Mammoth Caves NP

26^th Sept – Mammoth Caves National Park

Mammoth Caves is the largest network of underground caves in the world with over 400 miles currently mapped. It has formed from underground rivers dissolving away the limestone. 



Fortunately a cap of sandstone over the limestone helps protect a lot of the region but aerial views show numerous sinkholes around this part of Kentucky that have formed over the millennia.  There are a number of different entrances and this provides for a choice of 9 different tours.

Our first underground tour was titled Domes and Dripstones. Although we only covered ¾ mile underground it took 2 hours as we had over 500 stairs twisting between the very narrow rocks,  (Paul had to twist and duck to squeeze through).  The highlight of the tour was the Frozen Niagara formation in the Drapery Room.

In the afternoon we went on the Historic Tour which took us along 2 miles of the cave in the 2 hours with only 440 stairs. This took us through some very large passages.  We crossed over the Bottomless Pit (which isn’t) and through  Fat Man’s Misery. At Mammoth Dome tower we had 155 stairs to climb up.
 .

In the evening we joined the Ranger led campfire story telling whilst 100 boy scouts descended to set up camp for the weekend.

27^th Sept – Green River

We took a picnic and did around 7 miles of hiking trails close to the camp site that took us through the trees down to Green River – which is rightly named.  We came across a turtle struggling his way through the forest undergrowth.   During our stay here we have seen deer, wild turkeys, squirrels and
various birds. The scouts had found a copperhead snake – but they had chopped off its head.

In the evening we joined the campfire talk given by a Ranger who is one of their cave explorers and told us all about caving and how they ‘map’ the cave system.

28^th Sept – Turnhole Bend Trail

We took the car across the Green River via the Ferry which was a very effective little paddle boat.  We hiked the Turnhole Bend trail, around 6 miles, on the west side of the park through some beautiful trees that were starting to change colour.  We met a couple of riders with their Tennessee Walker horses who had come across a rattle snake but we never saw one.

A very quiet evening sat by our own campfire:  Not only have all the boy scouts gone home but so have most of the other campers.

29^th Sept – 1^st Oct – Land Between the Lakes

On one of our hikes we met a lady who recommended a particular campsite on the Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area so we headed that way for some kayaking and fishing for a few days before heading further south for Tennessee.

 

Kentucky

21^st-22^nd Sept – Kentucky Bluegrass Region



Newport Kentucky

We set of down towards Cincinnati and into Kentucky, we were heading for the Kentucky Horse Park campground near Lexington.  The campground is next to the Horse Park so we paid a visit into the grounds for the afternoon to watch show jumping in both adult and junior classes.  We wandered around the stables and chatted to a lady who had come all the way from Florida to compete.  She would fly home whilst the horses faced a 12 hour journey in their horse trailer.

Race Horses in their stables

Horses are big business in this region and there were a lot of very expensive animals grazing in the fields surrounded by white wooden fencing – no barbed wire to scratch delicate hides here.  The Kentucky Derby is held at Churchill Downs just up the road at Louisville.  Lexington has many Racing stables and Stud Farms all beautifully presented. 

23^rd Sept – Kentucky Horse Park



Arabian

The Kentucky Horse Park was chosen to host the 1978 World Three-Day Event Championships and it has developed from then into a tribute to all things horsey.  This was the most amazing complex;  stabling for around 800 horses; indoor and outdoor arenas; several dressage and show jumping rings; at least 2 cross-country courses; steeplechase course; 3 polo fields.

They host around 70 events each year. 
 

Andalusian

There were 2 museums about the horse; one specifically about the Kentucky Saddlebred. They had presentations of ex-racing horses, horse trolley tours and two ridden displays featuring horse breeds from around the world, which was particularly enjoyable. Alison was in her element and could have spent all week here. The best part was we didn’t pay the $20 entrance fee as we could just walk in from the camp ground.

