• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Genuine Kentucky

Kentucky Pictures, Events, Restaurants

  • Home
    • About
    • Contact
      • Advertise
    • Facts About Kentucky
      • Kentucky Geography 101: Where is Kentucky?!
      • Kentucky’s Lakes (Listed Alphabetically)
    • Famous Kentuckians
    • Kentucky Birds
      • Joys of Bird Watching
      • Bird Watching: Keeping a Journal
      • Backyard Birds Love Water!
      • Create a Backyard Bird Watching Haven
      • How to Attract Hummingbirds to Your Yard
    • Kentucky Food
    • Kentucky History
    • Sitemap
  • Pictures
  • Restaurants
    • Best Catfish Restaurants
    • Best Pizza in Ky
    • Best BBQ in Ky
    • Bowling Green Restaurants
    • Gluten Free in Kentucky
    • Kentucky Lake Restaurants
    • Off the Beaten Path
    • Owensboro, Gluten Free
    • Owensboro Restaurants
    • Where to Eat Lunch in Owensboro
  • KY State Parks
    • Carter Caves State Resort Park
    • Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
    • Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park
    • Kenlake State Resort Park
    • Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park
    • Lake Barkley State Resort Park
    • Rough River Dam State Resort Park
    • Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park
    • Pine Mountain State Resort Park
    • John James Audubon State Park
    • Lake Cumberland State Resort Park
    • More Kentucky State Parks
  • Things to Do
    • Grand Rivers Variety
    • Kentucky State Parks
    • Kentucky Lake
      • Kentucky Lake Pictures
    • Land Between the Lakes
      • Elk & Bison Prairie
      • Golden Pond Planetarium
      • The Homeplace
      • The Nature Station
      • LBL Pictures
        • Elk and Bison Prairie Pictures
    • Windy Hollow Campground and Speedway
    • Western Kentucky Botanical Garden
    • Smothers Park and Owensboro’s Riverfront
    • The Hitching Post
  • Events
You are here: Home / Archives for LBL

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

October 19, 2017 by Joi Sigers Leave a Comment

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).

{Continued Below…}

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.

{Continued Below…}

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.

{Continued Below…}

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.

{Concluded Below…}

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

Filed Under: Autumn Fun, LBL, The Homeplace Tagged With: Kentucky events, Kentucky pictures, LBL, The 1850's Homeplace

Hummingbird Month at the Nature Station in the Land Between the Lakes

July 11, 2017 by Joi Sigers Leave a Comment

Hummingbirds at The Nature Station (Land Between the Lakes)

If you’ve ever been to Woodlands Nature Station in the Land Between the Lakes, you know why I say that… as a bird and animal lover… it’s one of my favorite places in the world. The bird-watching (and photographing, of course) can’t be beat. As my husband could attest, I could and do spend hours watching the beautiful birds while looking for just the right picture.

Hummingbirds are just one of the beautiful birds that have the good sense to flock to the Nature Station. They know a great buffet when they see it! August is Hummingbird Month at Woodlands and if you’re anything like me, you won’t want to miss a single thing… or feather. Notice that reservations are required for nearly half of the programs.

Special Hummingbird Programs:

  • Throughout August: Nature Station Hummingbird Photo Contest
  • Friday, August 4, 6-8pm: Dinner with the Hummingbirds (reservations required)
  • Saturday & Sunday, August 5 & 6: Hummingbird Festival
  • Tuesdays & Thursdays at 10am: Morning with the Hummingbirds
  • Wednesdays, August 2, 9, & 30 at 11:30am: Hummingbirds of the World
  • Saturday, August 12 at 9:30am: Hummingbird Photography Workshop (reservations required)
  • Saturday, August 26 at 9am: EXCLUSIVE: Early Morning Photo Session (reservations required)
  • Saturday, August 19 at 9am: Hummingbird Café (reservations required)
  • Sunday, August 13: Knee-high Naturalists – Hummingbirds

 

Filed Under: Kentucky Birds, Summertime in Kentucky, The Nature Station Tagged With: hummingbirds, Kentucky Birding Events, Kentucky Summer Events, LBL, Nature Station

Picture of the Day: Deer at Woodlands Nature Station (Land Between the Lakes)

March 6, 2017 by Joi Sigers Leave a Comment

Deer at the Nature Station

Woodlands Nature Station opened early this month, so you know where I was early this month…. where any other animal and bird-obsessed person would be – right there with the animals!

I have a lot of pictures my husband and I took to add to Genuine Kentucky tomorrow, but I wanted to go ahead and post this one today. I don’t know why, but there’s just something about this picture that I love.  The contentment on the faces of these beautiful animals tells me that they were as joyful about feeling the sunshine on their faces as I was on mine.

The Nature Station, in the amazing Land Between the Lakes is one of my favorite places in the world – if you’ve never been, GO! If it’s been a while since you’ve visited them, GO AGAIN!

