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

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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

Outdoor Kids Festival at Woodlands Nature Station (Land Between the Lakes)

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Deer at the Nature Station
I am positively obsessed with the Nature Station (and all of the Land Between the Lakes, actually). I watch my calendar like a hawk each spring, waiting for opening day. I love every visit – during the spring, summer, and autumn – but, if we’re being absolutely honest, my favorite time to visit the Nature Station is right about now – during the end of summer and first of fall.

There are a few reasons…

  • cooler temperatures mean you can spend more time looking around and enjoying the beautiful outdoors
  • smaller crowds
  • this is one of my favorite times of year, so combine it with one of my favorite areas… win/win!

The Outdoor Kids Festival at Woodlands Nature Station will be from  Saturday and Sunday (10 am – 5 pm), October 8th and 9th.

What better way to spend Columbus Day Weekend than with your family, learning about the great outdoors and the beautiful animals and birds that call it home. Nature Station admission is $5 ages 13 and up, $3 ages 5-12, and free for ages 4 and under.

“Families will have a weekend full of fun outdoor activities. These activities may spark a new interest or hobby and help kids and adults enjoy a fun and educational fall break,” says John Pollpeter, Nature Station Lead Naturalist. “Visitors will learn about animal track and tree identification, compass skills, canoeing, cooking on a campfire, and much more.”

Regular visitors may benefit from Fun Cards, which offer 10 regular admissions for $35, or Discount Packages. Details can be found atwww.landbetweenthelakes.us/visit/passes/.

Fourth grade students can go towww.everykidinapark.gov/, get their Every Kid in a Park pass, and get in for free. For more information, call 270-924-2299 or https://www.landbetweenthelakes.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/4thGradePass_QA_2016_3_19.pdf.

{Schedule Below…}

Beautiful Skunk at the Nature Station
Saturday, October 8    

  • Throughout the day      Meet Smokey Bear (scheduled appearances)
  • Throughout the day      CSI:  Campsite Scene Investigator
  • 11am-12pm                 Getting Sneaky with Mother Nature
  • 11am-4pm                   Here Fishy, Fishy:  Basic Fishing Skills
  • 1-1:30pm                     Venom!
  • 1:30-3:30                     Make Your Own Animal Tracks Guide
  • 2-2:45pm                     Kid vs. Wild:  Outdoor Survival Skills for Kids
  • 3:30-4:15pm                Critters in the Campground
  • 4:30pm                        Parade of Raptors
  • 4:30-6:30pm                Can U Canoe? Sunset Canoe Trip

($25 per canoe; reservation required; call 270-924-2020)

Sunday, October 9

  • Throughout the day      CSI:  Campsite Scene Investigator
  • 11am-3:30pm               Cooking Over a Campfire Demonstration
  • 11:30am-12pm             For Goodness Snakes
  • 1-3pm                         Make Your Own Tree ID Guide
  • 2-3:30pm                     Help! I’m Lost and I Can’t Get Home:  Basic Compass Skills
  • 3:30-4pm                     Rut and Strut
  • 4:30pm                        Parade of Raptors

To find more information about Land Between the Lakes, log on to the official website at www.landbetweenthelakes.us or call 1-800-LBL-7077 or 270-924-2000.

Gorgeous owl at the Nature Station

Maggie’s Jungle Golf: Probably the Funnest Miniature Golf Course in the Country

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Maggie's Jungle Golf - Pink Flamingo Ever Get the Feeling You’re Being Watched?
If you’re looking for something fun (and inexpensive) to do at Kentucky Lake, I’d like to tell you (and show you) all about one of my personal favorites: Maggie’s Jungle Golf. This is the most colorful, funnest, and one-of-a-kind miniature golf courses I’ve ever seen. Kids, adults, and everything in between will love every minute on this beautiful mini course.

Maggie's Jungle Golf at Kentucky Lake
Gorgeous Miniature Golf Course with Tons of Shade
I’ve tried to capture as much of it’s fun and beauty in these pictures, but it’s something you absolutely have to see for yourself.

The cost of a great round of miniature golf is just $4 (all ages). Trust me, it’s worth every penny.

