Southern Kentucky "Expedition"

SKAVYNGR

Need Bigger Tires
Location
Lexington, KY
Good morning everyone.
This is a photo-heavy post, so sit back and enjoy.


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INTRO
It’s been a little while since I’ve posted anything, and man, what an adventure this week has been. To start off, the constant stress of work, and school have put a toll on my wife and I, so when we started planning this trip, we wanted to break away from the norm, and experience adventure travel in a full weeks time. Back in late last year, I mentioned to her that we should travel down the southern portion of Kentucky, and see what areas they have to offer. It’d be a great break away from the busy society that we live in today. She was honestly down for anything, as long as it didn’t involve work.


As weeks and months went by, I first started off by creating a route; a base-structure on areas we’d travel. Once that layer was created, I started expanding out to see what places we could explore, good eats, coffee, etc. At this point, however, I clicked ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING I thought we would both enjoy. Afterwards of 20-something different locales, I condensed them down to 12-or so locations. An app that really helped out on this preparation process, was called Roadtrippers; free on the iOS app store. If I had your personal cellphone number, and you were into land-based travel, you probably received a text from me of how excited I was to use this app. After I finalized our locations, I kept all of the locations a secret for my wife, as she didn’t know where we were going, until we arrived at the place. This created a sense of excited eagerness for her, which was fun to see throughout the trip.




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VEHICLE PLANNING
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BFG KO2: As some of you may know, I replaced my 7-year Cooper STTs with some KO2s. I wanted to break them in for road travel, and see how they performed.


GOBI RACK: I planned on using my Gobi Rack as much as possible, considering it doesn’t get much use throughout the year. My tire is lodged up there… for now (hint towards a future mod), but I was able to throw whatever I needed, with the bountiful amount of straps that I have laying around. The options are there, but it’s not like we camped out and needed any more supplies.




PIAA 520s: I bought these from Rick, another Nissan member, for $75. It was a deal that I couldn’t pass up. A few weeks later, my buddy Chris and I installed them, and realized that both bulbs were burnt out. My friend, Richard, was kind enough to send me his H3 100W PIAA bulbs that he had just lying around, from an old set of lights. There were lots of efforts to these sets of PIAAs. Very fortunate to have friends, and such a strong 4X4 community.
Lastly, we’ll be driving in rural/country areas of Kentucky. This meant, minimal amount of roadlighting, deer, sharp turns etc. Additionally, a lot of these areas were surrounded by lakes, which in result creates fog; it’s why I threw on some yellow filters on the 520s.
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DAY 1 – BBQ, KANGAROOS, CAVING & LAKES
It was a gorgeous morning, as we woke up and packed our things to get ready for the road. We stayed the night at my mother-in-law’s house, considering that she was nice enough to watch our pets for the time we were gone. 10:30 or so hit, and we headed off down south. Driving down,our phones were on the fritz, since we were jumping back and forth between Central and Eastern Time Zones.
First stop was Mama Lou’s Barbecue in Munfordsville, Kentucky… but it wasn’t there. Instead, it was another BBQ place, and decided to take the risk, versus our everyday fast food chains. We were glad we did. It was the first time I’ve ever had pulled-pork tacos, and they were delicious. Afterwards, I asked if they sold their BBQ sauce, and I scored. Threw it right into our cooler in the back of the X.


Next stop was a place called Kentucky Down Under; an Australian-themed zoo in the middle of Kentucky. It housed exotic birds, lemurs, dingos and wolves. It even housed a rare albino kangaroo. In the beginning, we had a white trail-dog assist in our walking. He reminded me of the dog from Neverending Story.


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Afterwards, we went underneath the ground for a cave tour, which was the main reason on how Kentucky Down Under was created. A few hours in, we stopped at the gift shop, and headed off to our resting area; Dale Hollow Lake.


