Walking At The Lexington Arboretum, June 2026!

A few weeks ago, I had an appointment in Lexingtno, Kentucky, and took a hike of an hour or so at the Lexington Arboretum which is a lovely, peaceful, and educational place to walk in beautiful, flowering, and wooded setting at the southern end of the University Campus. I frequently walk there when I am in Lexington. The Arboretum has a combination of fairly wide paved trails and others in the more wooded areas which are unpaved but usually filled with tanbark. I prefer the wooded trails and usually try to walk those unless it is after a recent rain since some of them are more prone to a bit of mud than others. On a busy day at the Arboretum, you might meet a half dozen or so people on the wooded trails. On a busy day,you might meet more. On the particular day I have in mind, I only met a few. At one area, there is small circular patch of perhaps a quarter of an acre open area beside the trail with a large central tree, a circular path at the outer edge of the circle, and a concrete bench for resting and meditation near the tree. I rarely stop when I am walking but sometimes will circle that area just to see if anything interesting is in bloom there. On the day I have in mind,I noticed a large plastic big mouth jug with a lid and a sheet of hand written paper on the front. The jug was filled with small scraps of paper. The sign read Free Poems, Take One or something nearly like that. I reached in and took one, the first one on top of the pile. I have scanned it below.

It was written on a receipt from Food Lion, Morgan Square, Route 522 South. It turns out that this store is actually in Berkley Springs, West Virginia. There is one other potentially identifying item on the receipt which I won't list in this blog post in order to prevent less honest people from having the ability to track down the author of the poem. The poem isn't the best poetry I have ever read. Neither is it the worst. This is what it says in seven lines:

It's nice, sweet, a bit too much leaning toward paganism for me perhaps. But it was a very nice gesture for some woman named meagan to leave a jar of her poems, all written on small scraps of paper in a waterproof jug in a forested patch of the Lexington Arboretum. Thank you, meagan!

Hiking At The Minor E. Clark Fish Hatchery, Morehead, Kentucky, August 2, 2025

After attending the Artisans Harvest event in West Liberty, Kentucky, yesterday, we decided to travel to the Minor E. Clark Fish Hatchery so I could get in a hike. I parked Candice in the van in the shade and began my hike. Shortly after I started hiking, I met a local man, (recently relocated to Kentucky from elsewhere) who happens to be a biologist employed in a federal government job. He also happens to be a very experienced birder and we struck up a conversation. I am choosing not to name him in light of the extremely oppresive and destructive nature of what is happening to thousands of federal employees all over the country. Our conversation was initially about birds and I told him about my recent experiences around the visit on our property by a large flock of Evening Grosbeaks. While we were talking, he pointed out a pair of mated Bald Eagles which were soaring over the fish ponds and told me they are nesting on a distant ridge within sight of the hatchery. This was my first sighting of Bald Eagles at the hatchery but I have to admit that I might have missed them soaring in the distance. As our conversation progressed, we got into an enlightening discussion of the ongoing decimation of the federal government by TRAITOR Trump. The man was open and honest about his feelings, stated he is just a few years from possible retirement, and might be willing to retire early if another opportunity is presented to employees in his department to take voluntary early retirement. Our conversation was mostly about the horrible attacks on government employees, immigrants, and humanity in general which is happening by TRAITOR Trump and his Criminal Syndicate which poses as a "cabinet". Yes, it was a sad conversation in many ways. But it was also honest, open, enlightening, and, in some ways, stress reducing. After our conversation broke up after about 20 minutes, I walked back to my van to let Candice know that I had been talking and would just then be starting my hike so she would not be alarmed by my lateness in returning. Then I got into an area of the hatchery property which I had never been in before, saw a large amount of birds of several species, and had a great hike in an area I had never been in before. As I was preparing to leave the hatchery, both Candice and I were able to watch an osprey swoop into a pond and capture a large goldfish and fly away with it. I suspect that a pair of ospreys are raising young somewhere near the hatchery. It was a great experience from several viewpoints: political conversation, hiking, new experiences at the hatchery, and bird watching with two great species, one of which I had never documented before, the osprey actually taking a fish. And I got my sixth sighting of Bald Eagles, a mated pair in flight.

Picking Roses In Eastern Kentucky On Thanksgiving Day 2024!

 

Yesterday, Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 2024, my wife Candice and I chose to travel to Prestonsburg, Kentucky, for the Thanksgiving Day Buffet at Jenny Wiley State Park Lodge rather than cook a Thanksgiving dinner for the two of us.  When we are away from the house and have the time, I nearly always try to walk or hike somewhere while Candice waits for me in van at a safe parking area and reads.  Since it was fairly cool and damp, I chose to not hike in the woods near the lodge. There are several fairly good hiking trails in the park and I have used them quite a bit over the last few years. We have also attended other holiday dinners at the lodge with members of my extended family over the years. I went to Big Sandy Community and Technical College to walk on their paved walking path near the Big Sandy River instead.  I have walked there numerous times and actually enjoy that walking path since it is mostly paved with an unpaved gravel loop around a grassy area near old US 23 or North Lake Drive.  The paved area is a big loop with one fairly good uphill which overlooks the river.  Between the river and walking path, there is also a fairly large, relatively flat grassy area which can also be used for walking if it isn't too wet.  There is also a consistent population of black squirrels in the trees around the walking path and along the river bank.  I only saw two squirrels yesterday while I was there and never clearly established that either of them was black since both were on the ground near trees and probably at least a hundred yards away when I spotted them and they immediately ran up the back side of the trees.  

 

I only saw one other walker while I was there yesterday and he only made one loop before disappearing.  He was wearing shorts and the temperature was only 40 degrees or so.  I suspect that he might  have not been enjoying the shorts.  But, to my amazement, I spotted a few late fall roses blooming on some plants which are situated at a little memorial rock garden between the college parking lot and the hiking path.  The rock garden is dedicated to some former employee whose name I don't remember.  There were also some beautiful flowers on several small shrubs at both the rock garden and near a swing which is situated at the opposite end of the grassy area in the center of the walking path.  Since it was already only forty degrees with a subfreezing forecast, I chose to cut one of the roses and several of the other flowers for Candice who was waiting for me in the van.  It was a pleasant surprise for both of us to learn that all these flowers were actually still in bloom on Thanksgiving day.  It also amazes me  how many people choose to totally ignore signals such as these flowers about the fact that global warming is very real and very dangerous for the planet.  

After my walk, we drove up old US 23 from Prestonsburg to Allen where I showed Candice some of what is left of Allen.  Then we returned to the lodge for the buffet.  It was acceptable but a bit overpriced.  There was ham with pineapple served in thin slices, fried cat fish which the lodge serves at nearly all of their major events, turkey served sliced and/or shredded, some turkey dressing which I chose not to try, some fairly good shoe peg corn and carrots, and banana pudding, pecan pie, and pumpkin pie for desert.  The lodge was fairly crowded with what was almost universally an older crowd. It was an enjoyable day all things considered. 

Me And My Shirt Take Another Trip To The Big City!

 

On Thursday, October 3, 2024, my wife Candice and I took another trip to Lexington, Kentucky, for medical appointments and left early so we could eat at one of our favorite places and I could hike for an hour at the Lexington Arboretum which is one of my favorite places to get some exercise when I'm in the city.  It is also a place where Candice can find a nice shady spot to read while I put in my hiking time.  It is usually heavily used but has enough acreage that you never feel crowded by too many people since it is roughly 100 acres with some woodland, several miles of trails and one of the widest collections of plants in Kentucky.  It's also a nice place to passively advertise my politics by wearing a political shirt when I'm there.  Candice usually sets herself up in one of her favorite reading spots and I hit the trails.  

