Ky, Va, Nc, Tn

[mzsmbs]

ok. i'm going on a little vacation in the end of October.. This is the rough outline of the trip: Red River Gorge, Hazard, and Black Mtn (KY Hot Springs and the surrounding area (NC,) Smokies, Murphy (NC)

I am going to do a bit of hiking, camping, and wheeling (SUV) and possibly some bicycling... definitely will hit the high points of TN and KY.. maybe even VA.. remote possibility is SC and GA..


anyway, any recommendations for things i ought to not miss? I am fairly familiar with the area.. have been to southern TN and western NC a few times.. but then maybe you guys/gals know some hidden gems.

Thanks

[BobK]

I understand the Ky horse park in Lexington is worth seeing. Sent some friends from Canada there a few years ago and they were very happy they went. There is a national park in Cumberland gap near Middlesboro, Ky. Camped there once many years ago. Carter caves on I-64 west of Ashland is interesting. Of course Mamonth cave in south western KY is the big show. I live in Northern Ky (10 miles south of Cincinnati, Oh.)

[mzsmbs]

never heard of the horse park.. will look into it further.. LBL possibly on Labor day weekend and Mommoth Cave in december with my troop so those i'll skip this time.. What'/how is Cumberland Gap? I have driven by numerous times on I75 and have always wondered about that place.. probably skip South fork this time too.. i am intersted in exploring E KY.. the mountains.. will have to look into carter caves too.

probably will stop in Newport at the Hofbrauhaus coming through..

thanks Bob

[mzsmbs]

yeah, Black Mtn. KY but Murphy NC is near Pisgah, no? have too look for my maps of the area..

chattanooga sounds initeresting.. any other scoops on that town.. it may be our last stop before heading home.. darn.. we only have 9 days.. so much to do and see..

[Botnst]

Originally Posted by narwhal

If you are going to Black Mountain (and I presume Mt. Pisgah from a previous post), you should consider Chatanooga, TN as a possible stop on the way. Some real nice water around those parts too and some great food and night life if you know where to look. It will be about 4 1/2 hours to Asheville from there. You like beer? Try the Pickle Barrel in Chatt. They also have the largest fresh water acquarium in the world if you are into that sort of thing (I am).

Edit: I didn't see Black Mountain (KY). Post still stands though, if you are headed to Pisgah.

See Rock City and Ruby Falls.

(NO Don't!! Is it still extant? When I was a kid every barn had that advertisement painted on the roof or side.)

[mzsmbs]

Originally Posted by Botnst

See Rock City and Ruby Falls.

(NO Don't!! Is it still extant? When I was a kid every barn had that advertisement painted on the roof or side.)

lol. we still have those up here.. there are a few more in KY...

[BamaMB]

Never understood why people would pay money to watch poor old Ruby fall.

[Frank X. Morris]

Howdy mzsmbs,
Been to the horse park in Lexington twice for dog events of all things. Check for schedule of events. If you like horses try to go for the Arabian horse event.

[BobK]

Ok mzsmbs, just lemme know when you are going to be in N. KY and maybe I'll meet you at Hofbrauhaus. There are a few other members in the area. Might be fun to get together.

[benzene]

GA is a remote possibility?! Well, heck with you then!

[mzsmbs]

Originally Posted by BobK

Ok mzsmbs, just lemme know when you are going to be in N. KY and maybe I'll meet you at Hofbrauhaus. There are a few other members in the area. Might be fun to get together.

i will, you know where that is, right? just E of downtown on the river..

[mzsmbs]

Originally Posted by benzene

GA is a remote possibility?! Well, heck with you then!

lol.. ok baby, meet me at brasstown or springer.. hahaha

[mzsmbs]

OK, a few KY specific Qs:

There is a ferry somewhere near Augusta KY that runs accross to OH.. any ideas how I could find out more about it?

How/what is in the area of Red River Gorge and Natural bridges?

Cumberland Gap area, anything there of any significance?

anything else E of I75?

thanks

[peragro]

I grew up in Ky., down near Bowling Green. Mammoth Cave is really cool if you like geology or really big holes in the ground. Don't go if you're clausterphobic. There's a 2 hour tour that's kinda nice. It's also beutiful to just walk around the woods in the park. Lotsa deer, wild turkeys, and so on. If you're into whiskey you have to stop at one of the distillerys. I like the setup they have at Maker's Mark in Loretto. I'm sure some of the small batch burboun places are cool too, I've just never been to them. Seagrams, or maybe it's the Early Times one is ok if you like modern production line stuff. Horse Park in Lexington is nice (went to grad school at UK). If it's open and you can swing it head to the horse races. Try and get as close to the track as you can. There's nothing like watching/feeling several tons of horses racing towards you. Red Mile track is in Lexington, it's the kinda redneck hangout with cart racing and all but still fun. There's a restaurant in Lexington called Lynagh's Shamrock (couple of locations); lotsa good irish beer and irish nachos (like the mexican variety except with potatos). I wish they had the like here in CA. Charlie Browns is a nice hole in the wall bar. If you like hiking there's tons of it to the east of Lexington. Some nice rock bridges (natural) that you can free climb if you're freeking stupid, I'm not that fond of dangling 200 feet in the air by my fingernails. Bardstown, in the middle of the state is nice. It's where a lot of the distillerys are. Lots of craft type places there, heavily Catholic thus monostaries and nunneries. Like Botnst I've seen the signs for Rock City all through my childhood. I never have been there though. BTW, at risk of starting another flame war on this thread... Ky has the best BBQ places in the country, be sure to stop and sample as many as you can.

[mzsmbs]

yeah, the BBQ places in Louisville are good fo sho..

where is Jack Daniels distillery? it's in KY somewhere, no?