Kentucky to Missouri to Home - Weeks 10 and 11

The Cumberland State Park Resort did not offer breakfast on Mondays, so we hit the road hoping to find something to eat along the way to Mammoth Caves.  We traveled curvy two-lane roads, passing small and often dilapidated homes in the forest with a few communities sprinkled here and there.  This was the first time on the trip that we had encountered such consistent poverty. About 1½ hours later, we came to Columbus, KY.  We drove downtown to find a beautiful (but boarded up) town hall/courthouse.  We parked on the road that encircled the courthouse and asked about a place that served breakfast.  Many of the surrounding storefronts were also boarded up.  The ladies we spoke with were hard-pressed to think of a breakfast place, but finally directed us to the pool hall just up the block in an alley.  Surprise!  We had an excellent breakfast of an omelet and two cups of coffee (no decaf) at the pool hall, served by a cheery older waitress.  When she lifted the omelet onto a plate for us, a guy seated at the counter said, "What's that? I want one too!" Evidently it was the first omelet served at the pool hall and the first one made by the cook--I think they'll add omelets to the menu now.  The open kitchen counter, cooks, and customers were in close proximity, so we all chatted as we ate. The two pool tables were assigned to the back of the establishment along with crates of eggs and other food items. A sign on the wall said "You don't have to be crazy to work here. We'll train you!"  Another great unexpected experience.  

   

Later in the day, we arrived at our destination, Bowling Green, KY, near Mammoth Caves National Park.  Bowling Green is home to the National Corvette Museum (which coincidentally has a fast charger located in its parking lot).  The Museum is designed to educate people about the evolution of the Corvette.  Evidently, it is fun because the parking lot was crowded. The General Motors Assembly Plant that produces Corvettes was across the street.  We passed on the museum and the factory tour in favor of a float into the Lost River Cave.  This cave is unique for several reasons.  1. You float on the river into the cave.  2. The cave used to house a nightclub at the entrance and still is a venue for special events.  3. According to local lore, Jesse James hid out in the cave after robbing banks in two nearby cities.  Our tour was led by an environmental science grad student at Western Kentucky University whose focus is cave invertebrates (crickets, centipedes).  Knowledgeable fellow.  It was a cool (in both senses) and interesting way to spend the afternoon.

 

        Inside the cave                           The nightclub                                 Inside the cave

  

                Entrance to Cave.         Jesse James marker.                     Our tour guide 

On our way back from the cave to the motel, we stopped to see downtown Bowling Green.  It has a beautiful square at its heart surrounded by little shops.  Most of the shops were closed because it was Sunday, but we peeked into an open used bookstore housed in the old Capitol Theater.  The bookstore is run by Friends of the Library.  All proceeds go to children's projects.  A volunteer at the bookstore was a wealth of information about Bowling Green and the surrounding area.  She has lived all over the world and chose Bowling Green to settle down.  Interesting woman!  Of course, we walked out with a used book!

    

The next day, we headed out early for our 9 a.m. tour of Mammoth Cave.  Honestly, Mammoth Cave was a bit of a disappointment.  It is a World Heritage Site and is touted to be the longest cave system in the world, with over 400 miles of tunnels.  It seems to underlay most of Kentucky.  However, the part of the system we saw had no stalagmites or stalactites because there is a sandstone cap above that prevents water from percolating down to create those formations.  (Other areas of the Mammoth have these formations, but on our tours, we didn't see any.)  The part we did see had huge "rooms" with limestone ceilings.  We took a second tour to the Wondering which included a walk through the woods and a plunge into a small cave not connected to the larger Mammoth Cave system.  It had a few interesting formations which we tried to capture with our iPhone.

    

                Mammoth Cave Tour                                Wondering Wood Cave Tour

On our way back from the caves to the motel, we stopped at hard-to-find Jackson's Orchard renowned for its peaches, according to the lady at the used bookstore.  Unfortunately, their peach crop failed this year due to a freeze...so no local peaches.  But they did have Michigan peaches, local apples and peach ice cream.  It was definitely worth the effort to find the place.