 

Thursday was a bit quieter in terms of how many notices I got about my Harris shirt.  One man who was either listening to some book or having a conversation on his cell phone simply passed me and gave me a thumbs up with a point to my shirt, patted himself on the chest, and gave me a thumbs up. Then we moved to the Kentucky Clinic where we had our appointments with my regular cardiologist.  As we were traveling from our parking space to the section of the hospital where our doctor's office is, a woman passed us and gave us a similar signal of approval to the one I had received at the Arboretum.  I have known my cardiologist about six years and he and I always have some brief conversation about politics and books.  Since he was seeing both of us at the same time, I knew we had to keep moving and had no intentions of trying to distract him with politics or literature.  But as our visit was ending, he brought up politics and referred to his children who are young adults and said "I think this time the young people are going to save us" in the election.  

 

Then as we headed toward an elevator to our parking spot, we entered the elevator at the same time as a man about fifty who instantly said, "I really like those shirts!" and then went into a rapid discussion of his opinion that the Democratic party has made a major mistake by allowing TRAITOR Trump to go unconfronted about his basic and total lack of qualifications to be a candidate for president due to his long history of criminal acts, criminal convictions, nearly one hundred felony indictments, more than 25 accusations of rape and sexual assault, and his connections to Putin and Russia.  I told the man that I agree with him totally about TRAITOR Trump's total lack of legitimacy as a candidate for any position of public trust, he got out of the elevator, and we all went our separate ways.  Then we drove to our favorite place for chicken wings, hit the drive through and got one more pleasant surprise.  When we got to the window for payment and food pick up, the man working that location was a former client from almost twenty-five years ago who told me his story of recent personal success after having been homeless, showed me his pickup truck in the parking lot, and assured me he was doing fine.  Now all we have to do is win this election for the next president of the United States, Kamala Harris.  Then we hit the Mountain Parkway toward home eating chicken wings and throwing bones out the window. 

My Baseball Cap & I Took My Wife On A Birthday Trip

 

Yesterday, March 27, was my wife's birthday and I also had an appointment for an annual follow up with a dermatologist in Lexington so we got up early; drove to Lexington; stopped for breakfast at McDonald's in Stanton, Kentucky, as we often do; went to my medical appointment; and then went to Richmond, Kentucky, for lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Masala; and, then came back home by about 6pm.  To say the least, it was a long and interesting day.  When we got to McDonald's in Stanton, Candice waited in the van while I went inside to order our food and use the restroom as she usually does when we are on the road to further away.  My order took longer than usual and I struck up a conversation with a man who it happened was passing through on his way to Virginia from Michigan.  He was a self-employed African American man driving a truck and trailer doing contract hauling after having had an injury which now prevents him from doing self-employed lawn and tree work as he had previously.  I would say he was about 30-40, neatly dressed, clearly intelligent, and highly verbal.  We talked at first about our travels around North America and happened to leave the restaurant in the same direction across the parking lot.  During our walk, the subject of the recent accident at the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore came up and I said it appeared to me that the ship captain had done literally everything he could to mitigate the effects of the disaster.  At this point, my new acquaintance went into a repetition of some conspiracy theory he must have heard on a right wing radical "news" source that the captain was from outside the USA and the accident was terrorism.  I reminded him that the police agencies involved in the investigation had stated they had no reason to believe it was anything other than an accident.  Then as he was walking to his truck away from me in an adjacent parking lot, he informed me that he intended to vote for TRAITOR Trump and I said "I think you ought to go home and look in the mirror and ask yourself why you want to do that".  He replied "because I'm a Christian and I don't like homosexuals".  I suggested to him, as I always do to such people, that he follow a little reading assignment for self-professed "Christians" which I have written about on this blog previously.  We were both getting in our vehicles to leave and I never got to carry the conversation on any further.  But I did manage to suggest that he take out his Bible and a "Strong's Exhaustive Concordance" and read Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts followed by the first 12-14 chapters of Revelation and every time he encountered one of the directives for Christians in those books to ask himself if TRAITOR Trump had ever done any of those things which is the gist of the reading assignment.   I never got his name and he never got mine but if he actually follows that reading assignment I believe he would realize he is dead wrong to support TRAITOR Trump. 

 

 

 

 

I always carry a book with me when I am headed into situations where I am likely to need to wait for any serious time length and I happened to be reading "Enough" by Cassidy Hutchinson and wearing the baseball cap in the photo at the top of this blog post which I have written about previously on this blog.  As I usually do in a medical exam room, I placed my book with the spine turned toward the area the doctor will occupy and, in this case, I also placed my baseball cap on top of the book.  On at least two other such occasions, I have gotten into some very positive conversations with a surgeon and a cardiologist whom I also see once a year.  In those two instances, I was reading "The Room Where It Happened" by John Bolton just prior to the 2020 presidential election.  Yesterday, when the doctor came into the room, she noticed the cap and book and said, "Making America Great Again reminds me of Trump.  Who is Jack Smith?"  I said, "Special Prosecutor" and she actually asked "Is he on Trump's side?" and I explained who Jack Smith is and went on to say, as I often do to supporters of TRAITOR Trump that "If he doesn't die in a federal prison cell, it will be the greatest miscarriage of justice in the history of the world."  She seemed a bit surprised by that statement and, in the interest of keeping the conversation brief in support of her busy schedule I just went on to say, "Trump's a TRAITOR.  When you step into public beside Putin and deny evidence from all 17 US intelligence agencies, you are a TRAITOR."  I don't think any of it did a thing to change her mind and I firmly believe she is a TRAITOR Trump supporter.  What is sad about that is that this woman is a doctor who spent her internship at the Mayo Clinic, owns a fairly large private practice, and was forced to relocate that practice to a less expensive setting during the Covid pandemic.  I did not attempt to take the time to ask her anything about her opinion of the unmitigated disaster which TRAITOR Trump created by denying the seriousness of Covid and doing nothing about it in early 2020 after he was told by the US intelligence and scientific communities that Covid was coming and could destroy the country.  I also have never told her that I have spent many days at the National Institutes of Health during the 1990's and am not naive about science or medicine.  I am not scheduled to see her again for two years but I suspect I will have that conversation with her the next time I see her no matter when it is and no matter what the further outcomes of TRAITOR Trump's TREASON prove to be.  I sincerely hope by the next time I see this woman that he is actually in federal prison on his well deserved life sentence and I can look at her and say "I told you so!"  

 

 

We left the medical appointment and drove to Masala in Richmond which is a fine Indian Restaurant and celebrated Candice's birthday.  She created her own version of an Indian buffet at our table by ordering several of her favorite items from their menu.  Then we left the restaurant and drove to Natural Bridge State Park where I hiked for an hour before coming the rest of the way home.  I have also written about several state parks on this blog in the past but somehow have neglected writing about Natural Bridge and one of my favorite hiking trails.  

