As you’re planning your Labor Day weekend activities, you’ll definitely want to keep the Jefferson Davis State Historic Site in mind.
As part of the Labor Day holiday weekend festivities, you can see an impressive collection of reproduction Civil War flags, both Confederate and Union.
The flags, by Spencer and Linda Brewer of Central City, represent units from Kentucky and Tennessee. The flags will be on display outside the museum.
Jefferson Davis State Historic Site marks the birthplace of the Confederate president, Jefferson Davis. Kentucky has always taken pride in the fact that the President of the Union (Abraham Lincoln) as well as the President of the Confederacy (Jefferson Davis) were BOTH born in Kentucky.
The park features a 351-foot monument that was completed in 1924 and includes an elevator. The site also has a museum and gift shop. There is also a picnic area on the park grounds.
The gift shop features Kentucky handcrafts, souvenirs, books and Civil War memorabilia. The site is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through October. There is a fee for the museum and monument.
The site is 9 miles east of Hopkinsville on U.S. 68.
Fireworks Of Fishing This Weekend On “Kentucky Afield” TV
In honor of the Fourth of July weekend, Kentucky Afield is having their own kind of fireworks. They’ll feature a retrospective of the most exciting fishing trips in recent years on “Kentucky Afield” television this weekend, July 3 and 4.
The fun begins in eastern Kentucky on the Little Sandy River. There, one fish whose bite says ka-boom is muskellunge. As showcased on the “Best of Kentucky Afield Fishing” DVD, host Tim Farmer tags along with local expert Bob Elliott.
On the opposite end of the state, viewers will visit Kentucky Lake for bluegill with Roy Kenady. The Christian County resident puts Farmer on an excellent catch, as the fish are ready to spawn.
At Lake Barkley, one species anglers circle in red is the redear sunfish. Some call them shellcrackers, but today, they are like firecrackers. Farmer takes notes from Jack Devor on his homemade jigs and baits that sweeten the catch.
“Kentucky Afield” is a production of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. It is the longest continuously running outdoor television show in the nation. The program airs at 8:30 p.m. Eastern /7:30 p.m. Central Saturdays, and repeats at 4 p.m. Eastern/3 p.m. Central Sundays on KET 1. To see the latest news about “Kentucky Afield” television and view your favorite show segments from the past, sign up today for the electronic newsletter. Visit fw.ky.gov on the Internet and click the Kentucky Afield Newsletter icon.
Lake Barkley State Resort Park will celebrate Independence Day with fireworks on Sunday, July 4th at the beach. The fireworks are sponsored by the Friends of Lake Barkley State Resort Park and the generous support of the Lake Barkley community. There will be activities all afternoon at the beach, food and ice cream vendors, live music starting at 7p.m. and fireworks start about 9p.m.
Ice cream? Fireworks? Now where are you going to beat that?!
What a super cool idea for all of you mad hatters! Kentucky Derby hats is one of Kentucky’s most beautiful and popular traditions, dating back over 100 years!
Now, thanks to Dee’s in Louisville, you can wax creative and create your very own, highly unique and original Kentucky Derby hat. By taking a “Derby Hat Decorating Class” at Dee’s Crafts in Louisville, Kentucky, you can ensure that your hat turns out exactly how you want it to.
Dee’s own designers will help participants create awe-inspiring and head-turning hats for Oaks, Derby, Easter, and other special spring occasions.
Apparently these hat decorating classes were so popular last year that the Shelbyville Road store (5045 Shelbyville Road) is holding three classes this month. Future hat designers can choose from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 13th, or 6 to 8 p.m. March 17th or March 24th.
There will be unadorned hats in many shapes and sizes to choose from or you can bring one of your own. The decorations, of course, must be purchased at Dee’s and will include a gorgeous selection of feathers, ribbon, and flowers.
The fee is $20, plus the cost of materials. Class size is limited, so call to register asap. Call (502) 896-6755.
Dee’s is at 5045 Shelbyville Road – Louisville, Kentucky.
Cold weather need not put a damper on adventures during winter months. Head for the great outdoors and work up some heat and excitement while ATV-ing, caving, hiking, elk viewing, hunting and horseback riding. Kentucky scenery provides a beautiful backdrop for exploring its natural beauty.