I’ll add the rest of the pictures tomorrow. If you follow (or even just visit) our Twitter account, @GenuineKentucky, you can see the other pictures and videos we took on this trip – as well as countless pictures from around our beautiful state.

Plus a little Kentucky basketball… okay, a lot of Kentucky basketball….  – Joi (“Joy”)

Filed Under: Blog, Kentucky Picture of the Day, Kentucky Wildlife, LBL, The Nature Station Tagged With: Deer Pictures, Kentucky pictures, LBL, picture of the day, Woodlands Nature Station

The Elk and Bison Prairie: Winter Is a Wonderful Time to Visit

February 3, 2017 by Joi Sigers 1 Comment

Elk in the Elk and Bison Prairie January 2017
As I said in a previous post, there is no bad time to visit the Elk and Bison Prairie in the Land Between the Lakes. While you automatically think of Spring and Summer as wonderful times to visit (and they are!), winter and autumn are also perfect opportunities to see wildlife, as these pictures prove.

Bison in the Elk and Bison Prairie 2017
You are often able to get SO close to the elk and bison – affording you beautiful pictures and, more importantly, memories that’ll last a lifetime.

Just be sure you put your camera or iPhone down every now and then and simply enjoy the beauty and peacefulness of this one-of-a-kind place.

The past few (read: 6-8) times we’ve been to the Elk & Bison Prairie, the credit card machine at the gate has been broken – so be sure to have $5 with you in cash.  It’s just $5 per car and you can drive around the prairie as often as you like.

Elk in the Elk and Bison Prairie January 2017
Click through the gallery below for more Elk & Bison Prairie Pictures. Of course, to TRULY appreciate this amazing prairie and its gorgeous residents, plan a visit to the Land Between the Lakes and Elk & Bison Prairie as soon as possible.

These animals are just amazing. The Elk on this visit just seemed to pose for me. See the big guy in the last picture in the gallery below? He had been giving me all kinds of great pictures looking forward, then all of a sudden he struck a “profile” pose and I snapped away.

A photographer loves it when their models work it!

Bison in the Elk and Bison Prairie 2017
Elk in the Elk and Bison Prairie January 2017
Bison in the Elk and Bison Prairie 2017
Bison in the Elk and Bison Prairie 2017
Elk and Bison Prairie January 2017
Bison in the Elk and Bison Prairie 2017
Bison in the Elk and Bison Prairie 2017
Bison in the Elk and Bison Prairie 2017
Elk and Bison Prairie in the Land Between the Lakes
Elk in the Elk and Bison Prairie January 2017
Elk & Bison Prairie
Elk & Bison Prairie
Elk & Bison Prairie
Elk & Bison Prairie

Filed Under: Elk & Bison Prairie, LBL Tagged With: Elk & Bison Prairie, Elk & Bison Prairie pictures, LBL, things to do in Kentucky, things to do in the Land Between the Lakes

Beautiful Elk from the Elk & Bison Prairie: There’s NO Wrong Time to Visit the Land Between the Lakes

January 13, 2017 by Joi Sigers Leave a Comment

Elk and Bison Prairie January 2017
Nearly a week ago, Michael and I had what I call a “perfect day.” That means eating catfish, the Land Between the Lakes, and at least two Kentucky State Park visits for those of you who may be new here. I had not been to the Elk & Bison Prairie in the LBL for about a month and I was suffering horrifying withdrawals.

When it comes to the catfish eating portion of the “perfect day,” we switch up – sometimes we eat at the wonderful Willow Pond Restaurant (in Aurora… not Eddyville, never Eddyville – shhhh, it’s not good – like, at all) and sometimes we eat at Catfish Kitchen. I was in the mood for fried catfish this time and Catfish Kitchen is the only restaurant I know of that serves gluten-free fried catfish, so the decision was easy.

The next time, I’ll be ready for grilled or blackened catfish and Willow Pond will play a role in the perfection.

I’ll add more pictures from our recent trip, as well as pics of our visit to Catfish Kitchen, in upcoming posts. I need my husband (*hint hint nudge nudge) to send me his Bison pictures – a huge group walked right by HIS side of the car! – but I was anxious to share this beauty with you. What a precious, beautiful face!

Is it any wonder I could happily visit the Elk & Bison Prairie everyday of my life?

Elk and Bison Prairie in the Land Between the Lakes

Filed Under: Elk & Bison Prairie, Kentucky Picture of the Day, LBL Tagged With: Catfish Kitchen, Catfish restaurants, Kentucky Lake restaurants, LBL, things to do at Kentucky Lake

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 14
  • Go to Next Page »

Welcome to Genuine Kentucky!

Genuine Kentucky is a Kentucky Blog and online magazine celebrating the beautiful Bluegrass State. We shine the spotlight on Kentucky with pictures, restaurant reviews, news, tourism, Things to Do in Kentucky, and more.

We’re proud Kentuckians and the non-profit effort you see before you is a labor of love.

E-mail me anytime! ~ Joi (“Joy”)

Kentucky Blog Updates

The Pond Grilled Shrimp and Baked Potato.