 

 

 

My final thoughts about yesterdays trip are 1) that I will always continue to confront the ignorance in anyone which allows them to support TRAITOR Trump despite his obvious damage to this country; 2) I will always attempt to engage medical providers and other educated people in political conversations; 3) it is the most important election in American History this year and President Biden must be reelected if Democracy is to survive in America;  4) TRAITOR Trump must be convicted in his criminal trials and must be sentenced to life in federal prison for his TREASON.  

Elk Night And Hiking At Jenny Wiley State Park, Saturday, September 16, 2023

The flyer for Elk Night at Jenny Wiley State Park, 2023 

On the afternoon of Saturday, September 16, 2023, my wife Candice and I traveled to Jenny Wiley State Park to engage in their annual Elk Night at the lodge restaurant and for me to hike on my favorite trail among those in the park which begins and ends just at the upper end of the lodge parking lot.  We have been there for Elk Night on several occasions and I have written about both Elk Night and Jenny Wiley State Park on other occasions.  One other of my blog posts detailed a previous hike on the Jenny Wiley Trail at the park which follows the ridge across the lake from the lodge.  On another occasion, I reviewed a short biography of Jenny Wiley by Floyd County author Henry P. Scalf who is, perhaps better known for his numerous genealogical works and his career as a reporter for the Floyd County Times in Prestonsburg, Kentucky.  Both Candice and I like the park a lot and it has been a part of my life nearly as long as I can remember.

My hike went well and shortly after I returned to our van to meet Candice we entered the lodge for the feast.  We got there about 3:30pm at a time when the dining room was not crowded which makes life much simpler in most cases.  We found elk roast actually being carved on the serving line, fresh fired catfish, hunter's stew, elk chili, and elk meatloaf.  The first elk roast we got servings from must have been on the line a bit longer than usual and was a bit dry but very nice in flavor and appearance.  But the return trip for seconds was great because a new roast had just arrived on the line and it was hot, juicy, tender, and everything  a good elk roast should be.  The elk meatloaf was great with the traditional Eastern Kentucky topping of ketchup and made from finely ground elk with just the right amount of spiciness.  The elk chili was robust, sufficiently meaty, and well flavored.  We did not try the hunter's stew but probably should have.  The most ordinary part of the entire all you can eat buffet was the salad and vegetable bar which was comprised of the usual suspects, lettuce, carrots, broccoli, cucumbers, etc. with nothing unusual or outstanding added to the bar.  The vegetables were fresh, crisp, clean, etc. but nothing about them was a cut above average at a good restaurant buffet.  

But the best was yet to come!  The flyer above, and more than one other I have seen from state park elk nights, advertised "Assorted Appalachian Deserts".  It has usually been my experience when I see that line in a flyer that the deserts will be some very ordinary, traditional offerings which you might find in any restaurant from Maine to California.  I have lived nearly my entire life in Central and Southern Appalachia and can make an argument, based on my education and publishing history, for being an expert on Appalachian Culture.  I have rarely, if ever, seen deserts in a state park lodge that I would say are "Appalachian Deserts".  I would also not say that the deserts that I saw on this particular evening were "Appalachian Deserts" but they were definitely among the best deserts I have ever eaten in any restaurant I have ever been in among the thirty-one US states I have visited or in which I have lived.  There was a fairly common looking chocolate pie which I did not try.  There was also a deep dish lemon pie with actual lemon slices garnishing the top and a genuine lemon flavor, without any disagreeable sourness, and a meringue which was quite deep, pretty to look at and tasty.  It was an excellent deep dish lemon pie.  But the best dish of the evening was yet to come, something of which I had never heard, and with a primary ingredient which I have eaten in several other presentations all my life.  That desert was Pinto Bean Pie, Yes!, Pinto Bean Pie!  And I don't mean some joke presented under the title Pinto Bean Pie in order to monopolize on the fact that pinto beans have been a part of life in the area of the lodge for the last one hundred years at least.  It was a real pie with a filling comprised of canned (presumably) pinto beans and with a top of crushed nuts of some kind or other. The entire offering was sweet, juicy, incredibly tasty, and clearly comprised in large part of pinto beans. I made a point of complementing the two staff members on the serving line for the entire meal after I finished eating and they told me that a chef in another state park lodge had sent them the recipe for Pinto Bean Pie and they loved it also.  I am attaching a recipe for the desert which I found on the internet but I cannot guarantee that it is the same recipe which was being used at Jenny Wiley.  I can only suggest that if you are interested in trying it that you should find one or two recipes which appeal to you and try them at different times before settling on your favorite.  But I can assure that if you have never had Pinto Bean Pie you should as soon as possible.  I can't wait to see what comes up next year at the Jenny Wiley State Park Lodge Elk Night. 

 

 

Hiking At Paintsville Lake State Park!

The photo above is a stock photo of the prettiest portion of what is known as the Kiwanis Hiking Trail at Paintsville Lake State Park which is a trail I hike regularly and just hiked today, in fact.  The trail actually begins near the Kentucky Mountain Homeplace which is also well worth a visit.  You can park in their parking lot, and out of courtesy, as far from their headquarters building as possible and start your hike at either end of the trail which makes a loop around the Army Corps of Engineers headquarters and the Kentucky Mountain Homeplace.  The trail has a couple of slight uphills or downhills but is actually rated, in my mind, as easy.  The section in the photo is just east of and below the Corps of Engineers headquarters and a few hundred yards from the beginning on the highway near KMH.  Paintsville Lake and the marina area are below the trail at this point and just east of it.  A small section of the lake is visible from the trail along with part of the marina area.  Then the trail goes away from the lake, crosses the emergency spillway (or gives you the option of shortening your hike a little by taking the emergency spillway until you rejoin the loop of the main trail near the SW corner of the KMH property.  I actually took that option today although I usually hike the entire loop of the trail with an extra twist or two thrown in.  The main loop is more tree shaded, feels a bit more isolated, and has a generally prettier look than the emergency spillway which is actually a cut through in the hillside which leaves a flat grassy area maybe 100 yards wide which functions as the emergency spillway.  

When I say that I throw in an extra twist or two to my hikes here,  what I mean is that I usually park at the spillway near the public restrooms and public trout stocking area, maybe take one full loop around the spillway area and then hit the face of the dam, go straight up the dam to the highway which crosses there to access the Corps of Engineers office and KMH.  I hike straight up several of the flood control lake dams in Eastern Kentucky and I recommend it if you are a strong hiker with a good heart and lungs, strong legs, and a good back.  But all these dams are steep, high, and tough.  The Paintsville dam is especially tough since it has a large area of boulders about 100 feet from bottom to top all across the dam due most probably to some past seepage problem.  Do not attempt this dam unless you are pretty tough and nimble.  The second twist I throw in my hikes here is that when I have hiked about 90% of the entire loop and I am back in the area overlooking the spillway where I park,  I hit the woods downhill toward the spillway.  It is typical Eastern Kentucky woodland, steep, and rocky.  It also has a couple of places where you could fall 30 feet or so.  But in this area, there is an ancient rock shelter, not a cave, but a rock shelter, overhang, whatever you want to call it which I am sure was used historically by both early native peoples and some of the first settlers in the Paint Creek area as temporary shelter.  It would sleep about a half dozen people and IT IS NOT LEGAL TO CAMP IN IT but it is a nice spot to stop for a few minutes at the end of a hike, cool off, and consider how it might have been used historically.  Paintsville Lake and the Kiwanis Trail is a nice hike whether you are looking for a relatively easy loop or if you want to make the loop more difficult as I do.