The miniature golf course is very shady, which keeps it from feeling as hot as a lot of mini golf courses feel. With the hot summers we’re familiar with here in Kentucky, it’s a feature I couldn’t possibly love any more than I do.

The owners of Maggie’s Jungle Golf obviously take great pride and enjoyment in this Kentucky Lake landmark – it shows, literally, every step of the way.  Not only is the mini golf course, itself, both challenging and fun, but you’ll have extra fun looking up, down, and all around. The lengths they’ve gone to create a fantasy world for kids of all ages is nothing short of amazing.

Next time you visit Kentucky Lake, be sure to carve out time for a little Jungle Love. It might just be the favorite part of your trip.

Maggie’s Jungle Golf Address and Phone Number are below the pictures…

 

 

 

Maggie’s Jungle Golf and Jungle Run

Address: 7301 US Highway 641 North (Gilbertsville, KY)
Telephone: (270) 362-8933
Official Website: Maggie’s Jungle Golf

Maggie's Jungle Golf at Kentucky Lake
Every Single Step is Gorgeous at Maggie’s Jungle Golf!

Woodlands Nature Station in the Land Between the Lakes: An Animal Lover’s Paradise

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Red Wolf at Woodlands Nature Station
Beautiful Red Wolf (Those Eyes!)
As I said in my last post, Turkeys Strutting Their Stuff at Woodlands Nature Station, no two visits to the Nature Station in the Land Between the Lakes are the same. You’ll see different animals and birds doing different things each time.

While our recent visit found feisty turkeys taking center stage, a host of other beautiful animals also made our day extra, extra special.

The best way to enjoy these animals is, of course, in person, but pictures are the next best thing. I hope these pictures – as well as the other pictures of Woodlands Nature Station on Genuine Kentucky – will inspire you to visit them soon and visit them often.

There are a lot more birds and animals (a bobcat that’s one of my favorite things in the world, owls, an adorable possum, etc…) than the ones shown below, these are simply the ones who were wide awake during the time we were there. There are also snakes indoors but, we have a treaty – I avoid them, they avoid me. If you aren’t saddled with a phobia the size of Texas, you’d probably enjoy them.

Red Wolf

I love animals the way other people love oxygen.  They are everything. One of my favorite things is to see how wild animals and our pets sometimes behave similarly. I love to see “big” cats exhibiting some of the same mannerisms my own cats do. I think it’s just too cute for words.

On our recent visit, a coyote and a red wolf both did a few things that reminded me of domesticated dogs. The coyote stood up at his (her?) fence, anticipating lunch. The wolf walked around her (his?) beautiful domain, then laid on the ground for a nap JUST like a German Shepherd we had used to do – right on her belly with her legs kicked out behind her.

Too cute!

Ground Hog

The ground hog apparently keeps a different schedule than we do because most of the time he’s napping while we’re at the Nature Station. This particular afternoon, however, he was wide awake. I’d almost forgotten how adorable he is!

I would have taken more pictures of this little cutie, but I was promptly distracted by turkeys who all but demanded our attention.

Eagle

The word Majestic doesn’t seem to cut it, does it? Like the other animals and birds at The Nature Station, this gorgeous eagle could not survive on his own. This is a wonderful chance to see one of the most beautiful animals in the world up close.

Deer and Turkeys

The deer and turkeys have an amazingly beautiful home at the Nature Station. The entire setting is so uncommonly peaceful and relaxing, I could just sit and watch them all day.

Coyote

Like the Red Wolf, the coyote reminds me so much of a pet… not that I’d EVER make the mistake of treating her/him as such.  I’m an animal lover, but I’m not a dumb one. The way it watched for lunch was too cute for words.

Turtles

There are turtles outside at the Nature Station in a wonderful enclosure – complete with their own pond. There are  some smaller guys inside – near the you-know-whats that I don’t even glance at.  Turtle lovers, like my youngest daughter, will get a huge kick out of these beauties.

Coyote at Woodlands Nature Station

Delicious Kentucky Food Haul from The Hitching Post and Old Country Store

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Hitching Post and Old Country Store Elderberry Jam, Southern Sweet Tea Jelly, and Pure Honey

Sweet Haul from the Hitching Post and Old Country Store, Aurora

When it comes to Kentucky food, Kentucky products, and keeping our money in the state by supporting our neighbors, I don’t just step up on the soapbox, I leap on it ninja style.

