In spite of the dreary morning we button things up after breakfast and decide to hit the road anyway. Wouldn't you know it, about the time we move outside to disconnect the utilities it really starts raining. Most of it is just dripping off of this big tree we're under. Thankfully we had put the boat on top of the truck earlier. Packing up went smoothly in spite of not moving for a month!
Our plan was to take in Mammoth Cave and stay at the Jellystone Campground there. But the nightly fee was $40.00. Bob scoped out a nearby State Park for $15.00 that is just twenty miles or so south of there. So around 11:30 we said goodbye to MaryAnn at Countryside Resort as she was walking back from the laundry room. She wished us well and we were on our way. It's always difficult to leave the places you have enjoyed. I couldn't look back as we drove out for the last time. If you stay too long it starts to feel like home.
We took 190 north through Gallatin (actually they have a nice outer loop around the city now that was not on the DeLorme mapping software.) At Portland we took 52W to I-65 so we could enter Kentucky (our 11th State!) at the Visitor Center and pick up some brochures. Bob heard the lady behind the counter tell another guy that the Glasgow Highland Games are this weekend at Barren River Lake State Resort Park. We crossed our fingers that the place wouldn't be full. The good news is they don't take reservations at this state park. So first come, first serve and we are arriving on Thursday. We'll see what happens. It has been raining on us most of the way; just a light drizzle. But it is not the kind of day you want to be turned away at your destination. We forge ahead! At exit 6 on I-65 we took Hwy 100 east for a wild ride on narrow two-lane with no shoulders that reminded us of Hwy B near Jeff City, MO. Fortunately we only had about twenty miles of it. One narrow bridge gave me a heart attack but Bob seemed calm. We finally reached 31E, a much larger thoroughfare, and followed it north to about 12 miles south of Glasgow.
Our new home is Barren River Lake State Resort Park, 1149 State Park Road, Lucas, KY 42156, (270) 646-2151. We only traveled 81 miles today and several of those miles were circling through five loops in the campground and looking at 99 sites to see which one we wanted. Yes, they still have sights left, although the young girl in the campground office said she was surprised it was Thursday, the starting day of Glasgow Highland Games, and they didn't have as many people as usual already. This is the 20th year the Games have been held here and it is quite popular. We paid for three nights but may stay longer. It is water and electric only here so we won't be staying over a week.
There is good news and bad news. The good news is, they let us pick our own campsite. The bad news is, they let us pick our own campsite:-) When they assign you a site you always feel like you could have chosen a more appropriate one. When they let you pick one you're like a kid in a candy store. You want to make sure you get the best one. So we circled around through all of the loops. Most of the sights were too short for us. And the rest of them sloped so severely we would not have had enough leveling blocks. We left The Beauty and The Beast perched in site #98 and walked back to peruse #59 one section over. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush so we went with #98. Our hesitation was related to the water connection being almost 40 feet away and we weren't sure our hose would reach. So the first thing we did was put our two lengths of hoses together and tested it BEFORE we unhitched. Voila! Ninety-eight it is.
We were all set up by 2:30 and didn't even have to contend with the rain. It stopped raining as we drove the last 30 miles. But it is hot and humid here in spite of being overcast. We headed to Glasgow to find dinner, stopping at the camp office to report which site we chose. Along 31E on the north side of Glasgow we found Tumbleweed Mesquite Grill & Bar. This place was great. Bob had Tilapia Fajitas and I had Baja Burritos (Shrimp and crab enchiladas with chipotle sauce.) Both were excellent. There were several other things on the menu that we'll just have to come back and try.
We stopped in an Antique Mall/US Surplus and Pawn on 31E that we spotted on the way up. When we got out of The Beast, the owner was standing out front smoking a cigarette with a buddy. He asked "Are you from Minnesota or is your boat just from Minnesota?" We said "Just the boat; we're from Texas." It's funny the things people notice. Inside Bob found two postcards for me and we both found fishing lures we just had to have over on the Pawn Shop/Tackle Store side of the place. We drove on back to the State Park and scoped out the golf course that is in the park. This eighteen hole course is part of the Kentucky State Parks Golf Trail. There are 13 eighteen-hole courses, 6 nine-hole courses, and 3 three-hole courses on the trail.
The pro was very friendly and asked if we were going to get in a few holes before dark. We said we were just checking the place out and wanted to see how busy it would be for tomorrow since we heard there is a Scramble Tournament for the Highland Games. He said that wasn't until Saturday and tomorrow looked pretty much open. We petted the resident pro shop dog, appropriately named Bertha! We got our putters out and practiced on their nice putting green. I can use all the putting practice I can get after all of my three putts in the last round we played. Another golf pro came out and told us to feel free to take a cart and drive round the holes and take a look. He said their was a 'big cat' (as in a lion) in a cage out by the 12th hole where the Glasgow Highland folks were camped.
We took a cart for a late evening spin and were impressed by the course. The guy in the pro shop was right when he said we might not want to walk the course. It has tremendous elevation changes and quite a distance between holes, especially on the back nine. We saw the Highland tents but never did see the lion. But we saw just about every other form of wildlife on the course. It was almost as if they waited until all of the golfers were done and came out to reclaim the course in the evening. We saw two deer who allowed us to get fairly close to them on the cart path. We saw a beaver, or perhaps a nutria, swimming in the pond on a Par 3. A Pileated woodpecker flew right in front of our cart. And we saw two families of geese waddling across a fairway. We can't wait to play the course. It looks like a monster and the slope rating of 140 from the back tees bears that out.
We took a drive down by the boat ramp in one of the camping loops that we vetoed earlier. The lake appears to be low so I guess they are in need of rain here too. But the lake is huge; almost 10,000 acres. The Kentucky State record hybrid bass (20 lbs., 8 oz.) was caught in Barren River Lake. Back home at site #98 we removed the boat from atop the truck. Somewhere in the process Bob found three ticks so that's a little disturbing. I may not chase too many balls into the woods tomorrow when we try out the golf course. We read the paper and plowed through our mound of brochures. There's a lot to do in this area and we have a short time to do it, unless we move to full utilities.
For some reason we have three public television stations coming in clearly here. We watched Foyle's War on one of them. I spent some time journaling although it is weird to not be able to upload what I'm writing. No telling how long before I have connections again. And to think this morning I had wi-fi! Easy come; easy go.
It's 11:17 p.m. and 66.4 degrees.