Kentucky, AR Road Trips

Between about 500-300 million years ago much of what is now Kentucky was covered by shallow seas. The fauna of those seas is the source of the vast limestone deposits that lie under much of the state, containing its extensive cave systems, as well as its unusually rich fossil beds. The peat bogs that succeeded the seas eventually petrified into coal, and thus coal mining remains an important economic activity in Kentucky. Kentucky is the 15th state to join the United States, having been carved out of Virginia and allowed to join the Union in 1792. Prior to European settlement, the area that now comprises the state of Kentucky was subject to long periods of contention between various tribes, although it's usually agreed that by the time Europeans arrived it was mainly split between the Shawnee and Cherokee. Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky, although his family relocated to Indiana when he was fairly young, due to a land ownership dispute. Jefferson Davis, the leader of the Confederacy, was also a Kentuckian, and the state has a complicated history during the US Civil War - despite being a slave state, it never officially seceded from the Union, and thousands of Kentuckians fought on both sides of the conflict. As early as the 18th century, settlers took advantage of the warm, humid summers to grow large quantities of corn, as had the Native American tribes before them. Lacking means to get the corn to market in bulk, they distilled it into whiskey.

Kentucky Horse Park: in Lexington off I-75. The only park of its kind and host of the 2010 World Equestrian Games. 1,200 acres of exhibits, pastures, barns, museums and an art gallery. Open year round. General Motors Bowling Green Assembly Plant: in Bowling Green off of I-65 exit 28 at Louisville Rd. and Corvette Dr. Bowling Green is the only production site for the classic American sports car, the Chevrolet Corvette and the two-seat Cadillac XLR. Every Corvette produced since 1982 was manufactured at the Bowling Green plant. The plant offers a 1-hour guided walking tour of portions of the assembly area. National Corvette Museum: in Bowling Green off of I-65 exit 28 across from the GM Assembly Plant. The museum houses more than 75 Corvettes including one of the original 1953 Corvettes, the only 1983 Corvette in existence, the millionth Corvette produced and many other rare 'Vettes. Also displayed are photographs, advertisements, television commercials, and Corvette memorabilia. Lost River Cave & Valley: in Bowling Green at jct. US 31W and Dishman Ln. The Lost River Cave & Valley offers a 45-minute underground boat and walking tour of a cave discovered by Indians 10,000 years ago. The cave, which is a constant 56 F, was a shelter for Indians, the site of a 19th-century water-powered mill, a campsite used by both sides during the Civil War, a hiding place for the outlaw Jesse James, and a popular 1930s night club. During the summer a butterfly exhibit can be viewed. Crystal Onyx Cave: in Cave City, off of I-65 exit 53 then 2 mi east on SR 90 to 363 Prewitts Knob Rd.

Kentucky State Parks offer a great variety of species and settings for fishing. Anglers have a choice of largemouth and smallmouth bass, striped bass, trout, bluegill, crappie, catfish and many more kinds of fish at state parks. And for beginners, many parks have fishing equipment to loan to guests. See the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources for required licenses, regulations, and suggestions on where to fish. An additional license is required for trout fishing, and while you may keep brown trout, rainbow trout are catch and release only. Kentucky does have some wonderful trout fishing rivers, and fly fishing is popular. Kentucky is famed for bluegrass, bourbon, beautiful mountains and thoroughbreds. Golf is a large part of Kentucky's recreational reputation, with 19 State Park golf courses. There are several indoor and outdoor firing ranges at which arms and ammunition may be rented, along with some time at a firing lane. Shotgun enthusiasts will find a large number of clubs offering trap, skeet, and sporting clays, as well as several preserves offering pheasant or dove hunts. Deer, dove, and turkey are all commonly hunted in Kentucky. In addition, Kentucky has the largest number of elk found east of the Mississippi. See the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources for seasons and license fees. The parks operate more than two dozen swimming pools and 11 beaches at lakes. And during the winter, there are indoor pools at Lake Cumberland and Lake Barkley resort parks. 2,600 improved sites. Reservations are now available for the campgrounds.

Kentucky's cuisine is similar to traditional southern cooking, although in some areas of the state it can blend Southern and Midwestern. Kentucky has invented several dishes; most notably the Kentucky Hot Brown and beer cheese. The Hot Brown was developed at the Brown Hotel in Louisville. The dish is usually layered in this order: toasted bread, turkey, bacon, tomatoes and topped with mornay sauce. Beer cheese is a cheese spread that originated in Central Kentucky near Winchester. While there are conflicting stories on where beer cheese originated, Johnny Allman's, a restaurant on the Kentucky River (present-day site of Hall's on the River) is generally credited with inventing the dip. Colonel Harland Sanders began Kentucky Fried Chicken in Corbin. Today, visitors can see where the restaurant got its start. Barbecue is popular throughout Kentucky, but unlike some other parts of the country, Kentucky doesn't lay claim to any particular style. Kentucky BBQ is historically derived from North Carolina styles, though it uses many more varieties of meat than traditional Carolina BBQ, and influences from Kansas City, Texas, and Tennessee can be seen. Barbecue in the area around Owensboro and Henderson is especially distinctive for its emphasis on mutton. As is typical in the South, barbecue refers to slow cooked and/or smoked meat; cooking outside on a grill is instead a "cookout" or "grilling out." Burgoo is a type of stew that you'll often run into.

