KY

Danville, KY
View Map

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
View Map

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.

I’m sitting on my back deck peeling a rutabaga.

The sun is thin and anorexic, the air nippy and nagging, and a smeary line of chemtrails are slowly churning in my direction.

It’s winter.

I can’t stand it.

I’m ready to head to warmer climes, dreaming of hot sweaty sun and bleached beaches and itching to get on the road to Anywhere But Here.

But alas the RV will stay parked, tucked under its carport alongside the garage for a little while longer.

In the meantime I’m perusing the State Park reservation system for random camping dates in summer – my perennial pastime in the throes of January. And the RV & Boat show is coming up next week to further feed my jones for the open road in a conveniently packaged condo with wheels.

 Spring has to be around the corner? Please.

Corbin, Kentucky
View Map

We are on the road again heading South this weekend. Got an early start today and made it as far as Corbin, KY. Which is to say not very far at all. 

A two-hour traffic jam put us 100 miles off our schedule. It was getting dark, we were hungry for supper, and a big storm is chasing our tail. Good time to stop.

According to our Campground App, the Corbin KOA looked promising and an easy 2 miles off the highway. We find the KOA properties to be consistently good, with full hook-ups, level pull-thru sites, and cable TV as a bonus. Nothing like tucking in with 85 channels to surf.

The night is warm so we dined outside on the picnic table. Turkey and stuffing supper was enjoyed by lantern light, or as I called it, The Tom Before the Storm.

We’ll be on the road early tomorrow, making up for lost time. And that nasty cold front should blow by us overnight.

Dash Cam …

Mammoth Cave National Park
Cave City, Kentucky

We like touristy fun. Can’t help it, it’s a cheap thrill. Old-timey tourist attractions are the best. The splendor of Nature is preferred. Local oddities down a country road where we can easily ride the motorcycle. And all at our own pace, unhurried and rambling about on a whim. Pretty much the opposite of Disney World and ocean cruise vacations.

Here in Cave City, on the fringes of Mammoth Cave, we found just the right mix of ticky-tacky tourist stops and outstanding natural caverns. The local attractions were probably in their prime back in the 60’s and now sport a well-worn patina from decades of entertaining tourists. However, the multiple cave attractions in the area have steadily improved their presentation over time, some hosting visitors since the 1890’s. 

We’ve spent the long holiday weekend exploring, and here are the highlights of our adventures: 

Mammoth Cave

This large national park is accustomed to crowds. There’s ample parking with attendants directing traffic, a hotel and restaurant on site, and a hefty visitor center bustling with helpful rangers. We arrived for a cave tour early in the morning and the place was already packed. Multiple tours with various levels of exertion are offered, and the rangers are careful to explain how many stairs must be surmounted and whether your hip replacement can handle the workout. We opted for a self-guided tour through the main chamber rooms, skipping the long wait and lingering as much as we liked. It was a good choice, as we had the place nearly to ourselves and we dawdled in the cool cavern air a good long time.

The main chamber rooms are gigantic, immense, and dizzily tall. This is the prime feature of the front section of Mammoth Cave – enormous limestone rooms which are void of any formations, like stalactites. The space is so large that pictures are useless. It’s a place that is better felt than photographed.

Rock Shops

Since Mammoth Cave is the main attraction in these parts, everything around here is devoted to Rocks. There are rock shops on every corner, in every barn, and all the restaurant lobbies. What kind of rocks, you ask? Anything that’ll make a buck – from pricey fossils and geodes to colored glass trinkets and marbles.

Onyx Cave

Over in Cave City we found the smaller and more intimate Onyx Cave. Privately owned and wet with natural springs, it hosts some unusual curtain formations and rust-colored stalactites. Our tour guide, Missy, was a geologist and she gave a lively account of Kentucky’s 4000+ caves. It’s her personal goal to visit them all.

The Olde General Store

Owner Leroy Alvey has spent a lifetime amassing a collection of old-time implements and items. If it’s rusty or dusty, it’s here at the General Store. His motto: This is no museum. This junk is for sale! Guarantee you’ll find at least one item you recognize – hey, I have that!

Guntown Mountain

Back when Tim was a kid, Guntown Mountain was the place to go. It was a wild west tourist town located on a hilltop, replete with dance hall girls and gun-toting sheriffs. The saloon served sarsaparilla sodas and a shoot-out in the street was performed several times a day. You arrived via a chair lift to the top of the mountain, or for the more faint of heart a shuttle bus clambered slowly up the back.

