Calumet Horse Farm
When we visited Kentucky several years ago to attend an Alpaca show, we stayed in Louisville, an area we really liked and where we visited 'Churchill Downs, the famous Kentucky Derby horse racetrack.
This time around we chose for Lexington, home of some of the world's most famous horse breeding farms.
After a 200 mile drive we pulled into the campground of the Kentucky Horse Park, very conveniently situated right next to the Park.
A nice site once again, under some shady trees and with plenty of room, away from any neighbors.
Our first day of sightseeing didn't have anything to do with horses yet, although it's hard to get around them, but everything with Kentucky's other 'claim to fame', Bourbon!
There's an official 'Kentucky Bourbon Trail' you can drive, which brings you by a whole bunch of different distilleries, but since we're not particularly fond of Bourbon we decided to visit and tour only one of them.
We chose the Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, which we'd heard does a great tour and, even better, the tour as well as the tastings afterward are free!
The Distillery, situated on 400 acres, is over 200 years old, is the World's Most Decorated Distillery and the oldest continually operating distillery in America.
We enjoyed the 1 hour tour, were lucky to see some of the production line (they were running late), and walked alongside the stacked barrels in one of the enormous warehouses.
See the barrels in the windows?
The next day we took the free campground shuttle to the Horse Park.
The only park of its kind in the world, the Kentucky Horse Park is a
working horse farm, educational theme park and equine competition
facility dedicated to man's relationship with the horse. Set on more
than 1,200 acres in the heart of the Kentucky's famous Bluegrass region,
the park is THE place to get close to horses!
Throughout the Park there are several daily shows you can attend, among which is a 10 minute horse drawn tour, which we took first to get the 'lay of the land' and learn some more about the history and features of the Park.
This museum was absolutely incredible, beautifully presented and tons of information!
The Kentucky Horse Park has been home to some of the world's greatest competition horses, thoroughbreds as well as standardbred. In the Hall of Champions we met a few retired horses who achieved fame in the races, during a 30 minute presentation.
This is funny Cide, who won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in 2003
We walked the grounds and watched all the daily activity around the stables ..
We noticed that most (all) of the daily work was done by Mexicans!
They must be good horsemen?
The day we were visiting day 2 of the yearly Kentucky Spring Classic was taking place, and we watched for a while as riders were trying to qualify for the finale.
The Breeds Barn hosts horse shows in which different breeds are paraded out and presented for the visitors.
Their riders dress appropriately to the time or task the breed is bred for. I was thrilled to see one of my 'fellow countryman', a dutch Frisian Horse!
This 'American Cream Draft' horse has the unusual amber colored eyes and cream coat of the breed.
A number of beautiful bronze horse sculptures stand in the park, including a Man o' War statue on a pedestal near the entrance, over the horse's grave, and a life-size statue of the 1973 U.S. Triple Crown winner Secretariat.
Wow, what a day and what a beautiful Park!
It's safe to say we now know a lot more about horses, and I thought I already knew some ..
Time for something different, don't you think. As in golf. Since it has been ages, no ..?
We played at the Houston Oaks Golf Course in Paris, surrounded by legendary horse farms and bluegrass agriculture, about 15 minutes from downtown Lexington.
It has gained the reputation of being one of the most challenging layouts around.
Even here you can't get around the horse theme, since the tee markers are horse-shoes, and the cart path runs through an old restored horse barn ...
On Friday night we went for dinner to Windy Corner Market, just East of Lexington.
This "unfussy" American joint in horse-farm country, serves po' boys, breakfasts & more in a rustic space".
All true and, on Friday nights, they have a live Bluegrass Band!
The music was the best part of the evening though. The place was packed and everybody sang along and had a ball!
The Music of Kentucky is heavily centered on Appalachian folk music and its descendants, especially in eastern Kentucky.
Bluegrass music is of particular regional importance and traditionally played on acoustic stringed instruments; the fiddle, five-string banjo, guitar, mandolin, and upright bass, occasionally joined by an harmonica.
What a great evening!
The next day we set out for more horse-related adventures. We toured the beautiful country side, following the 'Bluegrass Country Driving Tour', put together by the Lexington Visitor Center, that makes a scenic loop around Lexington.
This area, the Bluegrass region and worlds largest equine 'nursery', is known through its grass, called bluegrass.
It's not really blue but produces a tiny blue flower in spring, so a field might appear to be bluish-green.
It's thought to be especially suitable for horses and the hundreds of horse farms certainly seem to be proof of this.
The barns and the farms are beautiful and the horses in the fields a wonderful sight ..
Some of these farms look like castles!
Even more impressive are the hundreds and hundreds of miles of fencing. At about $18.000 a mile it'll set you back a bit!
And that's before painting, hence the reason some choose to paint them black which requires less frequent painting!
This is Calumet Farm, one of the most famous farms in the world. No farm has ever matched it's record of eight Kentucky Derby and two Triple Crown winners.
