This week I'm in love with where I come from. Kentucky!
Rural Butler County, Kentucky
Copyright © 2006 Christine Bewley
Kentucky is mostly known for it's horses, Bluegrass music, and bourbon. Today I want to focus on my little corner of Kentucky. Here you can find caves, lakes and Corvettes.
Let's start with a little "agritourism". This is starting to become more and more popular around the country as we all try to find ways to stay closer to home and spend our money there as well.
Chaney's Dairy Barn is an excellent place to visit for premium, homemade ice cream. Fresh from the farm. Every Fall we like to take the kids to Jackson's Orchard to pick out pumpkins. You can get a little taste of Kentucky by visiting their website, too. Their Apple Cinnamon pancake mix is oh so yummy! While we are on the subject of yummy food, did you know that THE Duncan Hines is from Bowling Green? You can take a peek at all things Duncan at the Kentucky Museum on Western's campus. That's Western Kentucky University, Home of the Hilltoppers. If you ever do visit this campus, the sports teams moniker will be completely understood!
I'm sure you've all heard of a little car known as the Corvette, right? Well, they are made right here. We love the Corvette's so much, we made a museum. The National Corvette Museum is located right off Interstate 65 and you can't miss it. You can even visit the Assembly Plant for a guided tour. Visit their website for dress restrictions and scheduled plant shut-downs before planning your visit though. Since I'm on the subject of cars that go fast... If you plan to visit with the whole family, stopping by Beech Bend Amusement Park and Raceway would please everyone. Beech Bend has camping, swimming, drag races, and the best wooden rollercoaster, The Kentucky Rumbler. All day rides, water park admission, and mini-golf tickets are only $24 for those over 54". Free parking, free sunscreen... all day fun. If you don't plan on riding, gate admission is only $10! Visit the drag strip on a Sunday to see an NHRA race.
On to the caves! My personal favorite is Mammoth Cave National Park. You can hike, picnic, canoe the Green River, camp in the campground or go "back country" camping and sleep on the banks of the river, and of course visit the caves. **Did you know Mammoth Cave is the world's longest known cave. In fact it is so long that if the second and third longest caves in the world were joined together, Mammoth Cave would still be the planet's longest cave and have nearly 100 miles left over! There are 13 different tours ranging in price from $2.50 (for Seniors) to $48 for the "Wild Cave" tour and from just an hour to over 6 hours. In this general vicinity there is also Diamond Caverns, the American Cave Museum & Hidden River Cave, and visit here for a list of many others. Lost River Cave is right in the middle of Bowling Green. It's Kentucky's only underground cave with a boat tour. There you can enjoy hiking, a butterfly habitat, and a wild bird sanctuary right in town. If you are in the BG area and would like to visit make sure you call ahead to check water levels, if it's too high they don't do tours.
The best part, I think, of this area are the lakes! There is Barren River Lake, Nolin Lake, Rough River Dam, Lake Malone, and Dale Hollow Lake. We love to camp and boat at Barren River. If you've been reading my blog for a while you may remember our vacation there last year. I knew you guys wanted yet another link in what is turning out to be a "linkapaloosa"! Anyway... Lake Malone is small and quaint and brings back memories of being a teenager for me. Make sure to stop by Shady Cliff for a good, down home meal. They also off a "Dinner & Cruise" along the lake for those willing to dine while boating. Nolin Lake is adjacent to Mammoth Cave so it makes for a well rounded vacation of nature. I honestly can't say too much about Rough River or Dale Hollow because I haven't been to either. If you've been, please leave a comment and let us know how it is!!
I could go on and on about the historical places to visit, memorials, monuments, and even the NEW minor league baseball team!!!, but I've overloaded you all already with the plethora of links to keep you busy for at least a week!
I'd love to hear about your little corner of the world! Write a post about what to see and do near you and then leave a link in the comments section. You never know, we may bump into each other one day while exploring all the great things our states have to offer!
Have a happy {Love Thursday}!!
For more information about all things Kentucky visit:
Kentucky Tourism
**Information from the NPS website.
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