I have a hundred and one things to do today, though, so you’ll be spared the song and dance.

This time.

I do want to tell you about a wonderful little haul we brought back with us on a recent trip to The Hitching Post & Old Country Store: Elderberry Jam, Pure Honey, and (a new obsession) Southern Sweet Tea Jelly.

I live for sweet tea, so I honestly feel like this one was made specifically for me.

Elderberry Jam is one of Michael’s favorite things, and he’s been enjoying it on toast like it’s his job.   I’ll be making cornbread tomorrow night and he’ll, no doubt, cover several pieces with this delicious jam.

Honey is something we go through a lot in our kitchen. We put it in hot tea and oatmeal, on biscuits and cornbread, and I use it in lots of recipes. This Pure Honey is simply the best – plain and simple.

I have to admit that I’m completely fascinated with the Southern Sweet Tea Jelly. It’s fantastic and, to be perfectly honest, I’m in love with the charming label.  And get this, it’s made especially for The Hitching Post. If you were to buy jars of it for loved ones this Christmas, odds are it’ll be as unique to them as a unicorn wearing a sweater.

Somehow it honestly tastes like delicious sweet tea. Given the fact that the first two ingredients are tea and sugar, it shouldn’t blow me completely away, and yet it does. I guess the novelty of the idea is the part I can’t wrap my head around.

How did anyone ever even think of something so perfect?!

Each Christmas, some of my favorite cookies are the Thumbprint Cookies I make with the wonderful different jams and jellies from The Hitching Post & Old Country Store.  This year is going to be extra special with “Sweet Tea Thumbprint Cookies.”

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Moonshine Mixers and Moonshine Jelly at The Hitching Post

Moonshine Jelly Would Make Interesting Cookies Too!

I also wanted to take this chance to give a little extra clarity about these extraordinary stores. We’ve sat on the front porch of The Hitching Post during our last 3 or 4 visits, eating homemade fudge and drinking cold vintage soft drinks we bought in The Hitching Post.

Quite a few times, we overheard, then helped, tourists wondering which way they should go.  Each time they were “out of staters”  who simply didn’t know which store they should go in or which one they should go in first.

My answer? You can’t go wrong either way!

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The Hitching Post in Aurora, a legendary Kentucky Lake attraction!

The Hitching Post: A Legendary Kentucky Lake Attraction

The Hitching Post (pictured above) is home to countless mementos, Kentucky crafts, souvenirs, jewelry, t-shirts, vintage soft drinks, homemade fudge, candy, soap, whimsical gifts, and….. well… a little bit of everything for kids of ALL ages.

It’s just one smile after the next and one giggle on top of the other.

When you pull onto the property and park, The Hitching Post is on the right (when you’re facing the stores).

On the left is, essentially, a step back in time – to a beautiful, simpler time that’ll come alive in both your mind and heart the minute you step on the porch. The Old Country Store is packed with nostalgia, antiques, and vintage gifts. It really kind of defies description because most of us who LOVE nostalgia could never even hope for anyplace quite like it.

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Old Country Store in Aurora, Kentucky (Beside The Hitching Post)

Old Country Store: Sweet Nostalgia, Everywhere You Look!

The Old Country Store is truly a one-of-a-kind place that, again, kids of all ages will get a huge kick out of. If you love vintage candy, toys, games, dishes, books, and other items… be warned, you’ll never want to leave.

They even have coffee!

Mere feet separate the two stores – which is a good thing because I always find myself walking back and forth between the two.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a Spinach Artichoke Dip to make, Kroger to visit, cats to feed, and Southern Sweet Tea Jelly to spread on the nearest non-cat thing that presents itself.

Homemade Fudge at The Hitching Post
Two Words: Homemade Fudge
 

More Hitching Post on Genuine Kentucky:

Jam, Jelly, and Pure Honey from The Hitching Post - IDEAL with Buttermilk Cornbread!

Jam, Jelly, and Pure Honey from The Hitching Post – IDEAL with Buttermilk Cornbread and Mashed Potatoes!

"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