Hiking In Greenbo Lake State Park

 A few days ago on my birthday, one of the big ones, my wife, Candice, wanted to take me somewhere so I could hike in the woods and we could eat out which we haven't done much of in the last fifteen or eighteen months due to the Covid 19 pandemic.  The numbers in Kentucky hadn't quite fully turned the corner as they have now and we decided to take a chance since we are both fully vaccinated.  We had been to Greenbo Lake State Park once before and enjoyed that trip a great deal.  Greenbo Lake is one of the smaller man made flood control lakes in Kentucky.  The largest, Kentucky Lake has over 160,000 surface acres.  Greenbo Lake, at 225 acres, is not much more than a pond compared to the largest lakes which all have over 100,000 acres.  But it is a very pretty little lake with some really good hiking trails in the state park which contains it.  

 

Greenbo Lake State Park also has some historically important coke ovens, a restored one room school, and two unmolested small cemeteries which is unusual in the Kentucky State Park System.  I have written in other places on this blog about the relocation of graves during the construction of lakes and highways in the state.  I have hiked in numerous Kentucky state parks situated around lakes and nearly everyone I have ever hiked in has relocated cemeteries in them which usually were placed in a common government cemetery near or in the park.  I have also published a short story about the relocation of family cemeteries for the construction of a lake this past spring in Seeds 2021, the literary magazine from Northeastern Illinois State University.  My short story is entitled "Damn!" and can be found at numbered page 74 in the online journal at the previous link.  However, the page numbers in the online version do not synch with the page numbers in the table of contents.  That story is actually located at page 85 according to the internet counter.  

 But, let's get back to the hike at Greenbo Lake.  The park has three marked trails which come to a total of 32.8 miles of possible hiking without leaving marked trails and striking off into the woods with a compass or GPS.  I chose the trail which begins near the handicapped fishing pier not far from the boat launching and storage area because Candice has been in a wheelchair for over twenty years and wanted to read near the pier while I hiked for an hour.  I  rarely hike an entire trail anywhere but instead hike out for a little over a half hour and double back to wherever Candice is waiting for me and we always choose a safe location for her to stay.  This particular trail, so far as I hiked it for about 1.5 miles is within sight of the lake in the woods with a few relatively easy uphills and downhills.  I would rate that portion of this trail as easy.  I never saw another human on the trail except for one fisherman in a pontoon boat who happened to be fishing alone within sight of the trail.  He and I had a friendly conversation as he fished for a couple of minutes which was a unique experience for me while hiking to be able to talk to someone actively fishing although I have done it at Eagle Lake on the campus of my alma mater, Morehead State University.  I hiked outward for about 40 minutes and turned around which brought me out of the woods exactly on the one hour mark.  Early in the hike, I encountered the only interesting wildlife of the hike, a small black racer about two to two and a half feet long.  It froze when it saw me on the trail about ten feet above it.  I started to bend over to pick up a small peeble to toss near it to see how it reacted and it instantly turned and disappeared into the leaf mold below me even before I could grasp a pebble.  It was about 85 degrees at the time and any cold blooded animal such as a snake was in firm fettle for traveling on such a day.  I did not have a camera with me and do not have a photo of my little friend.  

After my hike, Candice and I returned to Grayson, Kentucky, to search for a place to dine inside which we hadn't done in quite some time.  After driving all over Grayson looking for an open dining room, we wound up at Huddle House which was the only one we could find with indoor seating.  We went in wearing masks, which is my suggestion to anyone in public until the pandemic is over.  The only people in the restaurant in early afternoon were the cook, the manager, and one waitress behind  the counter and one other couple eating in a booth well away from us.  So we took off our masks which is necessary if you intend to chew anyway.  The hired help was friendly and we talked freely about whatever popped up.  The manager said the day before had been his birthday and I mentioned that this particular day was mine.  A bit later an older man and a young boy who appeared to be his middle school aged grandson came in and sat down well away from us and also ate.  No one else came in the place during our meal.  We actually felt safe in the face of  Covid 19 in light of the low population, good social distancing, and our vaccination.  After eating, we drove back home and it was, according to all measurements, a day well spent. 

Elk Night And A Good Hike At Jenny Wiley State Park Lodge, September 14, 2019

This past Saturday night, my wife Candice and I went to Jenny Wiley State Park Lodge for Elk Night in the lodge dining room.  We got there about an hour or so early so I could take a hike on one of the trails I had never been on, the Moss Ridge Trail which starts up the hill above the lodge and just below one of the rental cottages.  It runs for about 1.3 miles total.  It begins in the general direction of the amphitheater and then doubles back along the ridge to the lodge.  It is labeled as "Strenuous" in their little flyer about the trails.  I agree that it is a bit tough and should not be attempted by anyone who is not used to hiking some in the mountains but I think it falls a bit short of "Strenuous".  The staff description states that it has steep uphills and steep down hills and that is accurate.  It begins with a short hundred yards of pretty level hiking and then has some treated wooden baffles across the trail to prevent erosion which are not remotely steps but purely water baffles which are too far apart to be considered steps on the first uphill.  It is in timber all the way and well shaded.  But for me the worst part of the entire deal is that it and the linked Steve Brackett Memorial Trail were both primarily bushwhacked out of the woods with a small bulldozer and it will show for many more years that it was accomplished in that way.  The trail itself is level in large sections but does have some steep uphills and, on the return loop, some steep downhills which are over some sections of exposed rock and gravel which tends to make it a bit risky about falls due to small, rolling rocks. The other drawback to the trail is that it has several large down trees which have not been dealt with and a few are in full blown widow maker mode.  But they are nice trails with the two or three objections stated above and they appear to be somewhat better maintained than the Jenny Wiley Trail which I hiked part of about a month ago and wrote about on this blog. The area of the Moss Ridge Trail that runs along the ridge is nice and flat and was not damaged so much with the bulldozer.  It apparently runs along the property line of the park on the ridge because there are several three foot tall steel markers in the ground which are painted bright red and labeled "Boundary Line".  The land on the opposite side of the markers is also timber land and brings up another idea I have about the need for the state park system to be funded to increase the acreage and uses of  nearly all the state parks.  I also realize that this idea is not one that would get very far at this point in Kentucky politics. I spent an hour on the trails which included probably a half mile of the Steve Brackett Memorial Trail until I reached a point where it starts to drop off rapidly toward the level of the lake.  Candice was waiting on me near the lodge reading a book in a shaded parking spot so I turned around and doubled back.   

We attended the Elk Night Dinner a the lodge after my hike and have also eaten there on other occasions.   I have never been shy to say that the kitchen staff and food are much better at Natural Bridge State Park Lodge where we also eat fairly frequently and usually attend their Elk or Wild Game Night Dinners.  The food at Natural Bridge is always better prepared and the staff do an overall better job of presenting and servicing the entire affair of a well-attended special dinner.  But on this occasion at Jenny Wiley they did have one food which I had never had and found somewhat pleasing.  They served smoked elk in reasonably sized slices which were well prepared and pleasing although, for my personal taste, the smoked elk was a bit too lightly smoked.  I love a good, somewhat strong smoky taste similar to what you find in good smoked pork chops.  The elk roast on this night was overcooked and served in a somewhat stingy manner by the person serving it on the buffet line.  The deserts which Jenny Wiley describes as "Appalachian deserts" are not remotely regional or Appalachian.  There was peach and blackberry cobbler.  The peach was somewhat odd tasting as if it had been too heavily laden with margarine but the blackberry was better and well received by our group.  The other deserts were nothing that could not have been expected on a normal menu in any sit down restaurant in the eastern half of the country.  Our waitress whose job only involved serving drinks and paying attention was hard working, funny, attentive, and a welcome sight in the place.  But we did notice that a waitress who had served us competently and well only a month ago was not present on a night when such a restaurant would have called all hands on deck which leads me to suspect high turnover in the kitchen staff. 