The drive was beautiful. I never realized how flat areas of Kentucky could be. It really was a nostalgic feeling of being back in Montana. Rain started to pour down on us non-stop, and sporadically. My wife mentioned that this was “tornado-alley” and that we should be cautious. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful drive, that shocked both of us with its landscapes.
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After numerous backroads, winding roads and a few switchbacks, we made it to Dale Hollow Lake. This newly created resort/park sits on the lake that borders Tennessee and Kentucky. A gorgeous sight for sure. Here’s a photo from our balcony. We decided to eat at the restaurant, unpack and call it a night. Before we turned in, we looked at the weather and saw that it was going to rain the ver next day. With that being said, hiking was out of the picture. Eventually, I came up with the idea of going to Mammoth Cave, and explore what they have to offer. They offered a 2-mile intermediate trail which piqued both of our interests AT 1:15pm. It was the only tour they had that day (of this kind), so we knew we couldn’t be late. We decided to go with that, and headed off to sleep.
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DAY 2 – THE BIGGEST CAVE IN THE NATION
I woke up at my normal time of 5:30 am, and decided to go for a jog. The sunrise was insane, and the crisp cool air made the jog a little challenging, along with the lowered sea-level and inclines. After I got back, I stretched it out, and took a few photos with the DSLR & iPhone. Little did I know, this was going to be the best sunrise during our stay.


Once my wife woke up, we got everything needed for the day, and headed off to Cave City, Kentucky. This was the same route we took getting to Dale Hollow Lake, however, a somewhat-mandatory road was closed off; due to its high incline, and because it rained the night before (mudslides, broken trees, etc). This called for a back-road detour.
My wife brought up the map, and guided me off to where we needed to go. We encountered numerous backroads, and very narrow roadways. Eventually, we arrived at our highway destination, and jetted off to Mammoth Cave. It was then and there that my wife received her navigational badge.
Upon arriving, the place was PACKED. License plates ranged from Ohio to California. When we got inside, however, our tour that we wanted to attend was sold-out. We decided that we came out here for a reason, and decided to attend a downgraded tour, which wasn’t as long, and a bit easier.
The cave was huge, stretching out 405 miles, but we only did a mile or so. Not much to say, but here’s some photos. Tripods weren’t allowed, so exposure settings were janky. Afterwards, we were bussed back to the parking lot, and ate some beef jerky, and washed it down with water and Gatorade.
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We also checked out a ferry that was transporting vehicles three at a time across the river. It was a decent experience. I've never had my vehicle ferried before. Once on the other side, I found a side road to turn back to, but decided to step out and take a photo. Here's the result.
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It was also here that I realized that I had an abnormal squeak in my front driver-side suspension. Whenever I turned, or moved the vehicle up and down, it created this squeak. After consulting with a few XTERRA buds over the phone, and a friend/mechanic, I pinpointed it to being in the UCA. Some PB-Blaster or WD-40 was needed to temporarily fix the problem, but ultimately, I needed to grease the areas when I got back home. Thanks again Jeremy, Brian, Chris and Jason.
At dinner, we actually received some local insight for some great hiking places around Dale Hollow Lake. He mentioned an overlook, which took in the whole view of the lake, as well as an old ranger shack that’s been abandoned for some time. He gave us some direction, which we then kept a mental note for tomorrow’s adventure.




