September 18
We’ve been traveling around for 2 weeks. There is much to do and see right here in Barkley Lake and Grand Rivers. The Land Between the Lakes (LBL) is a National Recreation Area with Barkley Lake on the East side and Kentucky Lake on the West. With 170,000 acres and 300 miles of undeveloped shoreline the LBL offers many outdoor activities.
- The Elk and Bison Prairie is a drive-through park where we encountered 30 buffalo resting along the road. Lots of turkeys sneaking around the creeks. No elk, but heck we see them all the time in Idaho.
- Golden Pond Planetarium with hourly programs
- Woodlands Nature Station with numerous trails
- The Homeplace is a rural working farm and living history museum that appears much as it would have in the mid-19th century with park “interpreters” dressed in period clothes. Women shelling peas from the on-site garden, and quilting on ancient frames. Blacksmith shop, tool shed, tobacco barn, corn crib, spring house, smoke house, and chickens scratching around your feet as you stroll the property. Nothing modern is visible. All tools and equipment and household furnishing are original. This old farm girl really liked it!
Drove to Nashville, didn’t like it. Dirty, noisy town. We walked around The District, listened to all the country singer wannbees, and stayed at the Marriott…long HOT bath was super. We took the pedestrian bridge across the Cumberland River and spied “Hydrophilic” (John and Ann Marie Tyrell) tied to the city docks at the City Walk…beautiful park. We should have taken in the museums and various historic sites, but we’d only planned on one day AND we had to keep Inky boarded. Hated that.
Lovers on the Pedestrian Bridge
We’ve been to Paducah several times. Founded in 1827 by Lewis and Clark it is a lovely town with lots of charm. The historic district boasts of numerous shops, trendy restaurants, art galleries, and museums. Lots of Civil War history. The riverfront is amazing. Overlooking the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee rivers, it is the site of historic markers, fireworks, concerts, festivals and arrival of the Queen of the Mississippi paddle boat. We were there when they christened a new towboat.
We especially enjoyed driving down the many historic streets with multi story mansions, bricked porches, elaborate ironwork fencing, double balconies lined with stately pillars and graceful arches. Very pretty.
Portraits of Paducah’s past are displayed from the beginning of time up to the modern era on 50 life-sized murals…a walk through time! As a UNESCO Creative City, Paducah welcomes artists from around the world. It is the home of the National Quilt Museum and the American Quilter’s Society. Paducah? Go figure!
There are 3 pools at GTB and numerous harbors. We swim or take a boat ride and drop anchor for a few hours of swimming, then motor home for a quiet evening in our quiet harbor on Pier 10.
While we appreciate the serenity at Pier 10, we have little interaction with the transient Loopers who are moored at the main marina docks for a few days on their way south. They hang out together and tell their stories, encourage and inform each other. We were placed at Pier 10 because we arrived early and we are staying for several weeks. We’ve been taking our dinghy to the main docks to meet other Loopers and be a part of all that fun.
