Post 34 On the Road Again- Kentucky

 

August 22, 2026: On the Road, Again!

Odometer 23,022 miles, 9:30 am, Amherst, MA, paid $3.60 for gas with our Cumbies app.

We are heading westward to finish seeing the states that we did not get to on our previous 10-month journey. So, off we go in our wonderful red van that we have named Rosie. Our goal for our first few days is to get to Kentucky fairly quickly.

Unlike last July and having made no advance reservations, we have secured campground reservations all the way into the second week of October. We have also made some one-night reservations through Harvest Hosts.

On our first night out, we revisited Allegheny Creek Brewery located in the rolling hills of Mt. Bethel, PA. We stayed there in May on the last night of our travel back to Massachusetts. There were four other campers parked with us near the back horse corral. At some point, we all went down to the brewery to sample their beer and have a meal. That evening there was a bald eagle looking for its dinner sitting on a nearby power pole. It was back in the morning looking for breakfast. 

Next, we stayed overnight in Hagerstown, MD in Antietam Brewery’s parking lot.  This brewery is located in an industrial park.  Oh wait, is that a prison next door??  Yes, indeed it is…  There were 4 other campers staying the night, so we felt quite safe. The beer flight was great – the winning brews were Witness Tree Brown and Oktoberfest! A nice breeze was blowing into their covered outdoor patio while we sipped, shared a burger and played Cribbage and Rummikub.

Next, in Weston, WV we overnighted under a shady tree at Lambert’s Winery. We tasted vintage wines, bought a couple of bottles and enjoyed relaxing on their beautiful outdoor space. Lambert’s is a lovely wedding venue for the region. Our host was the bees knees as was their dog, Vino.

We made it to Kentucky! The state park campground at Taylorsville Lake was beautiful, the sites well taken care of and the bathhouse had recently been renovated. We were here for Bourbon, horses and whatever other adventure we could find.

The next morning, we drove about an hour to the Kentucky Horse Park in Frankfort. It was a beautiful day to be outside. The visitor center was running two or three video presentations about the park in different theaters. Outside, there were many opportunities to be among horses.

The Breeds Barn housed numerous breeds – Percheron, Clydesdale, Arabian, Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse…

The Big Barn – the largest horse barn in America, built in 1897 and added on to in the 1920’s. It is 463 ft long and 74 ft wide. In 2009, it was awarded federal money to reinforce its trusses to preserve its structure. Many draft horses have stalls in the Big Barn. The tack room was incredible – draft horse tack is heavy, cumbersome and bigger that the two of us!

We got to see a Clydesdale getting an x-ray! 

The remodeled, Kids Barn was a gem! Lots of hands-on learning about horse care, anatomy, videos with rider perspectives, practice braiding manes and tails, racing, western and English saddles and their parts…

We watched two different shows – a show of champions and a breed showcase. Not only race track winners, but sulky horse racing, too.

The park’s International Museum of the Horse is a Smithsonian Affiliate and explored the history of horses and their relationship with humans. The exhibits, artifacts and memorabilia were all excellent.

Our only disappointment was that racing season doesn't start until October, so no chance to bet on the ponies this trip.

Bourbon tasting time! We were able to get tickets for a tasting and tour at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort. Our tour was fun and informative. The oak Bourbon barrels are only used once, then recycled on property into benches, planters, plaques and gift shop merch. We learned that a rickhouse in the Bourbon industry is a warehouse that has interior frames called Ricks (or racks) that stack and support aging whiskey barrels. Huh. That’s why there are so many big warehouses near distilleries – like upwards of 20 or more per distillery! Bourbon barrels age in the rickhouse for no less than 5-7 years, depending on the variety. Special variety barrels may be aged 12 or more years. The more years in the barrel, the more expensive the bottle.  Over the years some of the whiskey evaporates.  What started off as a 50 gallon barrel might only have 8-10 gallons after 20 years, hence the high price tag, sometimes thousands of dollars a bottle.

While in Frankfort, we visited the Rebecca Ruth Candy Store. It was a must-do recommended stop for us by our friends, Tracey and Daiva. Can I tell you how delicious bourbon balls are.  They are a chocolate with a bourbon flavored cream center and a pecan on the top.  Their bourbon balls were the best, as they should be since they invented them!  They make different flavors and offer special bourbon balls made from different brands of bourbon.

After our fun day in Lexington and Frankfort, we went to Bardstown, the “Bourbon Capital of the World”. Cindy did a tasting and tour of Bardstown Distillery.  A bit different than the other distilleries since Bardstown is new, only 10 years old.  They are using all the latest equipment and techniques compared to the other distilleries that have been making bourbon for over a hundred years.

We had lunch at the Talbott Tavern for a famous Kentucky Hot Brown sandwich. It is hot, but not brown  It's named after the Brown Hotel where it was invented. It's an open faced sandwich made with Texas toast, a sliced of turkey and ham,  bacon, tomato and Mornay sauce.  It was a filling lunch!  The location and a Hot Brown was a recommendation from our friend Louise, who grew up in Bardstown. Oh, did we mention the Bourbon bar where you can choose from 200 brands of boubon?

We stopped at one more distillery on our way out of town to Paducah, Willett Distillery. 

Well, so many distilleries and not enough weeks to do the whole Bourbon trail…Oh, well.

Next up, Mammoth Cave National Park and camping in the park. We dry camped – no electric or water to hook up to, but had a nice shady site. The temperatures have been in the mid to high 90’s this week, ugh. The NP has been renovating their services – remodeled visitor center, more lodging and a brand new lodge with food and souvenir concessions. The NP evening ranger program at night was in a great amphitheater complete with a state-of-the-art media screen. We were there for the lunar eclipse special programming. Great!

We took the Domes and Dripstones 2-hour tour of the cave. As of this writing there are 420 miles of connected caves, making Mammoth the longest cave system in the world.

After Mammoth, we headed on over to Paducah, KY to visit the National Quilt Museum. Paducah is known as Quilt City and the home of Dippin’ Dots. It was another hot day, so being inside enjoying the quilt exhibits was just what we needed. I (Cindy) came away inspired to do more quilting. When we were done at the museum, we went across the street to Paducah Beer Werks for a nice cold brew and spinach dip appetizer. That hit the spot.

The quilt below is not a quilt, but a wood carving of a quilt.  It is a solid piece of wood, carved and painted to look like a hanging quilt.  The texture and the folds made it look just like a real quilt.  It was just as amazing as the quilts in the museum!

Where are we going next? Missouri, to Gateway Arch National Park!