The drives in this part of Kentucky were in forested rolling hills.  Some areas had corn--now ready to be harvested, soy, and tobacco.  The entire nation has devoted itself to growing corn for ethanol, feed and corn syrup.  We saw very little sweet corn growing on our trip.  Do we grow food anymore? While Bowling Green seemed like a prosperous community, many small communities in Kentucky are struggling.

Our next stop: Branson, MO.  We were surprised by Branson.  We expected a Laughlin-like community where attractions were walkable and clustered along the river or lake.  Instead, the attractions in Branson are scattered...you cannot walk between them.  Moreover, we expected music to be the central theme of the place.  Instead, there are waterparks, roller coasters, and other amusement park rides, again scattered around the area.  It is definitely a magnet for children. It also is a center for time-share sales which offer discounted tickets to entertainment venues and amusement parks to visitors for listening to a sales pitch.  (Been there. Done that!)  That said, we had fun in Branson.  We played mini-golf at one of the best courses ever: Pirates Cove Adventure Park.  Roger beat me by one stroke, but he promised me a rematch.  We also loved our lake cruise on the Showboat Branson Belle (paddle-wheel).  We had a delicious 3-course dinner, enjoyed outdoor entertainment on the top deck while cruising around the lake, and finally watched excellent singers and dancers at the indoor theater.  A totally enjoyable day.

    

    

Barring unforeseen calamities or surprises, this will be our last post.  We head directly home from Branson.  We will take freeways (blasphemy, we know).  We are tired of constantly moving, of driving, and of not eating the right foods.  In sum, we're ready to be home.  Thank you for joining us on the Summer 2023 trip and for holding us in your thoughts as we faced new experiences each day.  We have had a wonderful time.  We feel privileged that you have shared it with us.  R&K 

Tennessee and Kentucky - Week 9

 It was difficult leaving our friends in North Carolina, but we had to move on.  We headed south along the Blue Ridge Parkway, stopping at Little Switzerland for lunch.  We continued through Asheville, NC to Brevard, NC, a charming town of 8,000 people.  We stayed at a retro 1950s motel a few blocks from downtown.  Very fun!

    

The next morning, a friend of our Paonia friends (Kyle and Mark) introduced us to Brevard over coffee, sharing the amazing cultural and musical attractions that her city offers.  She is a member of a learning group that sounds very interesting.  A general topic (for instance, Africa or new medicines) was chosen at the beginning of the year and each month one of the 12 women in the group would present something related to that topic. It sounds like something we might do in Kayenta. After Laura left, Roger and I walked around downtown a bit and then headed out toward Great Smokey Mountains National Park.  

A few miles down the road, we stopped at a ranger station in the Pisgah National Forest.  The ranger advised us not to go through the National Park due to crowds and traffic.  Knowing what Zion in tourist season is like, we took his advice.  The drive through the alternate choice, Pisgah National Forest, was beautiful and informative.  We stopped at Looking Glass Falls and later at the 6,500-acre Cradle of Forestry Historic Site.  The latter commemorates the beginnings of forest conservation in America in 1898 with historic forestry classrooms, trails, and machinery.  The Site is located in the Pisgah National Forest (1916), one of the first national forests in the eastern U.S.  Much of the original forest was part of the Biltmore Estate and was sold to the U.S. by Mrs. Vanderbilt when her husband died.

Our next stop was a visit with my aunt and uncle in Loudon, TN, near Knoxville.  My uncle Gene and his wife Nancy lived in Reno until 2021 when they moved to Loudon to be closer to his son's family.  Gene is 93 years old and is still sharp as can be!   We are very close, so it was so good to see him and Nancy.  Gene's son Kevin and his wife MaryBeth had us all over for dinner one night and one night, we treated everyone to dinner at the Yacht Club near their home.  On our last day, Kev and MaryBeth took us on cruising and swimming on Fort Loudon Lake/the Little Tennessee River.  The waterways all over this area were formed when the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) built 12 dams to provide electricity to the region. In doing so, it created a series of lakes, providing waterfront property to just about anybody who wanted it.  Only recently have prices sky-rocketed.  We loved our tour of the mansions with their boat houses and natural parts of the lake.  Nancy treated us to many gourmet meals.  Needless to say, we are putting on weight!  A great visit.