The most temperate discoveries are to be made in underground exploration of miles and miles of caves where temperatures remain nearly constant in the mid-50s year-round. Diamond Caverns in Park City has halls lined with cascading calcite and many other visual jewels. Winter tours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days a week. Admission is $16 for adults, $8 for children 4-12, and ages three and under enter free. The caves are closed Christmas and New Year’s Day. Call 270-749-2233 or visit www.diamondcaverns.com.
Several Kentucky venues provide the thrill of spotting American Bald Eagles in their natural winter habitat. There are several trips and packages to choose from across the southern parts of the state. The Ballard County Wildlife Management Area in La Center, about 25 miles west of Paducah, has two tours in January that are organized by Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park (800-325-0146). Or board the yacht CQ Princess to spy majestic birds from the water. Cruises are scheduled at Kentucky Dam Village Jan. 15-17, Lake Barkley State Resort Park Jan. 29-31 (800-325-1708), and Kenlake State Resort Park Feb. 5-7 (800-325-0143). At Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park, you can view the birds from custom barges Jan. 15-16, Jan. 22-23 and Feb. 5-6 (800-325-2282). Tickets cost $20 to $55 per person. Van tours are also offered. More info is available at www.parks.ky.gov.
Gear up and zip off on an off-road ATV for some four-wheel action. Black Mountain Off-Road Adventure Park in Harlan has a year-round schedule but the views are unique during colder months. Make repeat treks with a 30-day permit for $20 or $35 gets you a pass for a full year of roaring action. The park has 7,000 acres and trails that range from easy for beginners to moderate and extreme for the more adventuresome. Find out more by calling 606-573-9156 or visit www.harlancountytrails.com.
Elk viewing is the fastest growing tourism attraction in the nation and the impressive Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area is a spectacular way to view elk and bison in the wild. Drive your own vehicle for a self-guided tour of the prairie lands being restored to their natural state on a 3.5 mile paved loop that’s open dawn to dusk. With leaves gone in winter, spotting these wild animals in an area where they once roamed freely gets a bit easier. You’ll pay $5 per car at LBL’s Golden Pond visitor center or call for information about van tours. You can enter via U.S. 68 from Cadiz on the east or Aurora on the west. Call 270-924-2000 or check out www.lbl.org.
Hike long or short trails and you just may catch native wildlife in their habitat as well as incredible vistas at any number of Kentucky’s more than 50 state parks. Some of the most beautiful scenery in the country is along miles of trails that wind through any part of the state. Venture to Pine Mountain State Resort Park (800-325-1712) in southeastern Kentucky near Cumberland Gap and take your pick as to how far you want to venture and how strenuous you want to be along wooded areas where deer, rabbits, squirrels and many types of birds can be spotted. Kentucky’s 17 resort parks located throughout the state have lodges with stunning views of the natural world and cozy accommodations in lodges and cabins. Lodge dining rooms serve three meals so leave the food prep and clean up to others after a day in the great outdoors. Special activities and programs run through the winter and into early spring. Visit www.parks.ky.gov for a rundown on what’s available at each park and which special room rates apply.
Whether you’re a novice or experienced rider, saddle up and take in winter landscapes from horseback. Holly Creek Farms in Campton (www.hollycreekfarms.com) provides the horse and guidance for trail rides along wooded terrain in the foothills of the Appalachians just off the Daniel Boone Parkway. They also offer guided ATV rides and hiking around the farm. Call to reserve a spot (606-668-3180) and to choose how long you want to sit in the saddle. In the Bluegrass, Big Red Stables near Harrodsburg offers riding on spotted saddle horses or Tennessee walking horses all year round. Riding lessons and trail rides are great winter time adventures. Make it a weekend getaway to nearby Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill or Beaumont Inn in Harrodsburg and kick back in historic surroundings with modern amenities. Group rates at Big Red are available. Make an appointment and check fees by calling 859-734-3118.
Hunters can find plenty of winter time game in portions of the more than 700,000 acre Daniel Boone National Forest where hunting is permitted. For seasons and restrictions, consult www.fs.fed.us/r8/boone/recreation/hunting.shtml or go to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Web site at www.kdfwr.state.ky.us and click on Hunting and Trapping. Licenses may be purchased at the site, too. Regulations in some cases vary by county. Natural Bridge State Resort Park is in the forest and has spectacular overlooks throughout.