Halfway the tour we stopped for a visit to the famous Claiborne Farm.
It is a private working farm, tours are by appointment only, but they are free, as most of others are not.
Claiborne Farm has been in operation for over 100 years.
It is the
birthplace of more than 75 Champions and 22 members of National Racing
Museum's Hall of Fame and 10 winners of the Kentucky Derby have been foaled and/or raised here.
Since this is a working farm with priceless horses, the tour is limited to the Stallion Division, which included the breeding shed, the stallion barns with current studs and the cemetery.
It was a very informative tour, our guide, a groom, was very knowledgeable and the studs absolutely gorgeous!
Meet Orb, winner of the Kentucky Derby on May 4, 2013, standing stud for a $25.000 fee!
Our last evening coincided with the finale of the Spring Classic, so we walked over to the Rolex Stadium, next door at the Horse Park.
This largest outdoor stadium in Central Kentucky with a capacity of up to nearly 52,000 is used primarily for larger outdoor horse shows.
It was really fun to watch this special event, 'the Bluegrass Grand Prix' from the bleachers and see Ireland’s Kevin Babington (IRL) claiming his second consecutive National Grand Prix victory for a win of $35,000!
(Halfway the event they actually switched the big screen over to show the Preakness Stakes race in Baltimore Maryland, the second race in the Triple Crown. It was won in a thrilling race by Justify, the same horse that had won the Kentucky Derby, the first 'leg' of the Crown. So exciting!)
All in all a fitting end for these wonderful horse-filled days in Lexington, Kentucky!
Next up, West Virginia!
We'd booked 2 nights at the Robert Newlon Air RV Park in Huntington and after an easy drive, we arrived early in the afternoon.
The campground sits right next to a small air field and I had hoped to see some planes go off, but despite the beautiful weather, nothing happened while we were there.
The next day we visited the Heritage Farm Museum and Village, an an open-air living history museum in Huntington, that focuses on Appalachian history and culture.
We enjoyed an excellent, and as it turned out, private tour, since there was nobody else. The guide was a retired teacher and also knew a lot about the area .
The grounds had a black smith shop, log church, one-room school house, a coal museum, a country store, a transportation museum, and more.
And all of that was set in a beautiful, tranquil rural setting. We took our time, had coffee and lunch and enjoyed the peaceful settings.
Well, let's just say John Denver knew what he was singing about ... lots and lots of mountains with (windy) country roads (I doubt there's a flat stretch in the whole State), and millions and millions of trees!
Very, very beautiful, although hard work for the truck to pull us through and over!
Our campground, the 'Broken Wheel' was a nice place, smack dab in the middle of all those trees with 'a creek running through it' ..
From Weston it's an easy drive over the freeway to Elkins, from where various smaller scenic roads lead you into the beautiful hills and forests of the West-Virginia wilderness.
We first drove the 40 miles to Blackwater Falls:
Named for it's 'black' (-ish) looking water which is a result of tannic acid from fallen hemlock and red spruce needles, these falls in the Blackwater River drop about 62 feet (19 m) at the head of Blackwater Canyon.
It is among the most photographed venues in the state and appears on calendars, stationery, and advertisements and it's easy to see why. They're beautiful!
A broad trail descends about 320 feet (98 m) from the Falls parking lot to a wooden walkway and overlook, while a much steeper trail extends beyond to the basin below the Falls.
Several overlooks along the way give you a great view of this beautiful fall.
We decide to have a bite to eat at the restaurant, 'The Smokehouse,' of the nearby Blackwater State Park Lodge.
We'd heard rumors about their excellent, and affordable, BBQ and we can now say that they are all true! I don't think I ever had better Brisket, so juicy and flavorful!
The back of the lodge overlooks the Blackwater Canyon with the Blackwater River down below ..
We continued our drive south, following the steep and winding roads (you definitely don't want to bring an RV through here) ..
Another 35 miles later we arrived at the furthest south-east point of the loop, with our next stop, the Seneca Rocks:
Left is the Nort-peak, right the South
The south peak of these cliffs is the only "true peak" (a peak inaccessible except by technical rock climbing techniques) on the East Coast of the United States, which makes it a popular location for recreational rock climbing.
Apparently there is an 'easier' trail up a distance, from where you have a nice view, but we left it for the professionals.
At the foot of the Cliffs, this restored cabin got my attention. The look of it, and the whole setting, complete with the cutest flower and vegetable garden you've ever seen, made me declare this my 'dream-('little house on the prairie'- like) cabin'.
So, James, honey, go ahead and build me one just like it, please!
Alright, time to move on! Pennsylvania, here we come!
We had only about 85 miles to go, and soon arrived in Jefferson, PA, just south of Pittsburgh.
The road in was a little bit stressful (can you say white-knuckled), since the last 10 miles or so turned out to be a very narrow, steep and windy, country farm-road, but we made it, and in one piece, so we're good .. yeah .. pffff!
