2019-8
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Kentucky
Campground: Kendall
Campground, COE park. $14 per night senior discount. 50 amp
electric/water. Nice campsites, paved roads, gravel campsite. Many
campsites have narrow entries bordered by railroad ties. Tree
canopied with super high clearance for larger campers.
Campground: Dad’s
Bluegrass Campground. Full hookups. $39.20 after Good-Sam Discount
of 20%. Would not accept my PPA card as they said it was a Holiday
weekend (Thursday-Monday) ?? Will have one day of Bluegrass music on
Saturday.
Ps, that’s the
most I’ve paid in two years.
Distance traveled:
miles and miles and miles
from Pigeon Forge
TN to Jamestown Kentucky
Some Roads I Shouldn't Travel
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| looks like a nice road, until I drive around the bend.... |
And what a road it
was. Of course I’ve always advised my travel Club members to avoid
any and all secondary roads in Tennessee and Kentucky. But did I
listen to my own advise? Nooooo. Instead I traveled along 441, 62,
27, 52 and finally 127. hwy 27, and 127 were just horrid to put it
bluntly. Lots of winding, twisting, hilly narrow two lane roads.
Frequent drop offs on either side. Something I would never recommend
to anyone towing a camper or driving a motor-home.
At one point, my GPS
directed me onto a really really narrow country road as a shortcut
between hwy 27 and 127. I got all of ¾ of a block when I noticed a
sign next to a stone arched railroad bridge. The sign indicated it
had 12 ft 4 inches of clearance. Ekk! I stopped in the middle of
the road, but who could tell, it was that narrow. Got out of the
truck and told the folks stopped behind me I’d need to back up.
I had no choice, a
quick scan of the homes on either side told me I couldn’t pull into
their driveway and turn around. So backing up the camper and truck
would have to be it. On the corner behind me Church was filling up
and ready to start. I continued my slow and not very graceful
backing up procedure, wiggling back and forth, I finally made it to
the main road, and continued turning 90 degrees backward so I could
pull forward onto hwy 27.
What an ordeal. But
at least I was onto my plan A, B, and finally C for finding a
campground. And along the way I stopped at an old store/restaurant
with a country porch, with guys whittling away. Inside I was able to
get a great lunch, relax and check on plan C. Making a quick call I
was able to get into a COE park for $14 a night and only another 40
minute drive a way. The day was getting long but I’d be at a
campground soon enough.
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| whittling on the front porch |
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| sometime a stop like this just makes my day |
Now although Kendall
Campground, COE park was a great campground, below a dam, the road
hwy 127 was not. It continued being a very narrow two lane winding
road. I would not recommend it to any campers with rigs larger than
a small Class B or C. Although I was able to navigate it with my 31
ft 5th wheel camper, it was particularly challenging when
a large commercial truck came by in the opposite direction.
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| road damage in the campground along the river |
Note: hwy 27 and
127 were both two lane country roads, very narrow, no shoulders and
both had the most odd set up. Along the way, in the middle of
nowhere, the road would change to a modern wide highway for a couple
of miles, then turn back into a narrow two lane road again with no
warning. What a way to get your hopes up and then have them dashed
around the next wild curve in the road.
Well, I’ve learned
my lesson and even though I like to think I was exploring for the
benefit of my fellow Rv-ers, it was not a pleasant experience.
Franklin Kentucky.
I arrived in
Franklin as I rushed to try and find a spot over the Memorial Day
Weekend and was able to get a spot at Dad’s Bluegrass Campground.
Along with some music scheduled on Saturday, there are a number of
places to explore in the area. But first I needed to have my eye
pressure checked. I found a local Optometrist who could check my
eyes. Well cutting to the quick, my eye pressures remain elevated
and my left eye was unable to read any of the visual eye chart.
Obviously distressed. It’s been an emotional roller coaster for
the last couple of days. I’m now on three different eye drops
taking two with each of three sessions a day.
Will the eye drops
lower my eye pressure?
Will I need cataract
surgery sooner than later?
Will I fly home and
where is home to have the procedure(s) done?
Will I need stints
put in eyes? Most likely, but when, sooner or later?
What are all the
options I’ll need to decide on now and into the future.
After calming down
as best as I could, I’ve gone on with my life until those questions
can be answered.
Followup: Over the
next week I had multiple appointments with Dr Alex Compton. What an
excellent Dr. and staff. After my second visit I almost felt like
family. The good doctor providing me with not only good care, but
provided me with the knowledge I needed to go forward with what will
of course continue to be a lifelong regiment and treatments for
glaucoma.
I am now on 4 eye
drops multiple times a day. The most recent being Rhopressa. A new
eye drop for lowering the eye pressure. It is very effective and
though very expensive, it will be a key to my maintaining good
eyesight. I will need to have cataract surgery which will help to
lower eye pressures and other procedures as needed sometime in the
(near) future. For now, a huge concern has been lifted.
Vision in my left
eye has recovered, but fluctuates, possibly due to the number of eye
drops I’m currently taking. Thank goodness for good health
insurance. This is one time that even though I’ve been able to
get good medical care while on the road, not being close to friends
and family has taken a bit of a toll. Thankfully I have e-mail,
texting and phones to keep in contact.