After several days with family, we moved on to Cumberland Falls State Park Resort in Kentucky.  Kentucky's State Parks often offer lodges and cabins, swimming pools, horseback riding, and other activities for visitors.  Wish Utah's state parks did more of that!

   

This lodge overlooking the Cumberland River was built by the CCC in the 1940s.

We spent a day rafting on the Cumberland River, paddling up to the falls for an early morning shower, then paddling and bumping our way downriver (low water this time of year), and finally having lunch aboard the Cumberland Star as we motored our way back to the bus.  Do I really have to return to real life?

    

  

Down the Blue Ridge Parkway - Weeks 7 and 8

It took us 3 days to drive from Lubec, Maine to the north entrance to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. In total, we drove through 8 states: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.  I couldn't keep track of where we were at any given moment.  The rainy weather finally caught up with us.  We plowed through flooded streets, hoping our battery didn't die on us.  EV fast chargers are everywhere in the East, so we had no problem getting a charge. The drive was smooth and fast even though we avoided toll roads and freeways.

When we finally got to Shenandoah National Park, our pace slowed.  The drive through the Park is 35 mph and goes right along the crest of the mountains--lots of twists, turns, and turn-outs (70 within the park itself) with views of the valleys below. There were not a lot of visitors, so the drive was easy.

  

Shenandoah National Park ended but the road continued along the crest of the mountains becoming the Blue Ridge Parkway (now at 45 mph). The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway (with park rangers, presentations, and such) noted for its scenic beauty. It runs for 469 miles through Virginia and North Carolina, linking Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park far to the south.  Naturally, Roger wants to see all 469 miles.

    

    

Our drive along the Parkway included a visit to an 1800s family farm.  We explored the one-room log home, the spring house (built over a creek with the purpose of keeping food cool), the chicken coop (with one chicken), the bear-proof log pig pen, the vegetable garden, and more.  As we wandered around these structures, we totally missed a huge copperhead snake at the base of one of the buildings. There was a sign saying not to play on the rock walls (which we didn't do) because a venomous snake had been sited there.  But there was no warning about the snake at the corner of the cabin!  The only reason we know about the snake is that walkers behind us took a picture of it.  When we returned to see it, it was not there.  From the family farm, we took a walk along the Appalachian Trail to Looking Glass Point (not particularly different from the views at the viewpoints, but a lot more effort!).

We visited the Moses Cone mansion (below) which now serves as a crafts shop, with perhaps the most unique crafts that we have seen on the trip so far. 

We stopped at a winery on the Parkway to share a "flight" of wines on their patio overlooking the vineyard and a light lunch of olives, apples, and cheese from our cooler.  The wines were okay, but the venue was outstanding.  

  Roger tasting wine

Later that day, we discovered the Blue Ridge Music Center with an hour-long performance of bluegrass music and a museum of local instruments.  At one point, members of the audience were invited to dance to one of the songs. I hopped up and danced away...totally out of breath when the song came to an end.

 Blue Grass Players

Our final stop along the Parkway was the Mabrey Mill with historic buildings and implements.  It was interesting how Mr. Mabrey channeled the water from several streams to his workshop where he not only ground grain, but also cut logs and made tools, built wagon wheels, and other items.  He did this all using the power of the water wheel. Fascinating!  I didn't have a chance to look at the crafts at this stop, but I have been told that they were equally as nice as those at the Cone mansion.

    

 Mabrey Mill

Eventually, all this driving brought us to milepost 300 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, very near the home of our dear friends in North Carolina.  We slipped off the Parkway at Blowing Rock (a small cutesy tourist town with lots of flowers, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and dress/souvenir shops) and found our way downhill to their place near Winston-Salem.  

Blowing Rock City Hall

We have known Ken and Carolyn since our Air Force days in Puerto Rico (early 1970s).  They lived on base just two houses from ours.  Carolyn and I were both pregnant when we arrived and delivered our children at the base hospital--our Puerto Rican babies!  For so many reasons, the 4 of us just clicked.  They introduced us to John Denver's Country Roads and to the game of bridge. We explored Puerto Rico together, and then a traveled together to Barbados.  When the base closed, we went our separate ways. Over the years, we have remained good friends, visiting each other when possible and traveling together from time to time.