Hunting options are available at the John A. Kleber Wildlife Management Area between Owenton and Frankfort, including deer, wild turkey, rabbit, squirrel, raccoon, quail and waterfowl. Hiking, fishing and wildlife viewing are also popular at the 2,600 acre preserve. Call 502-535-6335 or check htttp://fw.ky.gov/kfwis/viewable/kleber_map.pdf for more information.
Brave the elements, get in gear and head outside to generate some heat of your own on winter time adventures. For more ideas about Kentucky’s many outdoor options during the season, visit www.kentuckytourism.com and click on Things to Do, then Great Outdoors.
So, are you as excited as I am about UK Basketball this year?! I’d almost forgotten what it felt like to bleed blue again – my veins (as well as the program) had been clogged up for a few years.
We’re pulling out all the stops in our house – the entire place is slowly becomming blue and white… like the good old days.
I’m loving the UK gift bags at Kentucky Collectibles. Throw a red bow on them and you’re good to go with Christmas wrapping. My favorite bag may be the one above, but there are others. There are also countless other UK goodies, you’ll have to go to the site and check them all out. They’ll blow you away.
The Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky
The original Waverly Hills Sanatorium was a two-story wooden structure which was opened in 1910.
The larger brick and concrete structure you see today was built in 1926. The hospital has always been dedicated to the treatment of tuberculosis patients, a disease that was fairly common in the early 20th Century.
Reports estimate that as many as 63,000 people have died in this sanatorium. Furthermore, there have been many reports or patients being horribly mistreated. Oh, it gets worse… there were (again reportedly) highly questionable experiments and procedures conducted.
If these occurences don’t set the stage for a haunted location, nothing does!
Get this: Ghost and paranormal experts and investigators who have ventured into Waverly have reported a host of strange paranormal phenomena, including voices of unknown origin, isolated cold spots and unexplained shadows. Screams have been heard echoing in its now abandoned hallways, and fleeting apparitions have been encountered.
Screams, isolated cold spots (indicating a paranormal being….oh, Lord, I’m sleeping with the lights on tonight…), voices of unknown origin, shadows!?!? I could not be more creeped out right now.
Click HERE for more information… if you dare.
The Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky
Kentuckians have so much fun with Halloween – no one seems to celebrate the fun of autumn quite like we do.
Below is a news release from Kentucky’s Department of Tourism all about a ghostly tour that’ll have you shaking in your sneakers.
Fall, the best time of year for stories of ghosts and other haunting, is upon us. From now through early November, take a trip to where your spine gets tingled by tales of paranormal activity throughout Kentucky.
A new ghostly tour gets underway this weekend in Newport, where accounts of the city’s racy and mobster past come together to raise your fright quotient. The new “Ghosts and Gangsters Tour,” developed by the group that started the Newport Gangster Tours last spring, is an hour-long exploration of haunted sites in downtown Newport. The tour, which costs $20 per person, starts and ends at The Syndicate night club, whose violent past as a casino and speakeasy during Prohibition has led to tales of haunting by the spirits of slain gangsters. For more information, visit www.newportishaunted.com.
Uncanny sights and sounds are the subject of a jaunt through the historic Old Louisville neighborhood, where several of the impressive Victorian mansions are said to be haunted. The 90-minute tours, based on author David Domine’s books on the neighborhood’s ghostly history, depart Fridays from the Old Louisville Visitors Center at 7:30 p.m. and cost $25 per person. For reservations, call 502-637-2922 or visit www.ghostsofoldlouisville.com.
The otherworldly residents of Bardstown are the subject of the Bardstown Ghost Trek Saturdays from 8-10 p.m. The $15 tours, led by paranormal expert Patti Starr, start outside the Old Stable Restaurant. For more information, go to www.ghosthunter.com/ghosttrek2.htm. Starr is also organizing a Ghost Hunting Getaway Weekend Nov. 6-8, 2009. Call 859-576-5517 for info and reservations.
Experience the Haunted Frontier at Old Fort Harrod State Park, where you will be guided through the graveyard, hear a ghost story and then navigate a large maze, where spirits of long-ago residents of the fort in Harrodsburg may still linger. The volunteer-led tour of the fort’s otherworldly side is $5 per person. For more information, call 859-734-3314 or visit the park’s web site at www.parks.ky.gov.
