I headed north to Lexington, KY to meet Jay’s future mother-in-law (and Chandra’s mom) but first a couple of stops along the way.  Drove along the Country Music Highway (Crooked Trail in VA) which honors a number of country western stars from the area with signs dotted along the route.  Passed thru Pikeville, the home of the famous Hatfield/McCoy feud then turned west to stop at Red River Gorge National Geological Area and Natural Bridges State Park.  The Gorge was a favorite camping area of Tim’s when he was at Miami.  Couldn’t help noticing that almost all the road signs had bullet holes or indents in them.  Not a particularly comforting sight.

Found myself a bit directionally-confused so stopped at a combo gas station/diner/grocery/post office and asked for directions.  The youngster behind the counter told me where to go using landmarks e.g. white building, small church, etc.  Very sweet.  A couple of other notes – barns have patchwork designs on them and the speed limit at Natural Arches is 23 MPH.

Stayed at the Hemlock Lodge in the park and took the trail up to the arch.  Was deliberating whether to go to the top when I met a young man who said I’d be sorry if I missed it. He & his wife were celebrating their 25^th anniversary and they’re regular visitors. He was right, quite a view. He also told me about a great pizza place called Miguel’s just outside the park where the grounds are also a huge tent city for hikers.

Tim had told me about a trail that was pretty rough and when I passed a memorial for someone who had fallen off one of the cliffs and died, I hiked on back to the car. Stopped at the ranger station and got a list of “must sees”.  Beautiful rock formations, hiking trails and drives thru the park.  Also learned that most of the accidents are caused by campers who have wandered off the paths, usually at night.  There’s something for everyone – steep climbs, meandering river trails and paths along the cliffs. There’s also an impressive one- lane tunnel built by a logging company in the early 1900’s.

Next stop was the restored Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill.  This religious community came to Kentucky in the early 1800’s to farm and wait for the 2^nd Coming.  Men and women were separated (separate entrances to all the buildings, except the kitchen, which was the women’s domain).  Beautiful stone and brick buildings were built for housing and meetings.  They’re especially known for their music  (“Simple Gifts”), brooms and furniture. Very inventive too – noted a pre-cursed to the Cuisinart in the kitchen.  Got to listen to a choir rehearsing for an upcoming performance to celebrate their spring opening.  Reminded me of gospel. The Shaker name was coined to describe the shaking motions they do during their services. The last member died in 1923 and there are only three left in the New England area.  The Village was bought and restored in the 60’s by a not-for-profit group after it fell in to disrepair.

Went from hill country to horse country.  Beautiful homes on huge acreage. Spent three lovely days in Lexington with Chandra’s mom, Noreen.  The kids said we’d hit it off and they were sooo right. She also gets the good sport award as I showed up with a nasty cold which moved into an ear infection.  A trip to the Kroger walk-in and an ampicillin prescription and I was back among the living.  Noreen took me to Irish Acres, a former boarding school turned into a three story indoor home décor and antique mall.  Individual rooms were beautifully decorated in color-coordinated period furniture and accessories.  Lots of glitter and glitz too with a large selection of Xmas decorations.  All this and a great lunch too.

Our next stop was the Kaneland racetrack.  Although the ponies weren’t running, it was my first time at a track and couldn’t help being impressed by its size.  Surprised to hear it’s only used for racing in April and October. Took a tour of the gift shop and loved the display of women’s fancy hats.

Noreen’s friend, John put me onto a lovely route that would take me to Cumberland Gap.  Passed thru Richmond and saw some unusual and ornately decorated homes. Then it was over to the Daniel Boone National Forest and a drive along the Kentucky River and its contributors.  Beautiful icicle covered rock walls on one side and Katie’s Creek on the other.  That also means it’s 30 degrees.  A bit nippier than I’d hoped for.

The Cumberland Gap’s break in the Appalachians gave eastern settlers a way to cross into Kentucky.  Most famous was the group from PA led by Daniel Boone & his family.  Now you go thru a long tunnel that connects KY with TN. As a precaution, traffic is stopped both ways for tanker trucks that get a DOT escort.   A trip to the top overlook gives you a lovely view of KY, TN and VA.   Met a couple from Ashville (she was a transplant from Barrington) and he talked me into hiking up the side of a narrow waterfall from an old iron furnace ruin up to a cave entrance.  A huff and a puff & I made it!

Also stopped at the Lincoln Museum on the campus of Lincoln Memorial University.  It’s technically in TN – just on the other side of the tunnel.  It was begun by General Howard (of Howard University fame) at the direction of President Lincoln after the Civil War.  Lincoln felt some of hard feelings produced by the war’s divisions within the states might be assuaged by access to education.  Even now, its primary mission is to educate Appalachian children.  According to the person I spoke with, it still faces difficult obstacles. Those in the “hard shell” fundamentalist culture believe education interferes with your relationship with God so it’s discouraged.  This professor also thought it might have been the problem between Abraham Lincoln and his father which led to their estrangement.  It’s an interesting theory.

The museum itself is mostly a collection of paintings, sculptures and artifacts of Lincoln.  I was unaware that after his death on the way to Springfield, his casket was displayed in various cities. Exhibited in the museum is a reproduction of one of those funereal displays.   

More about Tennessee soon