Our week with the two of them was like "coming home."  They offered us great food and wine, walks, wonderful conversations, and a respite from all the driving. We read a lot, watched movies, and shared our views on books and current events. We just enjoyed one another. We had hoped to see Ken and Carolyn's kids (now about 50 and 52), but we couldn't make it happen. That will have to wait until our next visit. We did catch up with Abbey (their granddaughter), who is a senior studying marine biology at the University of North Carolina.

 The four of us and a peek at their dog, Maddy

Fully refreshed, and having traveled as far East as we had planned, we now turn west for our journey home.

  

  

Wow! New England - Week 6

7/25 - We headed to Vermont early in the morning, stopping at a small cafe in Glens Falls en route.  The cafe, Pete's Diner, is an anachronism in today's world.  It occupies about 500 sq ft downtown, with perhaps 5 booths and 6 seats at a counter.  A Greek husband and wife team opened the cafe shortly after WWII. Eventually, Pete died. But his wife still greets people, takes their drink orders, and handles the cash register (she speaks little English, but knows her numbers).  Their daughter takes the full order and delivers it to your table.  Customers knew the owners and each other.  We were the outliers.  But what was most surprising about the place was their prices.  Two eggs and toast were $2.75. Add meat for $2.00 more.  A real milkshake was $2.75.  I seriously considered having a milkshake for breakfast!!!  

Immediately after crossing the border into Vermont, we stopped at the Visitor Center.  We read a few brochures and changed our plans to drive directly across Vermont.  Instead, we headed north for a cruise on Lake Champlain and a tour of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream factory.  We made it to Burlington just in time to make the 2 pm narrated cruise.  It was great! We learned all about the history, geology, and bird life of the lake.  We returned from the cruise ready for dinner.  We found a wonderful Indian-Nepali restaurant just a few blocks away.  It was located on a pedestrian-only street much like Pearl Street in Boulder.  In fact, it was designed by the same planner.  After dinner, we strolled the lively street, listened to musicians, and wandered through shops before returning to our car.

      

                    Waiting to depart                                                        The Burlington Pier

    

            Thrust fault - older rocks on top                                       Vibrant downtown Burlington!

The next morning, we toured Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream factory—the original one.  They now have a larger facility elsewhere.  The tour included a movie about how B&Js originated, a look at the inner workings of the factory, and a taste of ice cream.  I was surprised by how many community and progressive causes Ben and Jerry supported with the business—goodwill and good works that continue today through a separate entity even though B&Js was bought out by Unilever several years ago.  

From Burlington, we continued our drive east on the backroads of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.  The curving roads, hugged by trees on both sides, and the many clear lakes made the days of driving quite enjoyable.  It rained sporadically, but never enough to dampen our spirits.  On 7/28, one month after we left St. George, we got our first glimpse of the Atlantic at Two Lights State Park in Maine.  We took a motel room nearby and the next day drove the coast road from Portland, ME up to Acadia National Park, our stop for the week.

We loved Acadia National Park!  It isn’t like any other national park we have explored.  First, most of it is on a two-lobe-shaped island with another large part on the mainland east of the island.  There are many smaller parts of the Park on the surrounding islands and on the mainland.  Second, the Park has many inholdings of private property.  Because of this, there are no physical boundary markers or official “entrances” to the Park. You simply pay your entrance fee at the Visitor’s Center and display it in your car during your visit wherever you are.  The Visitor Center offers free parking and free hop-on hop-off bus trips around the three sections of the park and into Bar Harbor, the closest town.  It’s a great system, sponsored by Ben & Jerry's.  

On our first day in the Park (sunny for the first time in weeks according to the locals!), we parked the car, hopped the bus, and did the Loop Road (marked in red on the map) on the main part of Mount Desert Island.  We got off and took our morning walk right along the coast.  Absolutely beautiful-especially to two people who don’t get to see trees and the ocean very often. Our next stop was for lunch at Jordan Pond followed by a guided ranger walk to the Carriage Road bridges, built in the 1920s.  These roads are famous because John D Rockefeller, Jr. designed them for horse and carriage traffic around the island.  The fact that they still are in great shape is a testimony to his skill as a designer.  Today, they are used solely by walkers and bikers.