24^th Sept – Buffalo Trace Distillery

We drove to Frankfort, passing the horse farms with their white-wooden fencing looking very picturesque in the sunshine, where we enjoyed a tour of the Buffalo Trace Distillery.  This is one of the few continuously-operating distillers of Kentucky Bourbon as many distilleries were closed down during the years of prohibition.  In those days the only legal acquisition of alcohol was for medicinal purposes (or church communion).  A prescription from a doctor would allow one pint per person every 10 days.  During Prohibition over 6 million prescriptions were written in Kentucky. 

At the end of the tour we were ‘treated’ to some free samples of their produce – and this confirmed why Paul only drinks Irish Whiskey! Must be the only time that Paul has left alcohol in the glass.
Needless to say we didn’t buy any Bourbon.

Back at the Horse Park that evening there was a practise polo match going on.

25^th Sept – Thoroughbred Centre

Alison got up extra early in the morning to visit the Thoroughbred Centre to watch Race horses practising on the gallops. ( When she means extra early that would be before 9am) The 1½ hour tour included a talk by one of the Trainers.  This training centre had stabling for 1200 horses, 36 paddocks, and two practise race tracks.  Riders were putting the horses through their paces on the tracks; earning around $10, or more, per horse for around 15 minute practise.  At the rail was a woman on her horse watching in case a rider fell (or other problem) and she would then ride after the race horse to catch it. The track is open from 5.30 to 11am each morning with some horse then being put out in the paddock for an hour as well. 

Friesians ridden in tandem

We then set off travelling south east, heading for Mammoth Cave National Park for the weekend. 

Ohio

12-13^th Sept – Ohio

We travelled south to a campground in the state of Ohio near an area which is home to the largest Amish and Mennonite communities in USA.  On Saturday we drove around the district where we came across a Horse Auction in Mt Hope.

There were horses and buggies tied up along with trucks and horse boxes. Around the edge of the car park some horses were being put through their trotting paces.  There must have been over 200 horses in the stalls of the auction barns.  They all looked the same; same size, same colour – all bays!  You couldn’t make out the prices they were going for as the auctioneer talked in that very fast ‘talk’ that only auctioneers can.

We visited the Behalt Heritage Centre and learnt about Amish and Mennonite way of life and their history.  One of the differences between the two Orders is that the Mennonite embraces more aspects of modern life compared to the Amish.  The largest group of “Old Order” Amish travel by horse and buggy.  The “New Order”, which began in 1996, do not drive vehicles but have electricity and phones in their homes and compete in modern markets – their furniture is very popular. 
The Amish do not continue education past 8^th grade (age 13ish?) whereas Mennonites can continue if desired and hence may take careers into medicine and law to support their community.  However until a young Amish person joins the church they can use technology although they cannot own it.

Largest Cuckoo clock in the world

We stopped at the town of Sugarcreek, known as little Switzerland, and saw the largest cuckoo clock in the world strike 3pm. Driving home you had to be careful of going over the crest of a hill or around a corner as there were horse and buggies on all the roads, although the horses seemed very calm about the traffic passing them at 50mph!

14-16^th Sept – Cleveland



One of Lady Gaga's outfits

We spent the next couple of days at the campground and Paul did a bit of fishing.  On the Tuesday we went into the city of Cleveland and had a great visit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

With memorabilia from Bands through all the decades including up to date outfits worn by Beyoncé.

Sgt Pepper outfit

 

 

 

Brick in the Wall

It even included the 30 foot Teacher from Pink Floyd’s ‘Brick in the Wall’.  There are now nearly 300 ‘Inductees’ to the Hall since opening in 1986, and around 10% are British (+ ABBA).

Having spent most of the day in the R&R Hall we had a spare 1½ hour so decided to visit the Great Lakes Science Centre.  This was such a big disappointment.  It was not a Science Centre about the Great Lakes. It took us less than an hour to tour the 3 floors which had some basic exhibits about the space programme and medical treatments.  The ‘hands-on’ activities were aimed at 8-12 year olds.  To cap it all the Lego Exhibition had a model of Salisbury Cathedral – without a Spire!  We brought this to the attention of a member of staff ……!

