Kentucky Travels
Hi, I am Jim, I love Kentucky, and traveling in and around Kentucky! I also love the entire country, and all of the beautiful and strange places here and there! This blog covers the overlooked, forgotten, and underrated places, people, and moments in history in America, with a focus on Kentucky! It will cover great tourists stops, books about people and history, and include photos and postcard scans.
Etowah Mounds
Friday, April 26, 2024
Marietta Confederate Cemetery and City Cemetery Georgia
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Nic and Normans Chattanooga Tennessee
Monday, April 22, 2024
Cataract Falls Hike Very easy hike in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Saturday, April 20, 2024
Cooter's Place Pigeon Forge Tennessee
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Old Mill Pottery House Cafe Pigeon Forge TN 03 2024
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
The Hills of Gatlinburg Tennessee
Sunday, April 14, 2024
Embassy Suites by Hilton Gatlinburg Resort March 2024
Saturday, April 13, 2024
"A Walk for Sunshine" by Jeff Alt
in the late 90s, Jeff decides (after wanting to for a while) to hike the Appalachian Trail going the whole way from Georgia to Maine. He works it into a fundraiser for the home where his brother lives.
If you enjoy a nice, pleasant story of someone having a great adventure this is a really fun read. It is easy and has a good pace. He meets some characters on the way, and even confronts some bad guys (vegetarians, obviously). He encounters lots of critters (most annoyingly, small flies) and he stays at some iffy spots.
It was interesting learning about the norms and how things work on the trail. I learned about "trail magic" and how you can "know" a hiker, without actually meeting them.
Again, this was a really enjoyable volume.
Friday, April 12, 2024
2016 Wildfires and Memorial Tribute Plaza Gatlinburg Tennessee
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Monday, April 8, 2024
CSX Train from B&B Window at night Park City KY Feb 2024
Saturday, April 6, 2024
Bells Tavern Park City Kentucky 2024
Thursday, April 4, 2024
Southern Cup Coffee and Cafe Glasgow Kentucky 2024
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
"The Caves Beyond: The Story of the Floyd Collins Crystal Cave Exploration" by Joe Lawrence Jr & Roger W. Brucker
I found a great old copy of "The Caves Beyond" at an antique shop not long ago, and, being a fan of caves, this was a great find! I REALLY enjoyed reading this one.
The book came out in 1955, a short 30 years after the death of the legendary caver, Floyd Collins. If you don't know about Floyd look him up. I have mentioned him here many times.... VERY BRIEFLY, he was exploring a cave and got his foot stuck. He would not make it out of the cave alive.
When this book came out, he was still buried/on display inside of this books subject, Crystal Cave. Again, an entirely different story, but Floyd would not find his hopefully final resting place until 1989.
Anyway, the purpose of this book was to cover a very large scale exploration/mapping/research expedition into Crystal Cave. The authors cover the logistics of the week long project. Food, medicine, equipment, and a PHONE LINE would need to go in to the cave!
Having read up on Floyd Collins and this area before, I was excited to read this one. I had read some of Bruckers other books on exploring caves in this area, and glad to find this volume, that I had somehow over looked before. In all fairness though, a whole lot of people contributed to this one. There are even reports in the back from different contributors to the mission.
The adventures of the cavers, their successes in finding new areas of the cave, and even their short comings make this simply a fun read. Again, as someone fascinated with the Floyd Collins story, I felt a little excitement when it was revealed that Skeets Miller was on the scene! Skeets was probably the most notable player in the whole Floyd Collins story in 1925 (other than Floyd himself). His appearance in the book was comparable to bringing in a surprise big name guest star to an exciting movie. AND, I am sure anyone interested in caves would feel some excitement with Russ Gurnee who is noted as being one of the explorers too!
This is just a fun book for anyone interested in caves or the Mammoth Cave area. I was especially happy to have a nice old copy to read.
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
CSX Train from B&B Window in Park City KY 02 25 2024
Sunday, March 31, 2024
Grand Victorian Inn and Train in Park City Kentucky 2024
Friday, March 29, 2024
Hops and Berry Taproom Loveland Ohio 2024
Thursday, March 28, 2024
"Freaky Florida" by Mark Muncy and Kari Schultz
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
"Eerie Appalachia" by Mark Muncy and Kari Schultz
Monday, March 25, 2024
Loveland Ohio and the Loveland Frogman March 2024
Sunday, March 24, 2024
"Unnatural Ohio: A History of Buckeye Cryptids, Legends & Other Mysteries" by M. Kristina Smith and Kevin Moore
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Mile 42 Coffee Loveland Ohio
Thursday, March 21, 2024
ANOTHER CSX Train in Park City Kentucky 2 24 2024
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
"Nine Miles To Mammoth Cave" by Colleen O'Connor Olson
I picked up a copy of the late Mammoth Cave guide/author Colleen O'Connor Olson's "Nine Miles to Mammoth Cave". I realized it was the only book of hers I did not have in my collection. AND, it is a book that is pricey online (I assume thanks to bots).
This is a nice, small book that gives some quality info on the development (and end) of the railroad to Mammoth Cave. It is under 70 pages, and is written in a way that it can be appreciated and understood by young readers, or mature readers wanting to know the basics about the railroads at Mammoth Cave. It is a quick read, but you will get a lot out of it.
I thought it was interesting reading about how Glasgow Junction (now Park City) had a train that stopped by. Tourists wanting to see Mammoth Cave could get off there, but they still had a ways to go (9 miles) to get to Mammoth Cave. A bumpy stage coach was available to make the three hour trip... but a group finally put in a train system to make the ride better- and it would make the 9 mile trip to the cave only an hour. Of course the automobile would eventually put an end to all of that.... but the steps to get there were fascinating.
There are some other great nuggets of info scattered in the book, and the author brings up trivia connecting Bette Midler and even Mussolini to the area!
If you care about Mammoth Cave, you need to make sure you pick up all of the books that Colleen O'Connor Olson put out.