My primary reason for returning to the Jenny Wiley Lodge for an Elk Night Dinner was primarily to eat out with my cousins and their spouses because they live in the area and like the lodge.  But I much prefer Natural Bridge.  But you should try them both and make up your own mind. 

Hiking At The Twenty-Six Boat Ramp, Daniel Boone National Forest--August 29, 2019

Today, August 29, 2019, my wife Candice and I took a long drive in the country and I took two side trips to hike in the Daniel Boone National Forest and/or Cave Run Lake.  First I spent a half hour or so at the Twenty-Six Boat Ramp which is located just off Kentucky 772 about a mile or less from Kentucky 519 just about a mile from the Morgan/Rowan County Line in Morgan County.  Even though I have lived in the area for more than twenty-five years, I had never been to the boat ramp area in question.  I had actually arrived there by the long way around through the Kentucky State Tree Nursery and Woodsbend Youth Development Center in the Woodsbend area on Lower Grassy Creek.  It is a beautiful drive along that route through some of the best farm land in all of Morgan County.  There are numerous well maintained farms, the Tree Nursery and the Youth Development Center as well as three major, well maintained and photogenic cemeteries along the way.  The most interesting of those cemeteries is the Bear Wallow Cemetery. With a name like that, how could you avoid taking a drive along this wonderful scenic route?  

But once you arrive at the Twenty-Six Boat Ramp, a great deal of the beauty is lost due to abuses of the site by what seems to be a group of partiers from time to time combined with an overloaded Corps of Engineers who probably do not have the time or staff to adequately maintain all the public use facilities in the Daniel Boone National Forest.  The drive off Kentucky 772 to the boat ramp is tree shaded, scenic, and inviting.  It has a large gravel parking area, a concrete boat ramp, and lies on a tributary of Cave Run Lake.  All of this should have combined to make a wonderful location to hike, fish, kayak, launch boats, and simply eat a leisurely lunch on a work day.  But the ramp was poorly situated and is pointed upstream which means that a lot of debris ends up in the ramp launching area and at least one large log was visible in the water on one side of the ramp directly in front of the incoming boats which I suspect are few and far between since a far better situated and maintained ramp is located only a couple of miles away just across the line in Rowan County.  Between the parking lot and the water, there is an area which is about four feet lower than the parking lot and probably two feet above the normal water line.  But it is subject to periodic flooding when the Corps of Engineers is holding large amounts of water in the lake.  The normal amount of debris which would end up in area like that would be expected and workable.  But the people who have been using and abusing the boat ramp area have made a workable situation both disgusting and infuriating.  I hiked this area for quite some distance downstream along the waterside and found it littered from one end to the other with all sorts of garbage.  I usually carry a plastic grocery bag with me when I hike and pick up whatever litter I find in the locations I utilize no matter where they are, whether I have ever been there or not, and whether or not I ever likely to return.  But if I had the assistance and time today, I and a couple of friends could have easily filled the bed of my Ford Ranger with garbage which had been thrown about by the users of the area.  I actually found the remains of several camp fires and two them had the remnants of automobile tires in the ashes.  One had the steel belt wires from a large tire combined with beer and soft drink bottles, Styrofoam live bait containers, and general garbage.  And this particular camp fire was not the worst of the lot.  Another had not only the steel belt wires from a tire combined with its bushel of garbage.  It also had the steel rim from a large automobile tire.  In addition to these camp fires, the entire area was randomly littered with what were obviously fresh bottles and cans which showed no evidence of ever having floated in on the waters.  This entire area is a disgrace to every human who has ever helped to damage it.  

This area is tree shaded, quiet, inviting, and on the edge of the water.  It could be a wonderful site to use in a variety of ways.  But in its current condition, I am certain that it drives potential users away on a regular basis.  It is in dire need of a major clean up and regular policing from the Corps of Engineers and local law enforcement and yet I know that all these agencies are understaffed and overloaded.  The bottom line is that it is a damn shame and in desperate need of change on a major level. 

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After I left the Twenty-Six Boat Ramp area, I crossed the county line into Rowan County and turned right up the first paved road into an area which is part of the upstream lake and is used as a camping and hiking site.  I do not recall the particular name or number which is assigned to this road but it is the last left turn off Kentucky 519 in Rowan County before the bridge at the Morgan County line.  At about a half mile, you find several camp sites with rudimentary launching for small boats.  Then there is a locked gate across the road which is obviously the old state highway along the Licking River before it became a part of the lake.  The road is only a couple of feet above the water line and still in acceptable condition.  There area a plethora of spots along this road which could be used as lake shore fishing spots.  It is quiet, tree shaded, flat at least on the area I hiked, and a wonderful place to hike, fish, ride a bike, etc.  It is closed to vehicular traffic beyond the aforementioned gate. During my hike, I encountered a nice lady who was riding a vintage bicycle along the road and camping with her family at one of the camp sites.  She advised me that the road extends for roughly five miles or more along the lake shore and connects with another old road which climbs the mountain side to cross out of the Daniel Boone National Forest.  She also told me of a rumor that is rampant among users of the area that the Corps of Engineers is planning to lease that area to a vendor who is already renting kayaks on the lake for use as a paid camping, hiking, and multi-use area.  I tend to doubt the rumor but I will admit that it could be possible.  I hope to return to this area and spend more time and distance hiking it to see as much of it as I can.  When I do, of course, I will post about it on this blog.  

These two areas which I hiked today are well worth the time to utilize if you are in the general area.  I would also encourage all of you to contact the Army Corps of Engineers Office in Morehead and discuss the need to clean up and enforce civilized practises on the users of the Twenty-Six Boat Ramp.  If you utilize it, please take a camera along, which I did not do today, and shoot some photos of the egregious garbage, campfires with evidence of burnt tires, and pass them along to the Corps of Engineers. 

Hiking The Jenny Wiley Trail, Saturday, August 24, 2019

On Saturday, August 24, 2019, my wife Candice and I traveled to Prestonsburg, Kentucky, to Jenny Wiley State Park to have lunch at the state park lodge and for me to put in an hour hiking on the Jenny Wiley Trail which is just across an arm of Dewey Lake opposite the lodge, amphitheater, and marina.  Candice had the lunch buffet and I ordered a barbecued chicken breast off the menu since I did not like the looks of the beef and pork on the buffet.  Both were in hotel pans on the warmer and immersed in a watery sauce.  I had one bite of each off Candice's plate and the pork was actually fairly good.  The beef was way too bland and just did not meet my standards especially in light of the fact that I rarely eat either meat these days.  My chicken breast was a typical frozen and partially precooked breast which had been briefly grilled and then covered in what tasted a lot like Sweet Baby Ray's sauce.  But it was moist, tender, fairly tasty since I actually like Sweet Baby Ray's Original Sauce.  We arrived late in the lunch hour after 1pm and found only three other tables occupied in the large restaurant.  Four or five staff members spent much of the time in conversation at the check out counter and seemed to have nothing to do.  But the female hostess and waitress who served us were both friendly, talkative, and attentive.  