17-18^th Sept – Dayton

We travelled further south to Wilmington and on the Thursday visited the National Museum of the US Air Force at Dayton.  We spent the whole day wandering among the aircraft in the huge hangars. 



The museum took us through the development of aircraft and their use during the various conflicts in the past 100 years.  We particularly found the World War II gallery interesting and the USA involvement in the Far East in the 50s & 60s. The dog in the picture (right) flew over 100 times in the Berlin Air Lift.

19^th – Cincinnati

Cincinnati is on the northern side of the Ohio River with a series of bridges connecting to Newport, Kentucky on the southern side.  We spent most of the day at the National Freedom Centre of the Underground Railway.  It covered the topic of slavery; from its history, through the conditions for slaves, the abolitionists, and the US Civil War.  The role of the ‘Underground Railway’ was a means by which slaves escaped to freedom in the northern regions including Canada, and involved a network of people who were prepared to assist their travel with food and shelter.  Kentucky was a slave state whilst Ohio was not; 175 yards of river separated the two states.

The Carew Tower is the 2nd tallest building but unfortunately their observation deck was closed for repairs.  So we walked around Fountain Square where they were setting up for the weekend for  Oktoberfest – in September?!
The stroll along the Riverfront was very pleasant in the sunshine. This was not the place where we expected to see a race prepared speed boat going through its paces.  

The following day we spent at the campground where they had members of the emergency services attend to give a Safety Presentation.  This included a Fire Engine for everyone to explore. We spent a pleasant and interesting half hour talking to a deputy sheriff.

Cincinnati was holding it's Oktoberfest this w/e but we didn't feel like travelling the 50 miles back there again.

Back to Caseville

3^rd  – 7^th  Sep

We returned from Canada back to Caseville for our last few days with Charlie and Doreen.  Charlie’s son, Brian was staying for a few days and on the Thursday we all went kayaking for the afternoon on the Pinnebog River, down to the shores of Lake Huron.

Travelling on the road is not all plain-sailing and whilst staying here we have had the opportunity to sort out a few problems with the car and RV.  The car has been on a manufacturer’s recall for the last 6 months; so we finally got it to a GM garage to have the work completed.  The RV had started to miss-fire just as we arrived 3 weeks ago so spark plugs and leads have been replaced.  Paul fitted a new toilet that was delivered and did some redecorating inside the RV. 

So now we are ready to begin the next stage of our trip travelling south. 

 

8^th – 11^th Sept – Detroit

We drove down to a campsite near Jackson, just west of Detroit to get a garage to look a problem we had with the RV levelling jacks. On the way we came across trucks taking the sugar beet to be processed.

On the Thursday we had a day trip into the city of Detroit.  

 

1946 Dinner

The Henry Ford Museum not only displayed a number of cars but also exhibited inventions innovations from the past 100 years or more.  Inter-active touch-screens by some exhibits offered additional info and images which you could enlarge for angles not visible from behind the barriers.  We had lunch in this 1946 dinner. VW was one of the first "Camper Vans" on the market.

How about this wood burning stove in your front room.

Wood Burning Stove

 

 

VW Camper

We spent 4 hours there which meant we didn’t have time to visit Greenfield Village as we needed to get into the city centre to visit the Motown History Museum.

Hitsville USA is where Berry Gordy first established Motown Records in January 1959.  He bought several houses along the West Grand Boulevard turning them into one of the biggest recording companies of the time with over 180 No 1 hit songs worldwide.  The tour took us around the ‘first house’ and including the converted garage ‘Recording Studio A’ where the likes of Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and Jackson 5 recorded hits.

The first Motown record to sell one million copies was in 1960 (Shop Around by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles). 
No photography was allowed in the museum.

We spent an amount of time driving around trying to find the Model T Automotive Heritage Complex we had seen on the internet.  We drove right past the location according to the website but could not find the building.  We saw many derelict buildings around Detroit.  The area was very run-down in places with buildings falling apart.  It was the saddest city we’ve ever seen.

