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Canoe and Kayak Rentals on Honker Lake This Memorial Day Weekend!

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Canoe Trip on Honker Lake
Read More About The Canoe Trip Above: Canoeing on Honker Lake in the LBL!
My husband and I enjoyed every minute of a canoe trip we took on Honker Lake a few years ago. Every single minute. Last summer, we were unable to make it (I can’t remember if it was weather-related or what… but I recall being pretty bummed about it!). Another opportunity is coming up and I hope you’ll be able to make it. WEATHER PERMITTING! I write that in all caps for obvious reasons…. seriously, what is up with weather this year? First it takes forever to run winter out of town and now rain is calling the shots.
Hopefully it’ll take the weekend off and allow fun on Honker Lake to reign supreme.
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Canoeing on Honker Lake
Canoe and kayak rentals on Honker Lake begin on Memorial Day Weekend. Hourly rentals start at 10am (all boats need to be returned by 4:30pm). Rental fees are $10 per hour per boat. Visitors must check in at Nature Station in order to rent a canoe or kayak.
Rentals may be suspended for inclement weather. For more information, please call  call 270-924-2299.
Canoeing on Honker Lake

My Old Kentucky Home State Park Celebrates Federal Hill’s 200th Year With Culinary New Tours and Additions to Collection

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My Old Kentucky Home State Park is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the construction of Federal Hill mansion with new tours and new displays at the popular Bardstown historic site.

Federal Hill was built by the Rowan family in 1818 and became popular because of its connection to Stephen Foster’s famous song “My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!” Visitors can tour the home and learn about the Rowan family history.

New this year is a “Culinary Biscuit Tour” that explains how to make beaten biscuits as well as southern ham biscuits. This tour is offered to groups of 15-30 people.

Also new is the “Mint Julep Tour,” which explains the history of one of the earliest mixed cocktails and symbolizes southern hospitality. It is the favorite drink for the Kentucky Derby.

Other new culinary tours include the “Lemonade Tour,” and “Apple Cider Tour.”

This year has been declared “The Year of Kentucky Food” and the Kentucky Department of Tourism and Kentucky State Parks are celebrating all the local flavors, spirits and delicious foods of the bluegrass state.

School groups can take tours at My Old Kentucky Home on architecture, furniture made from wood, and farm to table, as well as the mansion tour.

The park also has some new items on display for 2018. They include:

The Rowan family’s original Victorian style parlor set, crafted from walnut and upholstered in woven horse hair, has been fully restored and returned to My Old Kentucky Home’s parlor. Consisting of two settees, a gentleman’s arm chair, a ladies chair, and multiple side chairs, the set was likely purchased by the mansion’s second owner, Rebecca Carnes Rowan, in the mid to late 19th century.

An original 19th-century painting of the birthplace of Stephen Foster, known as “The White Cottage,” was purchased by My Old Kentucky Home State Park for inclusion in the park’s permanent collection and will be on display in the mansion’s parlor.

My Old Kentucky Home State Park acquired an original 19th-century portrait of Stephen Foster that once belonged to Oliver Ditson, a publisher of Foster’s music during the mid to late 1800s. The oil on canvas portrait was painted by Frederick R. Spencer has been placed in the mansion’s central hall.

Visitors to the park gift shop will notice a new collection of Kentucky Proud jellies, jams, sauces, and mixes from My Old Kentucky Home. The new collection of food products include blackberry jam, strawberry jam, pepper jelly, biscuit mix and Henry Bain sauce.

Besides historic Federal Hill and the visitor center, My Old Kentucky Home State Park also has a campground and an 18-hole golf course.

For more information about tours and other events at My Old Kentucky Home State Park, visit https://www.visitmyoldkyhome.com/ For more information about Kentucky State Parks, visit www.parks.ky.gov

Pictures from Snap Apple Night at the Homeplace 1850s Working Farm October 14

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Snap Apple Night at the Homeplace

We make just about all of the special events in the Land Between the Lakes – especially the ones involving the Nature Station, the Elk & Bison Prairie, and The Homeplace, so you’d better believe we were at Snap Apple Night last Saturday night. Guests gathered around the bonfires and got all comfortable and cozy while storytellers Robert Valentine and Jamie Futrel told stories (a few that were in the spirit of Halloween).