After the lunch, we parked in the shade near the Jenny Wiley Amphitheater where Candice could read a book and wait for me to return.  There seemed to be absolutely nothing happening at the amphitheater and that is a shame because for many years it was one of the better entertainment venues in Eastern Kentucky.  But it seems to have lost much of its success in recent years and has moved most of its productions to Pikeville, Kentucky.  I have seen many pleasurable and well done productions there over the last fifty years.  It is a shame that it is no longer what it used to be. 

Official Map Jenny Wiley State Resort Park by KY State Parks

I have included the official map of the state park above since it can be helpful if you go there to visit, hike, fish, camp, eat, boat, or see a play.  I have also included the reverse side of that map below which gives the official descriptions of the 6 hiking trails within the park along with the rules for users.  The map describes the Jenny Wiley Trail as being 4.5 miles and "Strenuous" and "not recommended for solo hikers".  I must admit here that I broke two key rules for hikers anywhere during my hike.  First, I totally disregarded the disclaimer that the trail is "not recommended for solo hikers",  and after having hiked on it for an hour, I have no idea why it is labeled that way.  The first few hundred yards of the trail are a fairly steep uphill hike on what we natives of the area call a "point" which is a projection of land which rises out of the landscape.  But once you are past that few hundred yards, I found the trail to be only mildly challenging and capable of being hiked by any reasonably healthy and fit human.  Second, the trail begins near a rental cottage near the lake and has an aged, decrepit set of wooden steps up the first twenty feet or so from a paved driveway to the actual beginning of the trail proper.  There was an old caution tape tied to but torn down from the entrance to the steps with a dirty sign saying that "This section of the Jenny Wiley Trail is temporarily closed". I realize that going past that tape and sign is a cardinal mistake for most people and I did it anyway.  But I know the mountains of Eastern Kentucky better than most.  I am in fit condition and hike regularly.  I still do not recommend taking such actions and would not have done so in an area in which I had never spent time. I interpreted the sign to be referring to the decrepit condition of the steps and not the entire trail.  The steps are in bad need of replacement and for a few hundred dollars of lumber, screws, and labor, the Commonwealth of Kentucky could solve the problem for several years.  Actually, I must say that the trail does not appear to be well maintained in general and I eventually encountered an area near the ridge with several blown down trees which block the trail to a considerable degree and, since Candice was waiting for me alone, that is where I turned around after a little more than half an hour.  I also saw at least two fairly dangerous "widow maker" trees which were dead, partially fallen, and hung up in other living trees.  If the trail were well maintained, it would be a fairly nice hike of probably an hour and half for an experienced and fit hiker.  As it is, it is somewhat more time consuming and might take the same hiker two hours or a bit more if the remainder of the trail also has similar down timber blocking it.  

For me the most interesting part of the trail is that I saw a small cemetery beside the trail in that initial climb up the point which has only two clearly marked graves, one of which is marked with a Confederate States Of America tombstone.  Both carry the same last name.  The little cemetery is totally hidden in the timber and if a marked hiking trail were not there it would probably be long forgotten by now.  Speaking of marked trail, the trail is fairly well marked ever hundred yards or so with blue paint blazes on trees.  It is also well used and nearly as visible to the trained eye as a cow path might be.  I also noticed a lot of young poplar trees on or near the trail ranging from about two years old to having recently sprouted.  They varied from about two or three inches to maybe eight inches in general and seem to indicate that the area was more open in the past few years since poplars are generally regenerative growth.  They also indicate that, on this particular trail, the Kentucky State Parks Department is not doing its job. 

Hiking The Dawkins Line Rail Trail, August 20, 2019

Gun Creek Tunnel--Photo by Corey B on AllTrails.com

Yesterday, August 20, 2019, I spent an hour hiking on the Dawkins Line Rail Trail in Johnson County Kentucky beginning at the Swamp Branch Trail Head and going up Swamp Branch for probably two miles.  My wife Candice was with me and, since she is in a wheelchair, she stayed on the porch of a building under construction by the Griffith Family Farms which is intended to be a camping store and camp site in the next year. Candice frequently goes with me when I go to public hiking sites and reads a book while she waits for me to get in my usual hour. I had heard about the Dawkins Line Rail Trail ever since it became an active idea a few years ago but I have always had reservations about the project and, after having seen part of, talked to one adjoining landowner and a three man trail crew, I still have reservations.  I did not have my camera with me and did not take any photos. The two photos I have shared here are from public websites with full attribution to the photographers. My initial reservations about this trail project arose from having worked in social services in Magoffin County for several years and living in three adjoining counties for much of my life.  Both Johnson and Magoffin Counties are deeply mired in the ongoing opioid epidemic and crime of many varieties is a fact of life in both counties through which the trail passes.  I will admit that, so far, my initial misgivings have not fully materialized which is great news for the users and for the adjoining community.  But after yesterday's experiences, I still have serious reservations about safety for unaccompanied hikers and mountain bikers as well as for individuals such as my wife who might be waiting at isolated places along the route while family and friends hike the trail. I encountered the three man trail crew about 45 minutes into my hike when I was about one mile from where Candice was waiting on me at Swamp Branch.  I was greatly relieved when they told me they had seen her and waved at her as they passed her location.  

The trail crew and I also discussed the feedback they receive from the local landowners along the route which they referred to as "a  mixed bag" of opinions.  When I inquired if it might not turn into a "pain on weekends" for some landowners, the crew agreed with me in a limited way while likely also attempting to stay well within state employee guidelines for avoiding making negative statements about their work and work site.  The trail is a classic rail to trail conversion of an abandoned rail line which runs for 18 miles currently from Royalton, Kentucky, in Magoffin County, to Hager Hill, Kentucky, in Johnson County with plans to expand it to 36 miles in the near future.  The old rail line actually runs within a few feet of many homes and private property.  It is frequently only a few feet away from ordinary hard working citizen occupants who are trying to live their normal lifestyles after seeing the neighborhood significantly change over a short period of time with an influx of strangers, horses, mountain bikes, and hikers over the last few years.  Most of the homes I saw are clean, well kept, and obviously cherished by the owners who never know from one minute to the next when a group of horse riders or mountain bikers will come passing by what used to be a completely private and purely residential setting which just happened to have an abandoned railroad nearby.  I have also heard rumors over the  years of impermissible ATV usage on the trail which both the trail crew and the one landowner I spoke with deny other than to say that maybe some locals will get on with an ATV for short distances to go to neighbors, family members, or other property in the area which I am sure many of them did regularly without consequence when the rails and ties were still in place and the railroad was simply an abandoned right of way.  

