Road Trip Part 3 - Kentucky (the highlight, so lots of pictures!)

And thus we crossed The River and were headed to Kentucky.  Actually, we were far enough north that we crossed into Illinois first before crossing into Kentucky.  However, the distance we travelled in Illinois was probably less than a city block before we crossed another bridge and were in KY.  We aren't counting that we've visited Illinois; we'll have to make it back up there one of these days :)

Kentucky (and a brief stop in Tennessee too)

So, we crossed into KY and soon hit Paducah, our first town in KY and the welcome center, source of all kinds of lovely tourist info.  And let me tell you, KY was earning points right from the get-go.  The welcome center was in a historic house, complete with historic marker!  We've done a lot of travel, and that certainly ranks as one of the coolest rest stops we've ever come to. 

The first day we were there, we went to Kentucky Down Under.  It's a tourist thing, but hey - we were tourists!  There's a show cave and a working farm, and (most exciting) kangaroos, up close and personal.  So, a few pics from Kentucky Cavern, the cave at Kentucky Down Under - trying to get underground as much as we could!

 

There were a lot of gorgeous birds there, including kookaburras (first time I can remember seeing them in person and hearing the famous laugh!).  Also including lorikeets, like this little guy who wanted to ride on my head.  Stay up there the whole time I was in with them, too!

     

The highlight of Kentucky Down Under was the "walkabout" in the kangaroo enclosure.  A guide goes in with your group, so you get to pet the kangaroos, should you want to (but why wouldn't you??).  SO COOL!  This guy here is one of mellower ones, or as our guide put it, "he's a big ol' teddy bear who loves his belly rubs."  They are suprisingly very very soft.  The guide (who's another caver, as a side note) said the very thick, soft fur helps keep them protected from the harsh, dry environment they are naturally found in.  Makes sense, but I'd've still thought it'd be coarser.  So we all took our turns giving him a pat on the back:

 

 

The kangaroo enclosure houses both red (below left) and grey (below right) kangaroos, in case you're curious.  I just love that picture of the red below.  He was sooooo mellow, and just tipped forward as he was falling asleep, propped up on his nose :)

 

The big stop of the trip, though, was Mammoth Cave National Park.  And it earns it's name - 400 miles of passageway and counting!  We took the historic tour, partly because we already know a good bit of basic cave geology and partly because it was the most convenient time-wise. 

 

The tour was pretty interesting.  Ancient peoples used to use the cave, but for some reason they stopped and it was left alone for a couple thousand years.  In the late 1700s it was rediscovered, and (like a lot of caves in that region) mined for the salt peter.  It was last mined in the War of 1812, since it was too close to too much fighting during the Civil War.  After it stopped being actively mined, it became a show cave.  So, people have been touring Mammoth since the early 1800s!  We even saw graffiti from the 1830s!!  Yes, somethings don't ever change about people - gotta leave their name and show they've been there.

 

 

The downside to Mammoth Cave was that having been a show cave for so long, it has become so accessible.  The flip-side to being a national park, too - it's protected so more people can come see, so more people do come see.  What did that mean to us?  BIG tour group, so slow moving tour and small children who started to get fussy before the tour was over :(  The group was big enough that we'd miss parts of the guide's talk, simply because we were still walking to catch up.  Or the fussy small children - there really should be an age limit on tours sometimes!  Two hours of walking is a lot for some of the really small ones (I'm talking just-past-toddler stage).  We were slow enough moving as a group, we had chances to stop and easily snap some pictures as we moved through the cave, simply because we were waiting to pass through, not because it was one of the 'stops on the tour.'  Below is Heather in Fat Man's Misery, for example. 

Still, it is a very unique cave and a cool one to visit; just make sure to try and hit the off season!

And one final silly story from KY: our last dinner in Bowling Green.  We took Heather to Taj Palace, a delightful Indian restaurant, as she'd never really tried it before and we were there to help her find something she'd like.  Apparently Zach and I are "foodies." :)  I ordered the Tulsi Kabab, chicken marinated in cream with basil and spinach.  I didn't think about it when I ordered it, but it was perfect for St Pat's - the chicken was bright green from the spinach!  It was delicious too, but it definitely made us all laugh when my bright green chicken arrived at the table :)

 

Overall thoughts?  We reeeeeeally liked Kentucky!  Would not be surprised at all if we decide down the road to settle in the area (you know, once we can actually choose where we live again!).  Oklahoma was interesting, and the Ozarks were pretty, but we really liked KY.  I guess we've been living in regions so drastically different to where we grew up that being someplace that felt more "us" was a really nice change.  Now, if only we could get moved to Fort Campbell...