HMS Beangle

(Jeff said that my last post, a ‘Why can’t I sleep?’ special, sounds like everything was all done in a single day. It was not. It covered four days.)

After leaving Indiana, we crossed into Kentucky and headed west for Bourbon Country, a little American Revolution history, and unknowingly a lot of Daniel Boone. While music dominates our driving time, we’re also fond of podcasts with Ologies, National Park After Dark, and various Old West related ones at the fore. On our way out of Michigan we listened to a triple episode series on Legends of the Old West about Daniel Boone, without realizing how often we were about to see his name.

If you’re like me, Daniel Boone was a name I’d heard a few times in elementary school and he always seemed like an amalgamation of many people of the period. Because, really, how important could one frontiersman be? Quite impactful, and interesting, as it turns out. More on that later.

Our first stop was the Bulleit Distillery in Shelbyville, Kentucky, for a distillery tour and tasting. Since it’s one of Jeff’s two favorite bourbons for mixing and sipping and it was right on our way to Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park, it was a no brainer. Later we did a tour at Four Roses too and Jeff picked up a small bottle of his favorite batch. Bulleit won our unofficial tour and tasting award though.

The three small containers you see before the four tasting glasses are full of spices, herbs, and florals. They really brought out the different notes in each of the bourbons. I rarely drink alcohol, but I was glad I made an exception here. This tasting experience was superb. Did you know that women tend to have more discerning noses and therefore be better at blending bourbons? Tis true.

Blue Licks Campground turned out to be a bit of a bust this time of year, since the museum is closed, the hotel’s front desk and store were closed, and even the campground host was AWOL the four days we were there, but it was a good launching pad for other things.

On a whim, we drove to a small village that was eventually rolled into the county seat. It was supposed to have an old frontier house and tiny local museum, but what we found was a rather large collection of frontier buildings. Unfortunately the museum was not open. (Don’t go to Kentucky for touristy things in November, is my advice.) We had a nice walk around though and ogled the buildings along Old Washington Road. They’re quite well maintained.

Apparently when the visitor center IS open, you can get inside a few of these buildings. I wonder if I could have gotten access if we’d thought to call ahead. Guilt, pleading, bribery. I would have been open to a few options.

Mefford’s Fort (actually just a home) was built from the planks of the raft on which George Mefford, his wife, and their THIRTEEN children floated down the Ohio River, moving from Maryland in 1787. Thirteen children. Folks, this cabin is not at all big. Fifteen people on two floors under one small roof. Yikes and no thanks.

This is what really gets me though, many of these original log structures — like the one above and the ones below — are still being used as homes and businesses. Amazing structures, they are. I’m so glad they’ve been valued and kept in use.

It was pushing on lunchtime and there wasn’t much to do at the campground, so we drove a little further to Maysville.

Maysville, another city on the Ohio River, was also inundated during the 1937 flood that hit Louisville and Rose Island so hard. Main Street was obliterated and all buildings were torn down. Second Avenue, also somewhat flooded but far enough up the bank to avoid complete destruction, became Maysville’s new Business District. A massive flood wall and earthen levee system was built afterwards to protect the city from further damage, effectively cutting off the city’s view of the river. Worth it, I know, but a bit sad too.

This poor Washington Opera House has been designed, used, nearly destroyed, abandoned, and redesigned more times than you’d believe, but it just keeps on going. I wish the current theater group that’s putting it through its paces again the very best of luck. Such a nice building deserves a future.

Maysville has a tie to Lewis and Clark’s famous Corps of Discovery, being home to one of the men who traveled with them. Afterwards, he went on other adventures in the frontier West.

Simon Kenton (below) is a name we started seeing a lot. There was a plaque and statue for him on Old Washington Road, but we didn’t think too much about it. In Maysville, we saw that he donated the land that the city of Maysville was built on, as well as the land in the Old Washington Road area. He was also a friend to and fellow soldier in the American Revolution with Daniel Boone.

Before leaving Maysville, we learned that Rosemary Clooney, perhaps best known for her role in White Christmas with Bing Crosby, was born in Maysville. The debut of her first film, The Stars Are Singing, was at the city’s Russell Theater. She’s buried in a little cemetery at the end of Old Washington Road, where that day’s exploring had begun. If only we’d known.

Musical interlude.

Since the museum and interpretive center at Blue Licks was closed, on our full last day there, we took a closer look at the monuments placed around the grounds and saw an obelisk installed to commemorate one of the last battles of the American Revolution — an 1782 battle between Shawnee warriors fighting on behalf of the British — a year after the official end of the war — and a small band of American fighters, including Simon Kenton, Daniel Boone, and Boone’s son, Issac. While attempting a retreat from an overwhelming Shawnee force, Issac was killed and Daniel had no choice but to leave his son’s body where it fell. There is a small mass grave above the obelisk honoring the soldiers who died in that battle. “War is hell,” as William T. Sherman so succinctly said a century later.

Now, why do so many places in Kentucky have the word Lick in their name? Well, salt is essential for all animals and it’s not always easy to access. So where it was found, the animals (humans included) came running from far and wide to get that good, good NaCl to keep their systems up and running. In the case of the Blue Licks area, the salt was dissolved in salt water pools, so while the animals drank from the pools, the humans boiled the water to solidify the salt.

Later that day, we walked on the park’s Buffalo Trace Trail, a path cut by migrating bison before they were exterminated east of the Mississippi. We watched the sun move into the west.

We came across an educational stockade reproduction (above). Further down the trail we were appalled to see piles and piles of junk covering the ground next to the park boundary (below), where the privately owned and trash-clogged salt springs are. I just don’t get people sometimes.

Kentucky doesn’t play around about who is responsible for your safety. Be prepared to meet and accept nature on its terms. Perfectly stated.

On our way south, we stopped at Boonesbourough State Park, the location where **surprise!!!** Daniel Boone located his self-titled encampment and fort after leaving North Carolina. It was closed. I know, it was a theme. So we just wandered the trails a bit, saw the outside of the re-created fort, and stretched our legs.

I highly recommend you listen to that three part series if you’re at all interested in Boone’s history. We found it quite interesting.

We arrived a couple of hours later for an overnight at a private campground just north of the Tennessee border with enough time for a quick walk in the woods. The trail behind our trailer? The Boone Trace. The trail blazed by Daniel Boone and his settlers on their way from North Carolina to Boonesborough, Kentucky. Because of course it was.