The physical setting of the trail is one of the most potentially scenic in the state although it does not have any significant overlooks of which I am aware. But for me the most significant weakness of the trail without consideration of possible crime is that it is an old railroad line and there is little shade while hiking.  The trail is hard packed pea gravel and not the typical leaf mold you find on most mountain trails. But the up side of that is that it is not very prone to significant muddiness because of the gravel surface.  The trail has a mild grade in the area I hiked in as it ascends to pass through a tunnel between Swamp Branch and Royalton to make the grade into the higher mountains of the upper Licking River near Royalton.  There are several well maintained wooden bridges which used to be railroad trestles.  There are actually signs posted in this area advising hikers to "call the Johnson County Sheriff's Office if you are menaced by a dog".  Most of the landowners seem to have dogs which is perfectly normal in that area.  I only heard a couple of barking dogs as I hiked and was not confronted by one anywhere along the way.  Most of the landowners seem to have either fenced in, tied up, or housed their dogs inside.  But after my hike, I drove up Swamp Branch on the paved county road in order to show Candice some of the area on which I had hiked. We did see one somewhat rundown home with nearly a half dozen large dogs tied to wooden houses in the yard.  I will also say that this particular house was the only one I saw which I would have described as rundown.  The neighbors do take generally excellent care of their property and do seem to restrain their dogs.  But for the combination of private land in close proximity; the possibility of aggressive dogs; the lack of shade in general; and the hard packed gravel surface, I did not come away liking the hike.  I do not recommend the trail for solo hikers or vulnerable hikers.  With more than 7,000 miles of experience riding horses on public highways from Michigan to Florida, I also do not like the possibility of being a horseback rider who encounters an aggressive dog on a less than well broken horse in what is still an isolated setting.  As for horseback riding, I consider that to be the most appropriate use of the trail since a horse gives a rider a somewhat faster retreat in the event of aggression from dogs or criminals.  Mountain bikers will also like the ride I suspect but they will be much more susceptible to attack from dogs than horseback riders might be.  The surface is well suited to training for long distance runners in small groups but I would not recommend it for any solo hiker or runner even though I will likely return alone to at least one or two other starting points in the near future to further assess the trail. My bottom line is that if you use the trail be sure to have a cell phone which might or might not have service in the mountainous area; carry a first aid kit which would be appropriate in case of dog bite since even a properly restrained large dog can escape and cause trouble; observe all the posted rules at the trail heads; and travel in the company of at least one other able bodied person.  

Abandoned House on Dawkins Line Rail Trail, Photo by Justin Lewandoski on AllTrails.com

Minor E. Clark Fish Hatchery, Morehead, KY, July 8, 2019

On July 8, 2019, we took our nine year old nephew, Connor Nehlson, to the Cave Run Lake Spillway for a picnic, a hike and a visit to the Minor E. Clark Fish Hatchery just below the spillway.  I have known about the hatchery for at least twenty years but I had never visited it until a month or so ago while I was hiking at the spillway.  There is an old paved service road which runs between the hatchery and the dam and I figured that out by accident simply by following the service road until I found myself at the hatchery. That service road is an excellent place to hike, easy to hike, tree covered all its length, and it connects with the other hiking trails in the area of the Cave Run dam and spillway.  When I took Connor there, I took along my camera and got a few photographs around the hatchery.  The hatchery is comprised of a couple of what appear to be residential houses for senior staff, an equipment garage, and a large building which is both an office complex and the hatchery building itself.  In front of the office and hatchery building there is a large concrete holding tank which is used as a display tank in warm weather so that visitors can see specimens of several of the larger fish breeds which are either native to Kentucky or raised at the hatchery.  The tank is somewhat like a large livestock watering tank but considerably larger but only about three feet deep.  Most people, including children of eight or nine can see over the top of the concrete sides into the tank.  There are two or three species of catfish including two paddle bill catfish about three feet long.  There is also an albino catfish which must be about ten or 12 pounds.  There are also about a dozen large outdoor ponds in which fish are raised until they are ready for stocking.  There are gravel service roads around these ponds and I have hiked on them a few times but I am not certain whether hiking is actually permitted around the ponds or simply ignored by the staff. These ponds are also an excellent place to hike, absolutely flat but totally exposed to the sun, near several staff which increases the safety factor for at risk hikers, they attract several species of water birds, and the area is fully visible from more than a hundred yards away.  There are also three or four long, narrow, shallow concrete holding tanks in the ground between the buildings and the ponds which appear to be used for holding fish temporarily until they are transported for stocking.  

Paddle Bill Catfish In The Observation Tank--Photo by Roger D. Hicks

The hatchery does give indoor tours of the hatchery building between 7am and 3pm according to the state website.  There are actually three fish hatcheries in Kentucky but I have not visited the other two. The Minor E. Clark Hatchery at Morehead and the Peter W. Pfieffer Hatchery east of Frankfort are both operated by the state of Kentucky and raise fish species which are considered endemic to either cool or warm waters.  A federally owned hatchery is operated under the name Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery at Jamestown, Kentucky.  The Wolf Creek National Hatchery raises cold water species of fish such as trout. 

Connor At The Observation Tank--Photo by Roger D. Hicks

If you love fishing, icthyology, hiking, bird watching, or biology this will be an excellent place to visit. It can be educational, great exercise, and good, clean, fun. It can also teach you a lot about the fish stocking and individual species preservation efforts in Kentucky.  It is located less than ten miles from I-64 and can be accessed from the Morehead exit or the Sharkey/Farmers exit.  It is also only a mile or so from US60 and about the same distance from Pop's Barbecue which is an acceptable place to eat.  There are also motels between the hatchery and the interstate.  If you are in the Morehead area, you can combine a trip to the hatchery with fishing, boating, and hiking at Cave Run Lake.  You can also visit the Kentucky Folk Art Museum and Morehead State University, my alma mater, in nearby Morehead and make a day or a weekend trip out of it.  

Connor Nehlson At One Of The Concrete Fish Holding Tanks--Photo by Roger D. Hicks

Kingdom Come State Park--July 25, 2019

Kingdom Come State Park is the highest elevation state park in Kentucky and one of the most unique with respect to the natural features it holds.  It is just outside Cumberland, Kentucky, in Harlan County.  My wife and I visited the park on our long day trip on July 25, 2019, and I hiked for about an hour on an old road which passes from the park toward Whitesburg, Kentucky, fourteen miles away.  The one lane gravel and blacktop road extends 38 miles along the crest of Pine Mountain from Whitesburg to Harlan. It is sometimes known as the Little Shepherd Trail, a name taken from the book "The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come" by John Fox, Jr.  The road crosses through the park near the summit of Pine Mountain. The great majority of the road lies outside the boundaries of the park on what I suspect is primarily corporate land being held by coal and timber companies.  Only about a mile of the road lies within the park boundaries.  But there are rumors of an attempt by the Kentucky Parks system to use the road as part of a longitudinal park which would run from Harlan to the Breaks of the Mountains Interstate Park on the Virginia border in Pike County.  Kingdom Come State Park allows vehicular, but not ATV, traffic on the road inside the park.  Outside the boundaries of the park, it is my understanding that ATV's, dirt bikes, horses, and vehicles all travel the trail/road which is an absolute shame.  Dirt bikes and ATV's do nothing except destroy flora and fauna and severely disturb larger animals.  It is my considered opinion that those who use such vehicles to "see" the mountains and parks anywhere are simply too lazy to hike on foot, too uncaring of wildlife to stop disturbing them, and too unaware of the importance of the flora to stop destroying it.  But Harlan county has catered to ATV and dirt bike riders in order to gain more tourism dollars and have actually developed what they call the Off Road Adventure Area for such vehicles on abandoned strip mined land.  Since that land has already been mutilated, destroyed, and left a wasteland by the coal companies, in most cases, I have to admit that this ATV "adventure area" is the best answer for the problem.  It would be a wonderful  thing if all ATV and dirt bike riders stay off all other land in the mountains  and let the flora survive and the wildlife live in peace.  