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DAY 3 – Creepy Abandoned Shack & Eagle’s Point
I had my wife’s permission to wake her up that morning to catch the sunrise at Dale Hollow Lake. To our surprise, we got nothing but fog. She actually kind of laughed, and went back to sleep. I decided to stay up, and put the time-lapse feature of the iphone to use. It was amazing to see the fog rolling in, and how the sun pierces through it all.
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A few hours pass, and we decided to hit the trails. First was the overlook called Eagle’s Point, which is a rock structure that hangs high above. Here’s some photos.
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After we snapped a few photos, we decided to explore & find this old abandoned ranger shack. My wife and I took in two different context for directions. Afterwards, we sort of combined the two, and eventually found it. It wasn’t on any kind of path, and made me wish that I invested in a machete. Beside it was a small creek that ran down to an intersection and branched off in nearly every direction. We didn’t want to stay long, considering how primitive and untamed the area was, so we hiked back up the hill, up to my rig.
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After driving around, we decided to check out a picnic area, which I was hoping would be right off the lake. Instead, it was surrounded by trees, in a circular fashion. In the middle, swings on a small island, where my wife excitedly jumped on. I snapped a few photos of the area, and we decided to check out the marina/docks.
The docks housed many kind of boats, big & small. We actually found a path that led onto the “beach” with shattered shale rocks, and remnants of previous campers. It was the first time that we were actually up-close with the Dale Hollow Lake itself.
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DAY 4 – MID-WAY
The next morning, we had to pack up, and get ready to leave by 11 (check out). Next stop wasour next vacation location in Lake Cumberland. However, we decided to hit up a place I’ve been wanting to go at first, but didn’t make the final cut. Also, our check-in time wasn’t until 4, and we had some extra adventure in our fuel tanks. My wife loved the fact that we “ended a vacation” at one place, and are “starting a new vacation” in another.
The place was called Creelsboro Natural Bridge, aka The Rock House. The structure was gigantic, the ceiling reaching about 10 stories tall, and the actual size about 12 or 13. Right beside it, was a river with a green hue to it. This was easily the easiest hike (park and it’s there), as well as the most rewarding so far.
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We came in a little early, around 2 or so, and our room was actually G2G. We unpacked for the night and called it a day at Lake Cumberland.




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DAY 5 – Coffee…
In the morning, we ate breakfast, and headed off to a trail that overlooks the lake, took a few photos and headed back down.
On our morning hike, my wife made a valid point; that she hasn’t had ACTUAL coffee the whole time during the trip. Resort coffee was horrible, and our coffee machine was broken, resulting in brown water for coffee. Afterwards, we decided to hit up Jamestown, a very small town, one of those town where everyone knew one another. She got somewhat of a coffee fix, but either way, it was better than what she’s been getting. At this point, we were about ready to go home. We watched TV, ate and rested up for the ride home the next day.


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DAY 6 – The Finish Line…
The next morning, we packed up, and headed off back home. Of course, we stopped at the Jamestown coffee joint prior, and then was off to Berea Kentucky for one last exploration. Since my ankle has been acting up, we decided to opt out of hiking today, but rather explore small shops around town. It was a great spontaneous idea, considering we have been trail-heads for the past few days. Afterwards, we ate at the great pizzeria, and headed back home.
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AFTERTHOUGHTS
I’m here typing this, and am missing how much fun we had on our explorcation (exploring/vacation). It’s a shame that we will have to go back to the daily come Monday, but it’s the reason why vacations are so powerful in meaning. Some take-aways were…
• External Gas Tank: I threw my old 5G away, because of gasket and closure issues. I wouldn’t mind investing in some RotoPax later on down the road, but my next purchase has already been carved in my head.
• Cooler/Fridge: I know that ARB, as well as many others, have great fridge options, but I don’t get outside enough for me to use it. I would like to maybe bring cold-cuts/sandwich meat, burgers and whatnot when we visit parks. My little cooler did the trick for dry foods, and bottled water.
• Preparation: There were times where our Plan As had to be shut down due to something, leaving us with no Plan B. I’d suggest being open, and optimistic for anything the area has to offer. Sometimes, the spontaneous roadtrips turn out to be the best ones!
 
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kirk

Butterfly King
Moderator
Supporting Member
Location
Allen, Texas
This was a fantastic read and a great motivator. I travel alot in my VW bus, but no road trips in the X yet. Off to read your build thread!
 

SKAVYNGR

Need Bigger Tires
Location
Lexington, KY
Nice man! I'll see you next weekend in NC.

Sent from Sunnyvale Trailer Park

Yeah man, ready for this weekend for sure.

Awesome! Been waiting to see this :)




Hey, I know you! Guess we're letting the riff-raff in these days.

Lol, I've seen Richard jump back and forth from XN and EP.


This was a fantastic read and a great motivator. I travel alot in my VW bus, but no road trips in the X yet. Off to read your build thread!

Thanks Kirk! I have a mini trip that I can document as well, starting this weekend. Let me know what you think of the build. It's still a work in progress. :)



"Adventure is out there."
-Russell, Pixar's Up
 
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