Our campground was basically a large parking lot behind a fire-station, which we knew ahead, but there really wasn't much else around, it was very affordable and had fairly good reviews, so we took a chance.
And it turned out to be just fine. We were welcomed by Joe, a very friendly volunteer fireman, who offered to show us the station after we were settled in.
Our site had a lot of shade and was the first one in a row, facing away from everybody else. Perfect!
The next day we drove back into West Virginia, we're in one of those 'Tri-State' areas once again, for a visit to the State Penitentiary in Moundsville.
A little bit of an unusual destination, but it has a notorious history (it's haunted) and is housed in a very old, historical building so we thought to give it a try.
See what I mean, talking about a very imposing, ominous looking building ...
It's stone structure, made with hand-cut sandstone which was quarried from a local site, is fashioned in the castellated Gothic architectural style (adorned with turrets and battlements, like a castle.
It was first opened in 1876. It's seen riots, fires and the execution of nearly 100 prisoners through either hanging or electrocution.
'Old Sparky'
The
conditions at the prison worsened through the years, and the facility
would be ranked on the United States Department of Justice's 'Top Ten
Most Violent Correctional Facilities list.
In total, thirty-six homicides took place in the prison.
In 1983, convicted multiple murderer Charles Manson requested to be transferred to this prison to be nearer to his family. His request was denied.
You can take a tour of the grounds, like we did, and see the rows of cramped 5 ft.-by-7 ft. cells during the day; for braver souls, the penitentiary also offers midnight tours, followed by the chance to kick around inside the prison on your own until 6 a.m.
Paranormal groups and enthusiast travel guides consider Moundsville Prison to be one of the most haunted prisons in the United States, with ghost stories originating as early as the 1930s. Reports include former guards seeing phantom inmates and a "shadow man" wandering the premises, as well as unexplained noises, voices, and cold spots.
The facility closed in 1995 and is now used for training law enforcement and corrections practitioners with regular mock-riot drills.
While we were there we were surprised to see this big mound and museum-building across the street.
It turned out to be one of the largest conical-type burial mounds in the United States, standing 62 feet (19 m) high and 240 feet (73 m) in diameter, and the largest surviving mound among those built by the Adena, around 1000 BC to about 1 AD.
It was designated a National Historic Landmark in the mid-20th century.
After taking a short visit of the museum and grounds, we called it a day and went back to 'Joe's fire station' ..
Since we stayed a couple of days in Jefferson, there was also time for a little golf.
One nice evening we golfed the beautiful, close-by, Rohanna's Golf Course:
A beautiful little 9 hole course amidst the rolling hills of southern Pennsylvania.
Because of those slopes it was very hard to get, or keep, any balls on the green, but we tried ..
And than it was time for a visit to the main reason we were in this neck of the woods .. 'Falling Water'!
On my 'bucket-list' for about 15 years now, about as long as I heard about and saw pictures of it when I first came to the US, finally I was going to see it with my own eyes!
Frank Lloyd Wrights masterpiece for sure, this stunning house was built between 1935 and 1938 for the wealthy Kaufman family and is one of Wright’s most widely acclaimed works and best exemplifies his philosophy of organic architecture: the harmonious union of art and nature.
It is built on top of an active waterfall that flows beneath the house, and constructed of native sandstone and other materials quarried from the property.
To blend into its natural settings in rural Pennsylvania, Wright limited his color choices to two colors, light ochre for the concrete and his signature Cherokee red for the steel.
Yup, 'been there, seen that'!
It is listed among Smithsonian's "Life List of 28 places to visit before you die, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966, was named the "best all-time work of American architecture" and in 2007, it was ranked 29th on the list of America's Favorite Architecture according to the AIA.
We had signed up online for a tour of the house and guesthouse, something that is advisable since it is such a popular destination.
The house attracts more than 160,000 visitors from around the world each year.
And boy, it didn't disappoint ... what an amazing house!
The ceilings are low and the roof overhangs the many wrap-around windows, which keeps out direct sunlight but provides enough natural light and gives the rooms an intimate feel.
This glass enclosure sits at the side of the living-room and when you open the doors in the front, a stair leads you down to the water ... how incredible is that?
Beautiful Art Deco lamps, old statues, books, carpets and the original simple-lined custom-designed furniture decorate every room.
On the hillside above the main house stands a four-bay carport, servants' quarters, and a guest house.
These attached outbuildings were built two years later using the same quality of materials and attention to detail as the main house.
The guest quarters feature a spring-fed swimming pool which overflows and drains to the river below.
(As a side-note, the original estimated cost for building Falling water was $35,000. The final cost for the home and guest house was $155,000 which, adjusted for inflation, is equivalent to about $2.7 million in 2017.)
Suffice to say we thoroughly enjoyed this tour!! It is such an extraordinary place, even to this day it maintains an almost modern, unique and beautiful elegance.
It was better than I imagined it would be and I'm so happy to have been able to see it!
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