    

            Green areas are Parklands                                                Part of our coastal walk

On our second day in the Park, we took the Islesford Historic and Scenic Cruise of the bay and around the islands.  The ranger on board pointed out seals, porpoises, ducks, and birds as well as lighthouses and homes of famous people.  After the cruise, we returned to Jordan Pond for a picnic lunch and then a 3-mile walk around the Pond.

Prior to leaving home, we had made reservations to drive to Cadillac Summit, the highest point (1530 feet) on the Atlantic seaboard.  Reservations are necessary because there is limited parking at the summit.  I wasn’t really excited when I made the reservations, but once we arrived at the top of the mountain the next day, I understood why it was a “do not miss” at the Park.  The views are marvelous.

                                                            View from Cadillac Summit

After our walks around the summit, we drove to the western lobe of the Park for a short walk to the coast 

on the Wonderland Trail.  Then, we had a lobster dinner at Thurston’s Lobster Pound.  It was 

incredible. Sadly, the cashier weighed the 2 lobsters in front of us while the poor little guys looked at us with their soulful eyes.  When they arrived at our table minutes later, we had forgotten that encounter and we dug in gleefully. The lobsters were the best we have ever tasted.  That said, there will be no more lobster for us on our trip.  

The 3rd piece of Acadia NP is on the tip of a peninsula about 45 minutes east of Mount Desert Island.  It is called the Schoodic Peninsula.  We explored this area on the 2nd to last day of our stay.  It is the most primitive area of the Park.  At the main viewpoint, we pulled out our chairs and ate a picnic lunch on the rocks overlooking the beautiful Atlantic.  We are so happy this land is preserved in a park.  We attempted a walk up Blueberry Hill after lunch.  But it was poorly marked and very rocky and steep.  We gave up after a mile or so.  (Yes, we are bad, bad, bad!)  We drove home and found a great ice cream place en route. We ordered the “small” cone which supposedly had 2 scoops, but it really had 3!  We ate about 2 pints of ice cream between us, I think.  I don’t want to see another ice cream cone for a long while.  (We’ll see how long that lasts!)

On our last day in the Acadia National Park area, we drove to Bangor (about 40 minutes away) to fill up the car at a fast charger.  On our way, we stopped at an LL Bean outlet store to shop, got haircuts, and found fish tacos.  Quite tasty.  Then we traveled to Bar Harbor (the city adjacent to Acadia NP) to see what was there—lots of souvenir shops, people, and taverns.  After an hour or so, we returned to our Airbnb for dinner wishing we had more time in the Park.

The next day, we drove to the far north of Maine (Lubec) to visit with good friends, Abe and Sue Ross, who we met in Tonga in 1994.  They live in Nova Scotia so we don't get to see them often.  But when we do get together, it is like no time has passed.  The night we four arrived in Lubec, we ate pizza in a wide spot in the hall of the motel and caught up on each other's lives.  The next morning, we headed over a bridge to a Canadian island to explore the Roosevelt Campobello International Park together (https://www.nps.gov/roca/index.htm). The park is jointly managed by the U.S. and Canada to preserve the 1920s summer home of the Roosevelt family.  He and Eleanor loved the place and it is easy to see why.  It had 35 rooms! And we got to view most of them.  We also took part in Eleanor's Tea at a "cottage" in the park.  This included Eleanor's favorite tea, ginger cookies, and a wonderful talk on Eleanor's life and contributions.  I had no idea how influential she was.  After a short walk through a second fully restored "cottage" and a walk to a viewpoint, we had lunch at another "cottage".  I use parentheses because these cottages were really beautifully restored homes.  It was fun to see how the wealthy of the 1920s and 1930s lived.  

                                                              Kathy, Abe and Sue after tea

 

The next morning we said goodbye to Sue and Abe who left for Nova Scotia.  Roger and I were so enthralled with this unpeopled and surprisingly beautiful part of Maine that we decided to stay another day to walk a coastal trail, explore another bog, and have a salad dinner overlooking the ocean.  We love it up here!  

On August 7, we started our 3-day drive south to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia...sad to leave our new find, but looking forward to what's ahead.