Canada

28^th Aug – Mississauga, Toronto

Being so close to the Canadian border made it convenient to visit Toronto to see Alison’s Uncle and Aunt in Mississauga.  So we drove the car for 6½ hours, via Port Huron and Sarnia, into Canada over the connecting toll bridge.  The hot tub in the evening proved relaxing after the long drive.

29^th Aug – Rattray Marsh

In the afternoon we took a stroll around Rattray Marsh on the shores of Lake Ontario.  We could see the Toronto sky line and the CN Tower, in the distance.

30^th Aug – Toronto

We drove through Toronto city and did some window shopping in the afternoon.  Our friends Mark and Mandy from UK happened to be holidaying in Toronto with their friends this weekend too.  We

were kindly invited to join them all for a BBQ in the evening which was great fun.

2^nd Sep – Toronto Island

We took the GO Transit train into Toronto city centre and then the ferry out to Toronto Island.  Although very commercialised the Island provides a lovely setting to wander around relaxing in the sunshine.  As this was the Labor Day holiday the place was packed with families.  We had a couple of ‘fly-past’ from aircraft participating in the air show for the Canadian National Exhibition nearby.  There were a couple of sandy beaches; one of which was sign-posted ‘clothing optional’ – good thing it was a hot sunny day for them.

The views across from the island towards Toronto were pretty good, even with a mad woman leaping up and down in front of the camera.

 

“The Thumb” Michigan

11^th – 27^th August – Caseville

We spent the next three weeks with the RV parked in the back yard of our friends Charlie and Doreen.  They live near a town called Caseville on the north-west shore line of The Thumb of Michigan.  The state of Michigan is shaped like a left-hand mitten with a ‘thumb’.  Their house is right opposite Lake Huron with a lovely sandy beach down to the water level. 

13^th August – Cheeseburger Festival Parade

This week happened to be when Caseville hold their Cheeseburger Festival.  Part of the festivities included a Parade for which thousands of people came into town.  It looked like most of Michigan had turned up because Caseville population is 800.

16^th August – The Boat Race

This event was held on Lake Huron.  Contestants had to paddle a short course in their home-made CARDBOARD Boats.  This was a test of creativity, ingenuity, imagination, paddling and swimming skills.  There were a variety of classes for children as well as adults. 
Most surprisingly some boats survived their first run to be used again in another class!  However many didn’t make it past the first corner of the route.
Also on the beach were some very good sand sculptures.

17^th August – Classic Car Show

 The Cheeseburger Classic Car Show was held down near the beach with some beautifully cared for cars to be admired. Alison got to sit in one. At first she couldn’t reach the peddles until the owner pressed a button and the seat moved forward and up.
Had to make sure this little fellow didn't get run over.

 

21^st August – Octagon Barn & Petroglyphs

This area of Michigan is agricultural with fields of corn and soya beans amongst some of the crops.  It is flat and clearly an ideal place for the hundreds of wind turbines that were everywhere.  We took a drive out to visit an Octagon Barn. 

 

This was an excellent museum of by-gone days with a considerable number of old agricultural machines and implements as well as other antiques from the past – some of which we remember being used in our childhood days.

We also visited some Petroglyphs – the only ones in Michigan.  They date back to early native peoples and were discovered after a fire in the late 1800s uncovered the trees and undergrowth that had hidden them.

27^th August – Frankenmuth

This town was a 1½ hour drive south and was settled by German immigrants in the late 1700s/early 1800s.  The town’s building regulations ensure buildings are built in keeping with the ‘German-style’.  Even MacDonald’s had to comply.

 

We spent the day visiting the Town Museum, Mill and Brewing Company and tasting numerous cheeses, chocolates and wines and beers. Its a tough life being retired.

Frankenmuth is known for Bronner’s, the biggest Christmas store in the country.  Even in August we enjoyed a bit of Christmas cheer (?!). Baa Humbug said Paul.

 

Paul was interviewed by a local reporter for a TV programme.