Of course we had to visit so Tim could relive his best childhood memories. The parking lot seemed a bit empty for a holiday weekend, and when I bought the entrance tickets the gal told me, “It’s just a ride up and a look around.” She even repeated it, but I didn’t understand until we exited the chair lift at the top.

The place was deserted. No dance hall girls. No sarsaparilla. Just a bunch of derelict buildings with mouse droppings in the corners. Turns out the park was recently sold and the new owners opened the chair lift just for this weekend. We strolled around anyway, with Tim recounting stories of how lively and fun the place used to be. Nowadays it’s “just a ride up and a look around.”

Diamond Caverns

We ended our weekend at the splendid Diamond Caverns, a privately owned attraction within the national park boundaries. This was the best cave yet, with excellent formations and pools, well placed lighting, and surprising turns and twists that made the walk even more interesting. This long-running cave tour (over 150 years!) is certainly the gem of the area, and highly recommended.

Jellystone Resort
Cave City, Kentucky

It’s Memorial Day weekend and we’ve traveled a couple of notches south to relax near Mammoth Cave National Park. The national park offers only primitive campsites, which means no electricity (horrors!) so we are staying a few miles down the road at an RV resort. In this part of the country, the term “RV Resort” is loosely applied and commonly means a giant family playground with lots of places to plug in a trailer. We’ve encountered this type of campground before, so a full description of this unique kind of property is hitherto presented.

When camping at a huge family campground without the requisite family in tow, it helps to lower expectations and keep a good sense of humor at the ready. With a name like Jellystone Campground, you pretty much know what’s going to be in store for the weekend. Right, Boo Boo?

We arrived early Friday afternoon and there were already several campers lined up at the entrance. Standing under a blue and white umbrella, smiling and freckled attendants helped us check in. They passed us a map of the property (130 campsites plus 70 cabins), a list of rules and regulations (pets on leash, proper swimwear), a program of holiday events (all you can eat waffle breakfast at the ranger station) and two bright orange wristbands to be worn at all times (which were promptly tossed into the bottom of my purse).

The entrance road winds up a small hill toward a wooded area. At the top is a large camp store and concession and several activity pavilions. We passed by three pools, a water slide, miniature golf course, driving range, horseshoe pits, and the Jumping Pillow which is a brightly colored inflated mattress the size of a small lagoon. I can happily attest that it offers a dizzying bounce which must performed barefoot.

The campground sprawls downward from the hill in a befuddling jumble of winding roads, cul-de-sacs and circles. Some streets are paved, some are gravel, and cabins and campsites are mingled together in fuzzily outlined sections. Betwixt and between are shady green areas that sport candy-colored playgrounds and bathhouses. Added to this helter-skelter layout are 200 camping families and all the accessories and accoutrements they can possibly carry with them.

There’s cars and trucks, motorcycles and bicycles, volleyball nets, corn hole frames, barbeques, pool floats, lawn chairs and hammocks, awnings and canopies, toys and tools, fire pits and wood, picnic tables and coolers, and lines of wet bathing suits and towels strung between anything vertical. Trailers and motorhomes are parked at odd angles, tents are pitched at random, cabin renters loll on the porches, and dogs of all sizes are leashed to any fixed object. And everywhere are electric golf carts, which can be rented at the ranger station.

For these few days, Jellystone Campground becomes a city of weekend refugees. A conclave of purposefully transient people, peacefully going about the business of summer recreation. And amidst this jumble of trailers and tents a friendly community forms. People wave as they pass by, share a marshmallow over a fire, or help to fix a fussy leveler jack, Kids roam freely and unsupervised – come back when you’re hungry – exploring and playing in groups with cousins or friends. And at night everyone quiets down and tucks in early after a busy fun-filled day.

It’s really remarkable. And yet in a way, this is how it’s is supposed to be. Safe, secure, and peaceful in the company of strangers. The park is well patrolled, the gates are locked after dark, and only campers have the right to be here. This is typical of the family-fun camping resorts to be found in the Midwest. And since we’re here, we’ll enjoy it.

 Camp Life

Kentucky Horse Park
Lexington, KY 

Woke up at two this morning. Two degrees that is.
Whoo-boy it’s cold here!

Kentucky Horse Park
Lexington, KY

 Hey – there’s some world class museums here! We thought we’d run through a few today, but our first stop at the International Horse Museum was so fascinating we stayed there all afternoon.

Kentucky Horse Park
Lexington, KY

Happy New Year – Chinese Year of the Horse.

On this crisp new day, under clear bright skies, we walked the Horse Park for several hours. There’s much to explore here, and being a holiday we had the place to ourselves.