Cave City, Kentucky
One of my favorite
new cell-phone apps is “Atlas of the Obscure”. Where I found a
couple of interesting places to explore in Cave City. The first is
The Wigwam Village, one of the few still remaining across country.
Orlando had one on Orange Blossom Trail when I arrived in town in
1972. Six months later it was torn down. This Wigwam Village in
Cave City is well maintained, though after talking to a couple of
folks staying there overnight, they all agreed, it was an experience
worth doing but the beds were not comfortable. Always the first
thing you want is a good bed. Oh well, I enjoyed checking them out.
The main office/gift shop was not open when I was there.
The second stop was
to Fun-town Mountain. Now called Gun-town Mountain. On Atlas of the
Obscure is was listed as Fun-Town, an abandoned amusement
park. It changed names and was resurrected last year at Gun-town Mt.
All of the amusement rides were removed and the only thing remaining
is the chair lift/tram to the top of the mountain. Unfortunately, it
has not been revived so we were driven to the top of an exhilarating
and very steep dirt road through a dense forest. Arriving at the top
on the first day opening of the season, the only attractions were the
buildings reconfigured to look like an old western town. Poorly
recreated at that. A shoot em up show is performed throughout the
day, a Can- can show, music and a bit of humor in the
showroom/saloon. In one of the large buildings, a sparse setup for
taking vintage photos was manned by a lonely teenager. Other
buildings were locked and presumed to be empty. Would have liked to
see the old carnival rides, wonder if they are still on property, off
in the woods somewhere.
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| first day the show was a bit blah.... |
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| it's bound to get better over the summer |
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| will it become a 2nd ghost town? |
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| the only ride remaining, but not operational |
I talked to a couple
of the employees who said last year, they were open daily with few
people showing up during the middle of the week. Loosing $50,000 the
first year. This year, they are only open on weekends. Doubt it
will survive more than another season without some major partner and
funding being added. Well, I got some pictures and overall it was a
pleasant way to spend part of a day. Maybe I had a preview of a
second “future” Abandoned theme park.
Across the street
was a popular attraction, Dinosaur World. And next door to the
Gun-town Mt is Crystal Onyx Cave. There are numerous cave
experiences in the area, the largest of course is Mammoth Cave NP.
All worth exploring.
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| a very popular attraction |
Bowling Green
Kentucky
The Lost River Cave.
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| Entrance to the Lost River Cave |
About a 20 minute
drive from Franklin is another attraction called The Lost River Cave.
It has quite the history. Starting with evidence of roaming native
tribes going back 12,000 to 7,500 B.C.
Next came the Civil
War, where the hidden cavern with a river flowing through it became a
refuge for both the Confederate and Union soldiers. Kentucky was
officially a neutral state during the war. Evidence of the soldier’s
presence in the cave remain on the ceilings of upper passages where
they signed their names.
In the 1930’s the
entrance to cave was developed as a unique dining and dancing
experience. The natural air conditioning from the cave being a major
attraction. The Cavern Nite Club was a great way to relieve the
pressures of the Great Depression. Big bands and Swing bands
frequently played here and it was even written up in Life magazine.
For a time it had a
number of grist mills, first down at the caves entrance, before being
continually flooded out, later only the water wheel sat at the
entrance, with the mills protected from flooding high on top the cave
property.
After the new
highway (I-65) was built the Nashville Road/ hwy 31W which runs
directly over the top of the caves entrance, the Cavern Nite Club
closed and the cave was abandoned. From the late 60’s and early
1990’s locals would dump garbage and spring cleaning items over the
side of the old highway into the cave. In 1990 locals decided to
clean it up and restore the area, taking over 50 tons of garbage out
of the caves entrance. Restoring the river and land. Cave tours
reopened in 1998.
On my way back to
Franklin along Nashville Road, I also stopped at the Octagon Hall,
built in 1861 and completed in 1866 due to the Civil War. The house
was closed for tours it being a Holiday, but I enjoyed walking around
the grounds, taking pictures of old barns and the Octagon Hall. Kind
of nice to explore a site and just feel the energy from the land and
buildings.
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| linked to the Lost River |
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| an old building from the Dance Hall era |
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| Dinner and Dancing in "natural aircondtioning" back in the 30s - 60s. |
Octagon House and grounds:
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| outdoor kitchen |
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| log cabin on property, falling in |
Johnny Cash and June
Carter were married in Franklin in march 7, 1968 the day after they
received the Grammy for their recording of “Jackson”. They were
looking for a small town to have an intimate wedding and chose
Franklin.
The local museum in
an old jail and sheriffs residence has a unique display of graffiti
art left on the walls of the residence during the civil war. It gave
me chills to read what one of the confederate soldiers wrote on the
wall, “This is the day I’m to be tried for causing considerable
problems, I don’t know what the sentiment will be now___ bit but
___ will make_--” Touching a piece of history.
After an extended
stay in Franklin, I’m ready to head out on Saturday and will be
traveling into Illinois.
The Adventure
continues with Clear Vision, determination and wonder…
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