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Snap Apple Night at the Homeplace 2017

Like any event the Homeplace takes part it, the night was absolutely wonderful. God helped with some extraordinary weather, too. They even had hot apple cider to drink – it doesn’t get much better than that!

The “Working Farm” was decorated beautifully – fortunately we got there before it got dark so we could see everything. They did an outstanding job – as they do with everything, if we’re being honest.

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Snap Apple Night at the Homeplace 2017

When the sun went down, the lanterns and bonfire added to the ambiance perfectly.  Everyone involved did an exceptional job of making the night extra fun and memorable for guests of all ages.

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Snap Apple Night at the Homeplace 2017

There’s just something relaxing, fun, and (very) memorable about a night like this. Sitting back, sipping apple cider, and listening to wonderful stories. The storytellers were absolutely excellent. Jamie Futrel and Robert Valentine were both VERY funny and beyond interesting. I love a good story, so I was completely in my element.

Robert Valentine had an extra, extra special gift that I’m not sure I even knew existed. Heck, maybe he invented it. He was superb – and I mean SUPERB – at telling wonderful stories that seemed to be written especially for children and especially for adults.

Seriously, you could have set him and his stories in a roomful of children and they’d have been a perfect match. You could have set him and his stories in a roomful of adults and they would have been a perfect match.

Now, while this is a great and commendable gift to have with ANY story…  it is an absolute GIFT (all caps) when it comes to “scary” stories.

When I saw all the kids at the event, I kind of wondered how everything would play out. As a mother, I know all too well that young people may “think” they want to be scared out of their wits, only to regret it terribly once their wits begin to get away from them! I have to admit, I sort of wondered how many kids would be having nightmares that night!

This would be a problem I’d soon realize didn’t exist because Robert Valentine, after all, has the GIFT.

The one he just may have invented.

He was able to tell two very interesting, colorful, and “edge of your seat” type scary stories that had all the kids and all the adults spellbound. Best of all, they ended just the way they should have – in a manner that ensured zero nightmares.

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Snap Apple Night at the Homeplace

Whenever you read about an event at the Homeplace, just go ahead and mark your calendar and go. They do not do anything second rate.

I’m not sure they’d even know how to go about it.

Snap Apple Night at the Homeplace 2017

Wildlife Celebration at Woodlands Nature Station: May 27-29, 2017

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Great Horned Owl Nature Station LBL

Gorgeous Great Horned Owl

Woodlands Nature Station is one of our favorite places to visit in the Land Between the Lakes. The animals and birds are simply breathtaking and we, literally, see (and photograph) something new each time we visit… which is, trust me, OFTEN.

The Nature Station will have their annual Wildlife Celebration, Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday through Monday, May 27-29, 2017. Nature Station admission is $5 age 13 and up, $3 age 5-12, and free for ages 4 and under.

Guests can learn all about nature’s superheroes, visit with Smokey Bear and find ways they can assist wildlife in the Nature Station’s backyard at Land Between the Lakes. Special event programs are included with standard admission unless otherwise noted.

“Join us to help celebrate the diversity and complexity of native wildlife through a fun superhero theme. Bring the whole family and see wolves, turkeys and bats in a whole new way,” says Monica West, Land Between the Lakes naturalist. “We’re also offering two canoe trips that weekend for people to view wildlife from the water. We usually see a lot of native birds, mammals and reptiles along the shoreline and on the water during these outings.”

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White-Breasted Nuthatch LBL Nature Station

White-Breasted Nuthatch

Nestled in the woods between Honker and Hematite lakes, the Nature Station serves as a gateway to the 6,800-acre Nature Watch Area. The friendly and very knowledgeable staff also serve as “go to” specialists for wildlife viewing throughout Land Between the Lakes.

One of the coolest things about the Nature Station is that, in addition to their many wonderful resident birds, animals, turtles, and snakes, you’ll see birds and animals who also choose to call this paradise home.  A cage doesn’t keep them sticking around… appreciation for being treated like royalty does!  We are a couple of the biggest bird lovers you’ll ever meet. We don’t just have one “feeding station” in our yard… we have multiple feeding stations, suet feeders, houses, and too many feeders to count. So, we are very familiar with seeing a variety of birds. Yet, we STILL see birds at the Nature Station we don’t see regularly in our own yard.