One of the reputedly most haunted sites in Kentucky is the Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville. Although the former tuberculosis hospital closed in 1980, the spirit world remains rampant. The Waverly Hills Historical Society hosts a haunted house every Friday and Saturday in October from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. To learn more, visit www.ghosteyes.com/waverly-hills-sanatorium.
Get in touch with the spirits at Camp Nelson, a Civil War training facility just south of Lexington, with the help of a mother-daughter ghost-hunting team from Nicholasville, Jessi and Starr Chaney. Friday and Saturday tours for $15 per person provide hands-on experience on how to use ghost-hunting equipment and communicate with spirits from the other side. For more info, go to www.ghosthunter.com.
Wide-ranging information about ghost tales and legends throughout Kentucky can be found at www.prairieghosts.com/hauntky.html.
For more information on the Kentucky Department of Travel, visit their Web site at www.kentuckytourism.com.
*** To Read more about The Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky, click the link. I dare you.
Red Mill Farms Market
1442 Red Mill Road
Elizabethtown, KY 42701
Bring your class for a fun filled educational outing to our farms! We are located close to the Hardin/Larue Line – short distance for a lot of fun.
No “per child” charge… only the cost of the pumpkin.
WE OFFER THE FOLLOWING:
- NATURE WALK, PUMPKINS
- PUMPKIN ICE CREAM (FREE SAMPLE FOR EVERYONE IN YOUR PARTY)
- COLORING BOOKS FOR THE CHILDREN TO TAKE HOME
- HAY MAZE
- DUCKS, RABBITS, CHICKENS AND SNACKS FOR THE KIDS
- CANDLE MAKING DEMO
- THE CHILDREN WILL GET THE CHANCE TO MAKE BUTTER AND WATCH A DEMO ON BUTTER CHURNING AND CANDLE MAKING
- HAYRIDES
Book early to reserve your spot! Bus parking available.
Call Pam or Kathy at 270-769-1001/270-268-6028/270-268-6691
E-mail Cksherra@aol.com for more information.
Edit: On October 31, from 5 to 8 pm, Red Mill Farms will be celebrating Trick or Treat with hayrides, live music, free food, a pumpkin rolling contest for kids and adults (with prizes and a trophy for 1st place) and a costume contest with trophies for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place!
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
Do you know something that makes me really sad? Apparently certain stores are telling their employees to say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.”
It’s Christmas!
Yesterday, at Wal-Mart (yes, indeed, I was one of the loons that went to Wally World on Christmas Eve), my cashier said, “M– Happy Holidays.” So I said, “H– Merry Christmas!” She laughed and responded back with, “Merry Christmas.”
My aunt, who lives in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, said that one of the greeters was at the front door telling people, “Merry Christmas” and some nut job went to the manager to complain. How can you be offended by someone saying, ”Merry Christmas?” I only wish I’d been the manager! It would have been my last day on the job, I assure you, but I’d have gone out in a blaze of Christmas glory.
Next thing you know, we won’t be able to say Happy Thanksgiving. Bitter little people will be like, “Oh, they’re thanking someone.” Then they’ll want us all to say Happy Turkey Day.” I’m hiding Easter in a very safe location – I KNOW they’re coming for it.
I remember weeks ago, a woman who was speaking to a group said, “Merry Christmas… I guess it’s okay to say…” Okay to say?! That’s what it is! It’s Christmas.
Even during a time when the economy is coughing, wheezing, and blowing its nose – Christmas is still, to me, the most magical time of the year. It’s not the presents, the ham, the corn pudding, or even the desserts. It’s the beauty of the season.
Jesus is the Reason for the Season and if that fact offends anyone, it’s just because they don’t know Him. Most of us who are Christians never try to force our beliefs on anyone. We simply live our life the best we can and wish for everyone else to do the same. It’s called tolerance. It’s my hope that “the offended” will one day get a taste of the better life rather than the bitter life and will shout Merry Christmas with the rest of us. In the meantime, maybe… just maybe… they could shhhhhhhhh.
Okay. Rant officially over.
Below is a link to an online article that I think you’ll like. It’s by Sylvia L. Lovely (is that a great name or what?) and it just oozes signs of the true Kentucky spirit: Yes, Sylvia, There is a Santa Claus
