Kentucky Bourbon Trail -
Part I: It's the Water...
(Reprinted with permission from
www.onthefox.com)
As an introduction, allow me to enter just a bit of background about Kentucky.
The state name seems to have either Iroquois
or Shawnee origin, perhaps meaning "meadow". Numerous phonetic spellings
from that heritage, like geda'geh, kenhtà:ke,
këhta’keh or
even Ken-tah-ten, make it somewhat
easier to see where the spelling of Kentucky came from.
But if anyone were ever to ask:
"What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the
word 'Kentucky' mentioned", what would you say? Mammoth Cave?
Well, perhaps. After all, the signs for it seem to be on every barn and
billboard south of Central Illinois or Indiana.
However, there is
so much more than just caves associated with the Bluegrass State. In a
very long list of activities and attractions available in nine
different areas of the state -- selected for geographical and other
similarities -- one could easily include such diverse interests as horses
(Kentucky Derby Festival, Louisville), Daniel Boone, the
Civil War and even bourbon... at the very least. The full list
includes numerous state parks, several hundred festivals and events,
countless caves, lakes, and plenty of locations that are brimming with a
rich cultural heritage -- all in a state blessed with colorful and
interesting history, showcasing the Unbridled Spirit of the
Commonwealth of Kentucky.
When I recently decided that I wanted to take some time to
discover a bit more about the state that I had driven through many times, but
never bothered to stop in for more than a fresh tank of gas on my way
farther south, I realized it could be a very
difficult task. Promising myself that this time would be different...
I soon realized that there is a really interesting connection
between two of Kentucky's most incredible and valuable resources: water and
thoroughbreds. More on that later... the plan had been set.
It was evident early on that I may
have bitten off more than I could chew in terms of the number of things
that I had chosen to do, but I didn't mind. It is only about six hours
from my house to Louisville, so I figured that a return trip could be easily
accomplished if necessary. Deciding that it might be wiser to take
an extra day on this trip, and not take the route around Chicago and the lake since (1)
construction on Interstate 294 has not yet been completed and (2) we would
lose an hour due to a time change, our first night was spent at a new and
really
nice
Homewood Suites in Champaign, Illinois, enabling us to get an early
start the next morning from a point closer to our destination. Although we probably drove an extra
80-90 miles by first going west to pick up Route 39, it was well worth the extra time; the traffic
on was
virtually non-existent.
Our first stop the next day was the capitol
city of Frankfort, Kentucky. Located in the central portion of the
state on an S-shaped curve in the
Kentucky River, Frankfort may be small
(the population is less than 30,000) but is well known for having one of the
most beautiful capitol buildings in the country. It is also quite easy
to get in to and out of Frankfort, as there are some eight roads
leading in and out of it. There is some very interesting and colorful history
regarding
the capitol of Kentucky and even which particular city would be the capitol...
But rather than try to tell it all here, my suggestion is to check it out
at this
Kentucky website. Suffice it
to say that the new capitol building in Frankfort is beautiful and in
a very stunning location. The old building is still there in Frankfort too, and
it's worth the trip to check them both out. Of particular note is a
thirty-four-foot in diameter,
hundred-ton "living" clock in front of the new
Capitol that boasts 10,000 plants grown in greenhouses near the capitol --
very cool!
For me, no trip to Kentucky would have
been complete without a stop at the gravesite of one of my favorite people
in history, Daniel Boone. As a kid I was hardly ever seen without my
coonskin cap! Rest assured that Daniel was as important to Kentucky as
he was to other areas of the early frontier, having been mostly responsible
for the exploration and settlement of Kentucky, founding Boonesborough in
1775 after his discovery of the Cumberland Gap, bringing numerous settlers
to the state and defending them against the native Indian raids.
Although born in Pennsylvania in 1734, Daniel and his wife Rebecca have now
been reinterred on a bluff high above the Kentucky River in Frankfort, and
overlooking the land he so loved, from what is an incredibly gorgeous
Kentucky vista.
We also had time for a brief stop at the
Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial. A giant sundial , designed so that
the shadow of the gleaming stainless steel gnomon touches -- on the
anniversary of their death -- the names of all 1,103 Kentuckians who gave
their lives in the conflict and 23 who are missing in action. It is a
brilliant tribute to those brave soldiers and an incredibly solemn reminder
of the price that we continue to pay for our freedom.
"The location
of each name is fixed mathematically…by the date of casualty, the
geographic location of the memorial, the height of the gnomon and the
physics of solar movement. The stones were then designed and cut to
avoid dividing any individual name. The resulting radial-concentric
joint pattern suggests a "web", symbolic of the entangling nature of
this war."
It was an emotional
place to visit; an even more difficult place to leave. But it was
getting late, and we had an appointment that I intended to keep. So,
with a mental salute and a brief prayer, we left the Memorial. It was
time to meet Angela Traver, Public Relations Manager for
Buffalo Trace
Distillery.
Part II: Go Climb a Rock...