You’ll also frequently see squirrels who call this beautiful place home. If you’re lucky, you might even see a skunk or two (pictured below)! We’ve had that great honor a couple of times. Other visitors to the center looked at me like I was “half crazy” when I stepped closer and got down on their level to take a picture. My husband just smiled as if to say, “If you think she’s half-crazy, you’re underestimating her.”

Gotta admit he’s right. When it comes to animals, I’m off my chain.  That’s why The Nature Station is one of my favorite places on earth. They’re my kind of people.

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Beautiful Skunk at the Nature Station

Adorable Skunk at the Nature Station Last Autumn

Something that I love about the staff (aside from the friendliness and eagerness to “brag” on the beauties they care for) is that, it seems, each member has an “area of expertise.”  One may know everything there is to possibly know about wolves while another could tell you things you’d never even imagined about owls. One may be a walking turtle encyclopedia while another knows more about turkeys than the turkeys know themselves.

They even have a resident snake expert who seems to love snakes as much as I love my cats. Go figure!

Wildlife Celebration Events:

Saturday, May 27, 2017

  • 10am-4pm – Be a Hero for Turtles
  • 10am-4pm – Be a Hero for Hurt and Orphaned Animals
  • 11:30am – Owls: X-Men of the Sky
  • 1pm – Transformer Turkeys
  • 2:30pm – Bats: Power Behind the Caped Crusader
  • 3:30pm – Red Wolves: Wookiees of the Land Between the Lakes
  • 6-8:30pm–Sunset Canoe Trip ($25; Reservations required; call 270-924-2020)

Sunday, May 28, 2017

  • 10am-4pm – Be a Monarch Butterfly Buddy
  • 11:30am – Just-hiss League of America
  • 1:30pm – Fantastic Four of Lake and Shore
  • 2:30pm – Captain America: The Bald Eagle
  • 3:30pm – Nature Station Daredevil
  • 6-8:30pm–Family Sunset Canoe Trip ($25; Reservations required;
    call 270-924-2020)

Monday, May 29, 2017

  • 10am-4pm – Throughout the day–visits with Smokey Bear
  • 10am-4pm – Be a Scientist Hero for Nature
  • 11:30am – Who’s the Real Flash?
  • 1:30pm – Be A Superhero for Baby Birds
  • 3:30pm – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Call 270-924-2020 to pre-register for guided canoe trips Monday-Friday, 8am-4:30pm. Daily canoe and kayak rentals start Saturday, May 27, 10am-4pm, weather permitting. For more details, call 270-924-2299.

Turtle, Woodlands Nature Station

 

Trail of Tears Weekend Planned at Pennyrile Forest May 12-13, 2017

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Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park Trail Through the Forest

Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park is one of the friendliest parks in the Kentucky State Park System. From one year to the next (to the next, to the next), it just proves itself to BE as charming as it LOOKS.

The restaurant (Clifty Creek) in the lodge is also one of the best in the system. Seems friendly people make the best cooks.

There’s an upcoming historical event at this beautiful park that will interest my fellow history buffs.

Learn about the route of the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears in western Kentucky during Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park’s Trail of Tears Weekend May 12-13.

The event, co-sponsored by the Friends of Pennyrile, will feature a bus tour of the trail in Caldwell, Crittenden and Livingston counties. The bus will take participants to Mantle Rock Nature Preserve, which is an important point on Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.

The Trail of Tears was a series of forced removals of the Cherokee living east of the Mississippi to what is now Oklahoma.

Guests can attend an introductory program on Friday evening and a historical and musical program on Saturday evening by Laura Hunt Angel.

Space is limited to 50 people.

The fee is $45 and includes the bus tour, a boxed lunch, evening programs and a tour guide. The park is also offering a 10 percent lodging discount. Call 800-325-1711.

The rustic wood and stone Pennyrile Lodge, with 24 rooms, sits serenely on a high cliff overlooking Pennyrile Lake. Open year-round, the park has 12 cottages in the wooded lodge area and on the lake’s shores. The restaurant seats 200, including a private dining room for up to 80. The park also offers hiking trails, fishing, basketball, tennis, camping and horse campsites that are available year-round.

Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park

"When reading about a Kentucky event, please be sure you check the date. Old events are not always deleted from the website. If you have an event you'd like to see on Genuine Kentucky or a 'Made in Kentucky' food or product you'd like reviewed, please contact us! " ~ Joi ("Joy")

Fraley Music Festival
Maddox
Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park Trail Through the Forest