A Lincoln Boyhood Home, Typical Eastern KY Road, Turtle Rescue, Crossing Ohio River
It's been incredibly humid since crossing the Mississippi a little better today but still pretty bad. I'm currently in Booneville, KY with hopes of making it to Hazard, KY this evening. Not sure if that's the Bo and Luke Duke town but we'll see. Last Thursday I crossed the Ohio river by Ferry into KY. On the IL side the city was Cave In Rock named for a massive cave that water eroded in the limestone. On the KY side it was immediately Amish country, they are very much intrigued by the cyclists passing by and it was very enjoyable talking with some of them, I made certain to let them know that I love electricty, cars, and such....some of them do too. Friday I camped at Falls of Rough, KY really just a large reservoir tourist type spot. Friday was the last night that I camped as the humidity has been unbearable although that's not what I was referring to in the title. In KY there are counties and/or towns that do not sell alcohol; Dry is nothing, Moist is only in restaurants / bars, Wet is normal. I very much realize that I'm smack in the middle of the Bible Belt but I must admit I do not feel any more virtuous in the Dry areas. On the positive side I do see much less roadside litter in the Dry areas. The amount of beer cans on the side of the road in KY is alarming....Bud Light is certainly the most popular. Saturday was Falls of Rough to Bardstown where I began to get caught up in the Lincoln triangle. Turns out that Abraham Lincoln was born in KY and spent his first 14 years here. Perhaps just me but I always thought he was from IL.....The Land Of Lincoln, actually he moved to IL at 35 to run for Senate sort of like Hillary Clinton "comes from NY". Anyway, there are at least 5 boyhood homes of Lincoln along with the birthplace the place he almost drowned, the tree he fell out of, etc.... His family moved around Hodgenville, KY quite a bit. Early on KY was never surveyed well and folks were constantly battling over clean land deeds the Lincolns always seemed to loose. The Lincolns moved to IN when Abraham was 14 as result of his father being outspoken on slavery. Day 40 of this trip, yesterday, was from Bardstown to Berea, passed a few more Lincoln homesteads....at this point the Lincoln thing is getting a bit silly. He was born in 1809 so of course the big bicentennial is approaching. Last several days the roads have been really small one laners meandering around little hills or knobs. This morning those little hills have been getting larger as I'm entering into Appalachia the last mountain range of this trip. I'm giving up on roadkill pictures as the humidity is making them too disgusting even for me. Instead I'm shifting to preventing roadkill by removing turtles from the road so far I'm up to 13......they probably crawl right back as soon as I leave. Earlier today on roughly a 3 miles stretch I noticed that just about every mailbox had the same last name, must be chaos for the Postal Service. Onward!!!
7 comments:
Hey Bill,
This is my first post but I've been following your ride. Catching up one your last few posts today. Living in Texas all my life, I find it funny that Dry counties are a novelty to you. Spent many a roadtrip in college passing through dry counties in Texas, waiting for the next wet county to pick up more "road sodas". Of course, this is in Texas where there are tubs of beer singles on ice in every gas station convenience store. We were one of the last states to adopt an open container law, and some habits die hard I guess. Too bad you aren't making it to Texas to enjoy this... you came fairly close to the Panhandle though. And you haven't lived until you've held a live armadillo in your hands. They're actually pretty tame. And no, they don't give you leprosy, an old Texas wive's tale. Little buggers keep digging up my front yard looking for grubs....
Also, I am proud to hear of a fellow turtle mover. My kids are very accustomed to me jamming on the brakes, pulling over, and running back to move a turtle out of the road. I moved a really great Alligator Snapping Turtle on Saturday, I'll send you a pic in email.
Bill-
You are a fuckin lunatic!!!! But I wouldnt expect anything less. Sounds like a greta trip and I am glad to see that the good ol Bill has not lost his direction. I was talking with Chuck the other day and he was telling me about this. So he called Heitman and had him text me your site. I am on the Musconetcong River if you need a place to stay when you get to town. Nice job Bill!!!! Keep us all posted on your whereabouts.
all the best
Keith
Hi Bill,
You are seeing some spectacular sites. Hope you are enjoying it all. Your photos say you are enjoying most of it. Take care and may the wind be always at your back.
Love
Aunt Janice & Uncle Ron
Don't forget when you 'save' turtles to put them on the side of the road that they were heading to, otherwise they will just turn around. Also, wanted to thank you for reminding me of your nasty feet! It's taken me years to block that sight from my memory! Have you heard from Guinness? Can't wait to see you if you make it home!
I'm glad you are saving turtles. You should adopt one for the remainder of the trip and deliver him to New Jersey.
You should also name him Canada.
Turtle soup Bill. Turtle soup...
Always pictured you a turtle saver :)
Living down by the river, huh? I'll find you for sure.
I too wish for the wind to always be at my back but it is rarely the case.
Yes, I telepathically communicate with the Guiness.
I've painted a maple leaf on my most recent save and am in the process of FedEX'ing it to you.
Turtle soup....no way I think I now have a different perspective as of late I've been so close to becoming road kill myself.
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