Left my sister’s and stopped back at Judy’s in Lincolnshire and my friend MK’s in Champaign.

A brief trip down memory lane with a stopover in Terre Haute to visit nearby Shakamak State Park.  Twenty plus years ago, my kids and I joined MK and her Champaign friends for weekends of camping – cabin-style.  It’s still beautiful but arrived during a mosquito infestation so didn’t take the mandatory walk around the lake. The white-nose syndrome has severely affected our mosquito-eating bat buddies.

Did a little hop-skipping around and landed in Vincennes, IN.  A wonderful discovery!  First, there’s a huge monument where Lincoln’s family crossed the Wabash River from KY into  IL and then there’s a slightly scaled-down Jefferson Memorial-style monument to George Rogers Clark – brother of you know who – explorer, William Clark.  Again, had the good fortune to be wedged between 2 school groups and got a private tour of the monument and hear the story. Had it not been for George and his volunteers who eventually captured Fort Detroit, there’s a good chance we Midwesterners would be Canadian and the US would be missing everything West.  An incredible story of determination and overcoming the fiercest weather conditions to defeat the British during the Revolutionary War. And oh yes, it’s also the home of William Henry Harrison.

Also stopped off in New Harmony, IN, site of another of the “end of days” communes that sprung up in the mid-1800s.  Took the walking tour of some substantial rock and brick buildings that were built by the residents and then deserted when the “time” came and went.  Seems they’d built up quite a cottage industry of rope making, distilling, carding & farming  and markets were much more convenient back East.  It was then taken over by a group of scientists endeavoring to build a new utopian society of education and research. It fell apart when they couldn’t decide who would wash the dishes.  Lots of great thinkers but no economic backstop to support the services needed to survive.  Great ideas generated while it lasted tho and it was one of the centers for the US Geological Survey.  Today it’s a town of cute little antique and quaint-shops..  Met some CA folks who came for a wedding in the Roofless church.  That’s right, no ceiling. 

Got to take another ferry across the Ohio River into KY.  It’s a short ride at Cave in Rock IL. Not sure why, but I feel almost giddy crossing water on a boat with the car.

Was told not to miss the Land Between the Lakes.  What a treat!  After touring the Woodlands Nature Center and elk and bison prairie preserve, I got wedged in between 2 groups of Cub Scouts so got a private viewing of the planetarium show.  Got my choice of programs and decided on the Intergalactic Boundary Exploration (IBEX) program which explains the search for answers about the outer edges our universe. The narrator was an extraordinary teacher and since we had a bit of extra time, he explained (and demonstrated on the ceiling) our view of the positions of the Zodiac star formations during different times of the year and closed it with a spectacular laser show.   

Can’t visit KY without seeing Mammoth Cave, the longest known.  Over 350 miles have been surveyed and they’re not finished yet.  Please note, I did not walk all of it, just seemed like it as we hiked down 200 plus ft. The cave pictures didn’t turn out so well but got a great shot of an owl waiting at the exit. 

Stayed at a lovely B & B in Springfield KY; an old restored Victorian home a block from downtown called Cinnamon House.  Been living in one room for so long, felt strange to have an entire house open to me. The owner, Cynthia, made arrangements for me to visit Sister Elaine at the St. Catharine mother house,  a remarkable woman in her 80’s who in addition to many other education projects, was in charge of media education at Notre Dame U for  over 20 years.  She took me for a tour and explained the history of the college.  Especially interesting was the organic farm they’ve been running long before it became trendy.  They’ve been chosen to partner with Wendell Berry and take it to the next step. 

Lots more exploring to do in the area.  

Arrived a bit early in the season for Stephen Foster, the Musical, but had my first KY Hot Brown sandwich in Bardstown at Mammy’s.  A heart attack on a slice of really great bread – chunks of turkey and smoked ham , criss-crossed by slices of bacon and covered with a parmesan sauce.  Yum!  It’s a beautiful town with historic buildings, antique stores and a reproduction of a of late 1700’s village

Thomas Lincoln had some of patches of bad luck hanging onto land he thought he owned, only to have it taken away.  One such place was Sinking Spring, KY, the birthplace of Abe.  The place is marked by a building that houses the “symbolic” cabin. They then moved onto Knob Creek where Abe’s teacher, Caleb Hazel, was an Emancipationist and his parents attended an anti-slavery church.  I also visited the birthplace of Jefferson Davis.  Interesting - they were both born in KY. Says a lot about the information you’re exposed to. Apparently, at one time both their cabins went on tour but the timbers got mixed up and so they weren’t able to figure out which belonged to who. 

Also wandered over to Danville which has a  town square with early settlement buildings available to wander through. Stopped at a bakery to pick up some brownies for a later snack only to discover they were gone by the time I got back to the car. Hmmmm. 

Decided to take a trip over to Gethsemani Gardens but somehow took a wrong  turn.  No matter, came up with a reasonable substitute and toured Makers Mark, a bourbon distillery.  Can’t  leave Kentucky without doing it.  Early hootch- makers fled to the hills of KY after they were made to feel unwelcome (and taxed) in the East.  Has to be made in KY to be called bourbon and aged in charred barrels. All bottles are hand-dip sealed.Our tour guide gave us tastes of bourbon in several stages of the process. There were pros among us who nodded along with his description of the various tastes but am afraid I’ll have leave that discernment to others.  The two nuns sitting next to me seemed to be able to distinguish them pretty well tho.

Finally found my way to Gethsemani Gardens, the Trappist enclave made famous by the priest, Thomas Merten. Took a walk around the grounds and found a place to sit and contemplate a bit.  Realized I’ve been on the go so much, I found it hard to settle into a quiet time. A good lesson for me to remember that as much as I’m enjoying all the exterior stimulation, some introspection should be added to my daily map-reading. 

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Went to the Perryville, site of the largest KY battle during the Civil War (over 7500 killed). There was a school group coming for a visit and after a video acquainting them with the history, they were given the chance to see what it would feel like to be a soldier at that time.  Officers were chosen, uniforms (hats) were handed out and orders were given.  The battlefield itself is a 7 mile walking tour, a bit out of my league but there were some areas I could drive to and walk around.. 

The Bernheim  Arboretum & Research Forest was a lovely respite with beautiful gardens and  tree lined walking trails  One, the Iron Ore Hill Loop turned out to be a bit more challenging than anticipated, but it was well worth the stroke risk. Had an interesting bush sculpture at the visitors entrance called the Snake House Canopy which was a huge kid-magnet.  Ran into the 2 nuns I was drinking bourbon with earlier in the week. 

Off to Louisville to catch a flight to San Diego and a three week play-date with my beautiful granddaughter.  Patience will stay in Louisville and await for my return for the next part of our trip, the Outer Banks of NC.