Location: Shawnee State Park
We left early this morning and took several back roads up and down mountains thru the northern part of Kentucky. Our mid-morning destination was Old Washington, Kentucky near the Ohio River. This town was established in 1789 and was first discovered by Daniel Boone and some other frontiersmen. This town really was the new frontier.
This was also the place of the first postal station in Kentucky and was the distributing point for the Northwest Territories of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin & Minnesota.
Here's a picture of the first building in the town. It was built with the boards from the flat boat that brought a settler, his wife and 13 kids down the Ohio River. All I kept thinking was...yikes living in that with 13 kids!
Close to Old Washington and on the banks of the Ohio River is Maysville. This quaint little town has quite the history. I was most interested in visiting the Underground Railroad Museum. Apparently', being on the border of Ohio, it played a huge role in the Underground Railroad. Unfortunately, it was closed due to Memorial Weekend. So instead, we hopped on our bikes and decided to explore the town. There are really cool murals painted on all the flood walls. Where's Ned? I think I lost him...
Apparently Harriet Beecher Stowe watched a slave auction in this town. The scene of the actual auction she used in her book "Uncle Tom's Cabin.". The town was also known for some famous spies in May 4 to Dec 9, 1792. They were protecting early settlements. Hard to imagine these scenes when you look at this town now with tree lined streets, cobblestones and quaint gas lights.
On a cheerier note, this is also the hometown of Rosemary Clooney! She was born here, performed here and had her first major movie premier here in 1951, at the Russell Theatre no less.
Miss America was also from this town, circa 2000ish. (Not sure of the exact year).
We had a great time riding our bikes along the banks of the Ohio River. We're still on the Kentucky Side, looking across to Ohio.
Here's some more of the many murals, this one honoring Rosemary Clooney and the Russell Theatre.
We crossed over into Ohio and began our week of exploring the Appalachia Region. Gosh, this is just beautiful country. We took a scenic drive along the Ohio River for an hour or so, before turning north into the mountains. We're camped at a beautiful pristine State Park, right next to Turkey Creek in a gorgeous hardwood forest.
After the craziness of Memorial Weekend, we're back to having the campground to ourselves and enjoying the solitude of the forest.
Looking forward to sleeping this evening with the sound of Turkey Creek gurgling in the background.
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