Ale-8-One, known colloquially as Ale-8, is a regional fruity/ginger-flavored, caffeinated soft drink. It is bottled in the Central Kentucky city of Winchester and distributed only within the state and neighboring portions of Indiana and Ohio. Bourbon, America's native spirit, is produced in by far the greatest quantities in the state of Kentucky. Many major distilleries are clustered in Central Kentucky in picturesque settings near a natural source of water. The larger distilleries in Kentucky market themselves collectively as the Bourbon Trail with a little "passport" book that each distillery will stamp for you to show you've visited it. Alcohol laws in Kentucky are (pun not intended) a mixed bag. As you travel through the state, you can find yourself in a "wet", "dry", or "moist" city or county. A guide to these terms: Wet – This means that an area allows full retail sales of alcoholic beverages, either packaged for off-premises consumption or by the drink (as in bars or restaurants). All cities in the state with a population of 20,000 or more now allow off-premises sales. Dry – An area that does not allow sales of alcoholic beverages at all. Some otherwise dry areas do allow for sales at wineries (about 25 around the state), golf courses (also about 25) and certain historic sites (one). Moist – This is the most confusing designation, with two different meanings. The state officially uses "moist" strictly to describe otherwise dry counties in which at least one city has approved full retail sales.

Kentucky is accessible by five Interstates: I-71 and I-75 both enter the state from the north at Cincinnati. The two roads split in the Kentucky suburbs, with I-71 going to its southern end in Louisville and I-75 to Lexington, continuing past Richmond, Berea, and London. I-64 runs from Ashland in the east to Louisville in the west, passing by Lexington and Frankfort on the way. I-65 enters the state from Indiana and runs from Louisville to Bowling Green, continuing to the Tennessee state line. I-24 from Paducah to Hopkinsville and the Fort Campbell area. A sixth interstate, I-69, has segments in Kentucky, but is not yet connected with an interstate-standard highway to any other state. The Kentucky segment starts at Henderson, across the Ohio River from Evansville, taking an indirect southwest course through the state as it follows older parkways (see below). The signed route passes by Madisonville and Princeton before reaching Calvert City, at which point I-69 follows the Purchase Parkway to Fulton. A spur from I-69 running to Hopkinsville, also routed along part of a previously existing parkway, is now numbered as I-169. Kentucky's I-69 is a relatively small part of a major extension of that highway, which runs only from Indianapolis to the Canadian border at Port Huron, Michigan, but is proposed to be extended to the Mexican border in Texas. Kentucky is connected to many U.S. highways: US 25 runs south from Covington, paralleling I-75 until splitting into two branches just north of Corbin.

Kentucky maintains 9 parkways to supplement the Interstate and U.S. Highways. These roads were all built as toll roads but have since become freeways. Nine roads make up the parkway system; three of these are now fully incorporated into the Interstate Highway System, with others either partially incorporated or to be incorporated. The Audubon Parkway, the shortest road in the system, connects Henderson and Owensboro. It is now signed as a "Future I-69 Spur", and will likely receive "I-69 Spur" as its permanent designation when improvements are completed. The Martha Layne Collins Bluegrass Parkway runs from I-65 on the north side of Elizabethtown to Versailles, just west of Lexington. The Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway runs through South Central Kentucky from I-65 east of Bowling Green to Somerset, near the Lake Cumberland resort region. The Hal Rogers Parkway (often called "the Rogers"; formerly the Daniel Boone Parkway), mainly a two-lane road with frequent passing lanes for heavy trucks, connects London with Hazard in the eastern third of the state. The Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway connects I-64 in Winchester to Salyersville in eastern Kentucky. The eastern half of this road, past Campton, is two lanes. Long-term plans call for the reinstatement of tolls to fund expansion of the eastern section to four lanes, plus an extension of about 15 miles to Prestonsburg. The William H. Natcher Parkway (often called "the Natcher"; formerly the Green River Parkway) connects Owensboro with Bowling Green.

During hunting season, wear brightly-colored clothing if you go into the woods. This is even more strongly recommended if you're out during a firearms season, and is advisable even during archery-only seasons. (Hunters must wear hunter orange vests/coats and caps when hunting during any season in which modern firearms or muzzleloaders are legal weapons.) If you are backpacking, biking or any off-road adventure, register with the Park Office. Make sure you call or visit on the way out. It only makes sense, you may get lost, or break something. Cell phones may not work in these areas. Kentucky is generally very safe, however certain parts of Downtown Louisville can be dangerous. For example, when traveling to the west end of Louisville, be sure to use common sense.