Bardstown KY and Hiking at Bernheim Arboretum…

The Old Kentucky Home State Park is a great little spot from which to investigate this part of Kentucky. Nestled in the town of Bardstown, KY and home to Federal Hill (built in 1812) which was the inspiration for Stephen Foster's ballad, "My Old Kentucky Home." There are 39 sites with electricity and water hookups, no sewer, and weak WIFI. There's also a restroom and shower house (somewhat dated)  Most sites are not level but are manageable. The park also is where “The Stephen Foster Story,” a Broadway-style musical is performed onstage within the State Park.

Bardstown is known as the Bourbon Capital of the World. Settled in 1780. it is Kentucky’s second oldest city and was once listed as the Most Beautiful Small Town in America. The downtown town hub is a collection of small shops, businesses, historical buildings and restaurants. We strolled around the town looking at all the architecture with some buildings  predating the 1800’s. Seeing these structures built  in the 1790’s and still standing is a testament to the craftsmanship in those days.

One such building is the Old Talbott Tavern  built in 1779. It was once a Western Stagecoach stop and the hotel had the likes of Abraham Lincoln, General Patton, Jesse James and countless others who stayed and slept in this very cool building. They have a restaurant and a bar on premises and we even had happy hour one evening at the bar. It is neat to be imbibing in such an old and historic structure. The restaurant is know for the Kentucky staple called the Kentucky Hot Brown. It is an open-faced sandwich of turkey and bacon, covered in Mornay sauce and baked or broiled until the bread is crisp and the sauce begins to brown.

Also near Bardstown is the the Barton 1792 Distillery and Visitor Center. We are not huge bourbon fans but have had fun visiting some of the distilleries in both Kentucky and Tennessee.Our tour guide was very passionate about bourbon so it was a very entertaining tour. She informed us that at any given time, Kentucky has more barrels of bourbon aging than people living in the state! Amazing!

Another fun thing to do near town is to make the 15 to 20 minute drive over to the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest. There is a $5 per vehicle charge on weekends and holidays but during the week there is free admission to the park. This arboretum is comprised of a 14,378-acre forest preserve, complete with a nature center, picnic areas, 38 miles of hiking trails and lakes as well as a short but nifty canopy tree walk.

We did a lot of short hikes and loop trails while visiting the park. There are some really nice stands of ancient timber found in the park along with quite a diversity of plants. The trails were a bit muddy and could use a little maintence but we had a great time visiting this park. Just as we were about to leave the park we had a an encounter with a snake. As I was driving away from one of the trails I noticed a large, and I do mean very large, Timber Rattlesnake crossing the edge of the parking lot.

This rattlesnake was about 5 feet in length and the girth of the snake was as big around as a small cantaloupe. The snake was moving along very slowly as is typical for this species' somewhat passive nature. It appeared to us as though the snake had recently consumed a large mammal such as a rabbit due to its mid-section girth. Nevertheless this was an impressive snake and we were certainly glad we didn’t encounter it on the trail as I am sure one or both of us would had to have changed shorts shortly afterward! Ahhhh, just another exciting day on the road of retirement…

Palmetto Island State Park and University of Louisiana Lafayette…

If you follow the blog you probably know by now that… well… We got caught in Betty’s Web! Yep we added four more days to our two week stay since there were too many fun things we wanted to do before leaving this area. A couple of other places we had fun visiting were  the Palmetto Island State Park and University of Louisiana Lafayette.

We actually visited Palmetto Island State Park a while back but I never posted about it. We went over to the park while Janie and John were here and the four of us took off  to hike on the nature trails. This park is primarily a canoe or kayaking park as there are lots of water trails but with all the food and drinks we partake in here at Betty’s we decided we really needed to find a place for a good walk .

Spring is just now really starting to show its colors and when we walked through the park we were able to spot a few of the critters enjoying the warmer temperatures. There were several alligators sunning on the banks and we even spotted a nice water snake and a few leopard frogs out and about. Yellow-rumped warblers were flitting about the trees that had blooming yellow jasmine creeping up their trunks along with the ubiquitous poison ivy.

