The Amish, Civil War, and Moonshine

 I just love it when we have a free day and nothing planned. Originally we decided to stay an extra day so that we could explore Mammoth Caves National Park.  We felt like we got a taste of it yesterday so decided instead to explore the area around us today.  

We had noticed that there were several Amish stores and bakeries in the area so thought we’d see what that was about. The first one seemed to be kind of touristy, but it was fun to see the Amish people in their traditional dress working in the store.  From there, as we were driving along, we saw a sign for a Civil War battlefield.  We of course had to check it out. It was on a property that had been occupied by both confederate and union troops.  The fight was to protect and/or destroy a railroad bridge that was a major source of transport during the war.  It was only partly damaged during this skirmish and continued to be used throughout the rest of the war.  The property we visited was part of a plantation and the house and summer kitchen are still there.  With the exception of a young family, we were the only ones there.  It was so quiet and rural that it wasn’t hard at all to imagine what the family who lived there saw transpiring on the property in front of them.  This particular battle was the most important one that happened in Kentucky.  It was oddly moving to be standing in this place.  

As we continued to drive along, we came across another Amish market.  This one, being more rural, clearly wasn’t a tourist trap.  We watched the young Amish women making bread and donuts in the back, and the market had lots of homemade baked goods.  We picked up some pumpkin bread and a bag full of English muffins for $.99 We also saw an Amish couple come out of the market with their purchases in a shopping cart and load their items in their horse and buggy! So fun! 

From there, we drove through miles and miles of farmland and narrow country roads.  Kentucky is full of rolling hills, green green pastures, and very tidy farms.  We knew we were in Amish country by all the horse poop on the roads.  We saw several horse and buggies as we drove along, and actually got stuck behind one for a while.  We were in a no passing area due to curves, so we drove slower than Steve walks (lol) until the horse decided to pick up the pace a bit.  We were finally able to get around them, but truly I didn’t mind.  It was such an interesting experience.  And all the Amish folks waved anytime we passed them.  

We came across another farmers market, this one in an old barn, so we went in.  We got some beautiful veggies and fruit for $10.  All of it was grown on site.  So fun!  I can’t wait to bite into one of those peaches! We had some of the corn for dinner tonight… delicious!

At this point we were starting to feel a bit parched.  Fortunately, I had found a local, family run distillery nearby.  They’ve only been in business a few years, but they have the recipe for a bourbon that is the only one that had been legal before, DURING, and after prohibition.  Evidently it was considered ‘medicine’ so all people had to do was get a prescription and take it down to the pharmacy. In the 60s, the company went out of business, and it wasn’t until now that the recipe and label were put back into production.  We met the distiller, a young man named Luke, who got his training in Washington State.  He also makes moonshine, and hoo-boy am I a fan!  As I wrote this, I am drinking some Baileys mixed with caramel moonshine.  Yummmmmmmmm! 

We continued on and stopped again at the new taphouse that we visited last night.  They’ve only been open a few days so we were glad to patronize them as they get their new business up and running. 

By the time we got back to the rv we were hungry and Maggie was happy to see us.  We had some spaghetti I had made and frozen at home along with a salad and some of the corn we bought.  

Our timing was good because we had a brief but loud thunder storm roll through after we got back.  I was glad we were here for Maggie since thunder storms are right up there with fireworks as far as her fear-factor goes.  

Just a Big Hole In The Ground

(Steve, writing from Cave City, Kentucky)

Short day on the road today. Pam left early to pick up Maggie at Camp Bow Wow where she lived while Pam and I were acting outrageously in rooftop bars on Broadway in Nashville.  Turns out Maggie was fine. I wasn’t. However, even alcohol toxicity couldn’t keep me from closing up the RV and heading down the road to our next stop in Cave City, Kentucky.  Repeat after me ……. WHAT A GUY!

Cave City. Expected it to be a real hole (pun intended) 

 

but it turns out it’s a nice little town right outside of Mammoth Cave National Park.  We are spending two nights here at Singing Hills RV Park. It’s a small park behind an older home. After spending nights in gravel parking lots, having space between coaches, green grass, and very nice hosts is a pleasant change. We arrived in the late morning and settled in.

After arriving we quickly set up. Having our little truck is working out well. Now everything that used to require kneeling or belly-crawling to remove from the lower storage bins is easy - we just grab it out of the truck bed. Maggie seems to have recovered from her 4th of July fireworks trauma and was comfortable with the prospect of our leaving to investigate the cave and visitor center.

Once in the park we scored a new memento. We collect states and National Parks. We record the states we’ve visited by coloring them in on a little fabric map we have hanging in our kitchen/living/dining/bedroom area (cozy little rig). The parks are generally too large to bring home so, instead, we settle for a pin we can stick on our U.S.map. Pam found one with little bats that slide across the pin like they are flying. We got to add that pin and to color in the state of Kentucky. We colored it green. After all our time in the brown desert, green is a wonderful color. Kentucky has been a green drive. It’s really a lush state nestled at the foot of the Appalachians. 

This is the largest cave complex in the world with 460+ miles of mapped rooms and passages and around 600 miles of cave to yet be mapped. We had been debating which of the cave tours to take since Pam has bum knees that bother her on descents or going down stairs.  Some of the tours have upwards of five or six hundred steps along the way. Those didn’t sound pleasant so we opted for a self guided tour. In doing so we gave up seeing some of the more remote and spectacular sights but saved ourselves many hundreds of steps to climb and preserved Pam’s ability to walk the next day.

After our cave jaunt we spent a bit of time in the visitor center watching the films and looking at the displays that depict the geology of the area, formation of the caves, use by indigenous people thousands of years ago, early saltpeter mining by slaves, and final incorporation into the Park System in the 40’s. That all made us thirsty. Turns out a new establishment (Pourters Pub and Kitchen) just opened in town. Being new there wasn’t a lot of reviews to check but we looked carefully and discovered the letters IPA in the name of the place. We went, dined on ultra-processed cheese and chips, and awarded the place a B+. An A rating requires a bit more hopiness in the finish.

Back at the RV we set up chairs and sat a bit - given the heat and humidity since we left this was the first time we were able. Lots of birds! Nature came to visit with the bird calls, sound of crickets, and wind blowing through the trees. We also heard laughter and voices nearby. Turns out there were kids riding bikes and doing the stupid things you’re supposed to do as a kid - including playing together. No video games, no social media, and no oppressively over-protective parents negotiating play dates. If these parents aren’t careful their kids might grow up to be normal.

All in all, a good day.