Path To Kingdom Come Overlook--Photo by Trip Advisor

Now to my hike which was in the heart of bear country.  The Little Shepherd Trail, as it is sometimes called, does allow vehicular traffic and during the hour I was on it I did see three cars as I recall.  They were all driving slowly and safely. I probably traveled about a mile each inside the park and outside the park boundaries since I did a straight hike and a round trip. The trail begins at an overlook which does have protective railing, bear resistant garbage cans, and a small parking area.  I have to say that the microchip in my camera had run out of storage space during my long day trip, and I did not take any photographs on the hike.  I will try to post a few here from the public domain.  This overlook allows you to see the valley below over a portion which extends probably two or three miles.  It is a fabulous view but, since I was married at the main overlook of the New River Gorge National Park, I know it is not the best overlook you will ever see.  Also, since my wife is in a wheelchair, handicapped accessibility is important to us and the path to the overlook is not accessible.  It has several steps on a stone path leading to it.  There is also a small piece of land to the right of this path which could be easily converted to wheelchair accessibility with a bit of leveling and stone work. But for now that possible wheelchair route to the overlook is blocked by tree roots, rocks, and one tree which would make it too narrow without some effort to widen it.

Kingdom Come Overlook--Photo by Harlan County Trails

The hike was in the heart of bear country and I was mildly apprehensive about the possibility of contacting a black bear.  But during my entire hour long hike of perhaps 3 to 4 miles round trip, I saw absolutely no wildlife other than a few butterflies and mosquitoes.  I saw no bear, elk, deer, coyote, coon, bobcat, possum, skunk, rabbit, or squirrel, and the area was one where I had thought I would see a few animals.  But do not take this as a blanket statement that no wildlife are in the trail area.  It was a hot day and I hiked in mid-afternoon when many animals might have been laying up in the shade between their morning and afternoon feeding periods.  The trail is nearly one hundred percent shaded so in cool weather you probably need long sleeves or a jacket. There is quite a bit of uphill and downhill along the trail and they can be fairly steep.  I would rate the difficulty of this trail as moderate due to the grades even though it is along an old highway.

The park also has a small man made lake which allows fishing and paddle boating with compliance to the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Regulations.  There are also a fourteen other short hiking trails inside the park with none being longer than a mile.  There is also a multi-use amphitheater at the base of Raven Rock which we did not see due to our intense schedule for the day.  Overnight primitive camping is allowed in designated areas with a fee. According to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife "as part of the Fishing in the Neighborhoods (FINS) program, this lake is regularly stocked with catchable-size catfish up to four times annually. Additionally, this lake is stocked with rainbow trout in the spring and fall. Largemouth bass and sunfish are regularly sampled and stocked if necessary". The park does not have a lodge or restaurant and that is a shame.  But the park is well worth a visit especially if you like to hike, bird watch, or fish. 

A Long Day Trip In The Mountains, July 25, 2019

"The Miner's Home", Photo By Roger D. Hicks

Yesterday, July 25, 2019, my wife Candice and I took a long road trip in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky.  We left home at about 8:30am and never got back until about 7:15pm.  I drove 289 miles across parts of seven counties, Morgan, Wolfe, Breathitt, Perry, Leslie, Harlan, and Letcher.  We covered a lot of ground and still got a lot done, met one or two interesting people, had a pretty good lunch, and still got home in time to watch Jeopardy.  I will post just three or four photos on this blog post and will write at least two other posts about specific sites we visited with a lot more photos specific to those sites on the blog posts about them.  The original intent was to see the Kentucky Coal Museum in Benham, Kentucky, and for Candice to be able to say she had been to the top of Black Mountain and had been to Harlan County.  Actually, by the time we had made it home, we had been across the two biggest mountains in Kentucky, Black Mountain and Pine Mountain.  And, due to the time and distance, we did not get to stop and see several, perhaps many, of the things we would have liked to see such as the statue in tribute to Mary Breckinridge and the Frontier Nursing Service and the Hurricane Creek Mine Disaster Memorial both in Hyden .  We also had thought about trying to see the Portal 31 Exhibition Mine but it is not possible for Candice to see it in her wheelchair and I decided to try to do more of other, more accessible things.  I do plan to return to Harlan County sometime soon, see some of the things I had missed and shoot some photos in the old coal camps we saw such as Harlan, Lynch, Benham, Loyall, and Evarts. Lynch is actually one of the more preserved sections of coal camp homes I have seen.  We were also struck by the similarity of one section of the street in Lynch to that in Wayland, Kentucky, in Floyd County.  Even with modern remodels, many of the homes in both coal camps are built along a very similar and basic coal company plan. 

Pro-UMWA Poster, Photo by Roger D. Hicks

We left home through Cannel City, KY, actually another old coal camp town, and passed through Jackson and Breathitt County, Hazard and Perry County, Hyden and Leslie County, and finally got to Harlan about lunch time.  We had seen an Indian restaurant advertised on the internet known as "Little India" and wanted to have lunch there but we couldn't find it.  We did find a police officer on duty in Loyall, KY, and asked him.  He grinned and said, "She changed the name of it to "Good Eats" because people around here...".  I interrupted and said, "...wouldn't eat Indian food."  We had a chuckle about it and he said, "I was eating there just this week.  People said it was too spicy but it's not really."  I thanked him and we went back to Good Eats which we had actually seen while searching for Little India.  We went in and found a local Caucasian woman behind the counter and met the wonderfully friendly Indian-American female owner a bit later.  She actually grew up in Oklahoma City and was raised, as she put it, "By  my grandmother and she was a very traditional Indian Muslim woman."  There was only one Indian item on the menu, Chicken Tikka Masala, which we both had while nearly everybody around us ate fish.  When I told what the police officer said, the owner said "He eats here a lot."  The server told us to choose a degree of hotness somewhere from 1 to 10.  Candice chose 3 and I chose 6.  I could not have handled 7 but I liked the food except for the fact that it was served in Styrofoam containers with plastic utensils.  But the overall impression I got from the encounter is that I am glad this woman came to Harlan and I never asked her why.  But it is great to see a friendly, intelligent, welcoming Muslim raised Indian-American woman helping to spread brotherhood around Southeastern Kentucky.

Candice Hicks In The Fountain at Mine Museum, Photo By Roger D. Hicks

After lunch, we toured the Coal Mine Museum, went to the top of Black Mountain and headed toward Kingdom Come State Park where I hiked an hour along the primitive road, actually known as the Little Shepherd Trail, which runs from the park to Whitesburg, KY, fourteen miles away.  It is the heart of bear country and has cautionary signs posted everywhere.  During my hike which must have been three to four miles along the ridge, I never saw any wildlife of any kind and got back home to learn that one of my old high school teachers had a bear in her yard in Knott County that day.  But I never saw bear, elk, deer, coyote, bobcat, fox, coon, possum, rabbit, or squirrel for the entire hike.

I Always Wanted A Photo With A Long Legged Cheerleader, Photo by Candice Hicks

Then we left the area on US119 to Whitesburg, turned on KY 15 South through Isom and on to Hazard and Jackson.  I will write more about this trip on separate blog posts about the individual sites we saw, so please come back and look for those posts.

Poster For The Day Hank Williams Died, Photo By Roger D. Hicks