Palmetto Island State Park is a pretty neat little park with some very nice RV camping spaces as well. The only drawback is likely mosquitos once the temperatures warm up but it was nice on this particular day.

Another place we visited was the University of Louisiana Lafayette. As many of you may know we love to visit Universities and ULL was one we wanted to see. When our daughter was playing fast pitch softball this school had a very strong softball program.

Of course we had to visit the softball field and the other athletic facilities. The main entrance has a really nice building  along with some magnificent live oaks all draped in resurrection fern. The ferns were vibrant and green as the recent rains had provided plenty of moisture for the typical brown fern fronds to absorb and become the green ferns most of us are familiar with.

We may have figured out why these Cajun’s are Ragin’ as we found several beer carts that are used to serve beer at their sporting events. I can see that I would have enjoyed going to ULL a lot…. We also took a stroll around “The Swamp” which would be a great place to unwind after a long day of studying.

This  was a another great way for us to get in one of those much needed walks while visiting Betty’s. We will actually leave here tomorrow but I will likely have two more blogs about our stay here as there is more I want to write about and remember. We plan to boondock overnight at the Delta Downs Casino near the Texas border. The next day we will drive about three hours to get to our month long stay at Holiday RV Park in College Station, Texas.

More Critters at Bentsen Rio Grande State Park

We realize that the beach is too far to visit so we continue to visit the natural areas nearby and take refuge with the critters that reside down here longer than the Winter Texans. Nearly every time I ride my bicycle into the state park next door the beautiful Blue Spiny Lizards (Sceloporus cyanogenys) love to sun along the front entry. Some of the ones we have seen are up to a foot in length.Up close their beautiful blue color is visible just under their belly. We are finding there are other interesting critters here in the RGV!

But it really is the place to come for the birds and as a result I have a few more photos of a Golden Fronted Woodpecker which by the way can actually be found all through the north into the brush lands of Oklahoma. Also a fun little bird to watch at the suet feeders are the Black Crested Titmice. These excitable little birds will flit into the feeders grabbing a bit of suet or peanut butter from the holes in the log feeders and retreat just as quickly.

However, I still just love watching the Green Jays and hope that I never tire of doing so since we will be here a month. There is one feeding station in the state park with a watering hole and the Green Jays often enjoy bathing there.

Before the cold weather that just hit the area (temperatures here overnight plummeted into the upper 40’s F and will only rise into the 60’s F) we decided it best to spend some time rearranging the outside bins and and cleaning them out. We were able to identify a few things we have been looking for and we also were able to pull a few things out that will be delivered to our son and his family for safekeeping since we aren’t using the items. This once a year (for us) task is now complete so we will just hunker down and pout about not being able to wear shorts and flip flops for the next few days…

A stroll in Lakes Regional Park…

Not too far away from Seminole Campground is a really nice regional park called the Lakes Regional Park in Lee County. This park found in central Fort Myers contains 279 acre of wetlands and woodlands. Lakes Park began as a man-made area where rock was quarried during the 1960's and today its main feature is the 158 acres of freshwater lakes that range in depth from from a few inches to 20 feet. The wetlands host many species of birds, fish, and reptiles as well as supporting abundant and varied wildlife.

The park’s approximately 2.5 miles of paved and natural pathways, along with some nice boardwalks, make for a pleasant walking place The trails are laid out nicely where every turn offers either an opportunity to see native critters or frames the perfect photographic opportunity for us amateur photographers.

While there we were treated to seeing lots of birds in all sizes from spotting an American bald eagle flying overhead to the diminutive sora rail meandering through the cattails. Seeing the sora rail was a real treat for us as they are more often heard than seen. We spotted American Alligator and a swamp rabbit as well as a brown water snake while strolling. This is a great place to come out to to get some exercise and to observe how well the native flora and fauna have blended into this urban environment.

I write this blog while sitting in the dining room of our friends house near Key West. They called and said they were in Key West and wanted to know if we could visit and as much as we hate the keys ;) we broke from our normal routine and made the 295 mile drive down to spend four or five days with them. Even during the rains in the Keys this is a beautiful place to be…