year, the Pioneer Playhouse is still run by the Hensen family, and entertains enthusiastic crowds all summer long with a varied schedule of performances. We saw the premiere of Lewis Black’s new comedy, One Slight Hitch, under the stars in the open-air theater. A buffet dinner of BBQ and homemade pickles was served before the show in a comely courtyard where Charlotte Hensen (wife of Eben, the founder) strummed a guitar and recounted the history of her family’s long adventure with the performing arts. 

Camping is available at the Pioneer Playhouse, which gave us a good excuse to spend a couple of days touring Danville’s lively downtown area. Nearby Centre College keeps the town hopping with coffee and beer joints, and Constitution Park offers a lesson in the history of the area with multiple museums and preserved buildings. 

We sure enjoy finding local gems like the Pioneer Playhouse in Danville, and we’ll be searching for our next charming adventure soon!

Rock Cabin Camping
Cave City, KY
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A couple of motorcycles. A sweet little campground. And a holiday weekend with friends. It all came together without a lot of fussy planning, and the days unfolded in an easy tempo. A good relaxing Memorial Day weekend. 

Just outside Mammoth Cave National Park, Rock Cabin Camping stands as a testament to a slower-paced way of life. Built in 1928, the tiny cabins have been revamped by owners Ralph & Lina, and were fully occupied this weekend. Between each cabin small RV sites are offered with full-hookup service. And in a neatly mown field just behind the cabins is a large tent camping area.

Owner Ralph and his dog Harvey made everyone feel welcome, making the rounds regularly to chat. His nephew, Ed, provided a great aerial display with radio controlled planes. And as night fell, we were thrilled to discover the nearby tent campers were a troupe of Fire Jugglers who put on stunning show.

Days were spent cruising around on the motorcycles under splendid skies and perfect weather. We toured several caves, had a little picnic in a shady grove, and visited the local shops. Brad and I took a ferry ride with the bikes, crossing Green River which bisects the national park. 

I sure like these kind of trips – unplanned and free form. Just kicking back and enjoying whatever the day brings.