Delicious Grilled Shrimp at The Pond in Aurora, Kentucky If you're anything like me, you LOVE to get out in all the hustle … [Read More...] about Enjoying all Kentucky Has to Offer in Cold and Flu Season…

Beautiful Cardinal in Ice Covered Tree

Cardinal Riding Out the 2014 Ice Storm Can you believe it's been 8 years since the famous 2014 ice storm (well, it was … [Read More...] about Throwback to 2014 and the Kentucky Ice Storm… Even Then, There was Beauty

The Pond Catfish and Baked Potato

Baked Potato and Grilled Catfish at The Pond One of my favorite Kentucky restaurants is The Pond in Aurora, Kentucky. I love … [Read More...] about The Pond at Kentucky Lake: Always a Relaxing and Wonderful Place to Dine

Kentucky Lake - Winter at Lighthouse Landing

Lighthouse Landing at Kentucky Lake If you were a regular reader of Genuine Kentucky, you know all too well that we've been … [Read More...] about Genuine Kentucky… Recovering from a Whirlwind of Changes!

The Kentucky Legend Cafe

Photo Credit: The Owensboro Convention Center My youngest daughter, Stephany, often talk about squeezing as much joy out of … [Read More...] about Hot Dog Days of Summer at the Kentucky Legend Cafe in Owensboro (Located in the Convention Center)

Golden Pond Visitor's Center and Planetarium

The Golden Pond Visitor Center Planetarium and Observatory International Astronomy Day is Saturday, May 7, 2022 and The … [Read More...] about Golden Pond Planetarium and Observatory: Activities for Astronomy Day (May 7, 2022)

Smothers Park Owensboro

Some of the more popular posts we've done on Genuine Kentucky have been the ones under the category "Where to eat in … [Read More...] about Kentucky Legend Café: Delicious Place to Enjoy Lunch in Owensboro, Kentucky

Gorgeous owl at the Nature Station

Owl at Woodlands Nature Station As I said in my last post, everything is coming back to life around Kentucky... everything … [Read More...] about A Sensational Spring Break at Woodlands Nature Station in the Land Between the Lakes April 2-10, 2022

Follow Genuine Kentucky on Twitter!

Tweets by @GenuineKentucky


"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")

Flowering Tree in Bowling Green
Fraley Music Festival
Maddox

Kentucky News and Events

  • Enjoying all Kentucky Has to Offer in Cold and Flu Season…
  • Throwback to 2014 and the Kentucky Ice Storm… Even Then, There was Beauty
  • The Pond at Kentucky Lake: Always a Relaxing and Wonderful Place to Dine
  • Genuine Kentucky… Recovering from a Whirlwind of Changes!
  • Hot Dog Days of Summer at the Kentucky Legend Cafe in Owensboro (Located in the Convention Center)
  • Golden Pond Planetarium and Observatory: Activities for Astronomy Day (May 7, 2022)
  • Kentucky Legend Café: Delicious Place to Enjoy Lunch in Owensboro, Kentucky
  • A Sensational Spring Break at Woodlands Nature Station in the Land Between the Lakes April 2-10, 2022

Kentucky State Parks

We have a special passion for Kentucky State Parks, so you'll find many articles and reviews centered around the beautiful state parks in Kentucky.

A personal goal is to visit, photograph, and enjoy each and every one of our state parks and eat at each of the state resort parks. Make no mistake about it, we're well on our way!

Bird Watching in Kentucky!

One of our greatest passions is birds and bird watching is an absolute favorite pastime. If you love our feathered friends and want to learn more about bird watching and attracting birds to your own backyard, be sure to check out our section dedicated entirely to Kentucky birds.

Kentucky Restaurants and Reviews

Kentucky Restaurant Reviews

Where are the best Kentucky restaurants?! Find out in our Kentucky Restaurant Reviews.

Also See: Best Fried Catfish in Kentucky
  • Email
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Kentucky Events

The pandemic has crushed many activities, events, and normalcy – not just in Kentucky, but all around the world. As we creep back toward normal, I want desperately to highlight any and all events going on around Kentucky. Please E-mail me any information you’d like shared about your Kentucky event! ~ Joi (“Joy”)

Kentucky Pictures

Kentucky Pictures
Check out the beautiful Pictures of Kentucky in our photo albums!

Advertising & Reviews

If you are interested in advertising on Genuine Kentucky, please contact us: e-mail Joi Sigers.

Also, if you have a resort, condo, golf course, restaurant, or even a cup of coffee (LOVE coffee!) you'd like for us to review, please contact us at joi@genuinekentucky.com.

Genuine Kentucky Disclaimer

We do not work for any Kentucky service or organization. We are simply proud to have been born and raised in the greatest state in the country and are thrilled to call it home. This site serves as our tribute to Kentucky and its warm and wonderful people. Our mission is to bring more travelers to Kentucky and keep more Kentuckians home! See our Privacy Policy.
Copyright Genuine Kentucky 2022