The Utah Canoeing Trip – Days 4-5

I intended to take a circuitous route from my camp the night before, eventually to Louisville and it turned out to be a great trip.

Berea, KY Artisans

On the morning of May 11 I was wide awake at 6am so I broke camp and made the drive to Berea. Arriving well before the galleries opened I snuck in an hour’s nap in the truck. There was impressive work by weavers, glassblowers, woodworkers, metalworkers, leatherworkers and more. A few selected pieces that caught my eye:

 

 

I stopped in Warren A May’s woodworking shop which was quite a treat. He has been in Fine Woodworking several times and his pieces were amazing. My photos won’t do them justice but a couple are below. The inlay details are hand made with edges burned by a torch to add effect. Each leaf is hand made, the relief cuts are hand done.

To meet him and see his work was the highlight of the trip. Upon leaving I felt like when I returned home I had to up my own woodworking game, or sell my tools. Truly inspirational.

 

 

Daniel Boone’s Grave

This site was on my way to Louisville so a quick side trip was in order. As I read up on the site an interesting story came to light. Daniel Boone was one of, if not the first folk hero of the US. He had quite a list of experiences during his life: an officer in the militia during the revolutionary war, explorer and settler of Kentucky which was separated from the settled area of Virginia by the Appalachians, surveyor, merchant, land speculator, state assemblyman and more. He lived his final years in Missouri until his death at 85 years old at which time he was buried in an unmarked grave near Marthasville, MO. Kentucky later was able to have his remains disinterred and moved to the site I visited. The remaining Boone family resented this move so they claim to have allowed the wrong remains to be moved to Kentucky. There has been some back and forth between the parties over the years which has resulted in grave spots that both claim to have his bones, and it turned out that his remains are likely split between the two graves. This really is a pretty cool story, checke out the followings links for more if you are so inclined:

http://www.booneburialsite.org/history/removal.shtml

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/18662

 

 

After visiting the grave site I went to a nearby park for lunch and a nap. As usual, I had the entire park to myself. If you look closely you can see the hammock in the background. I read for maybe 20 minutes and then enjoyed a power nap before getting back on the road.

 

Jefferson Memorial Forest – May 11 Camp

Proceeding to the Louisville area I resupplied at a local grocery store and pitched camp in the Jefferson Memorial Forest. It was late by the time I made a bite to eat but I took off on a 6 mile hike down a very nicely groomed trail. Fortunately I noticed I forgot my flashlight and made the 1/4 mile hike back to get it because it was hard to see the trail for the last mile back to camp. The forest was gorgeous, the trail impeccable and the park map surprisingly accurate with contours overlaid on a well marked map.

 

After the hike I promptly crashed to sleep and woke up at 7am or so in the morning. I made breakfast, packed up camp and headed into Louisville to check out more museums.

Louisville Water Works

This came up on the top 30 things to do in Louisville on Trip Advisor so I checked it out. I can honestly say I very much enjoyed the museum and tour. The museum traces the background story on the works and the expansion and technological developments that have taken place over the years. It was initially powered by a multiple huge steam engines and pumps that were probably over 65 feet tall and it now powered by a few electric motors/pumps that are maybe the size of my truck. One of the original steam engines is still in place; you get to see it up front and personal during the tour. Natural disasters, political tribulations, the discovery of bacteria and transmission of disease, filtration and the advent of electricity are all topics that are traced through in some detail. Bottom line: if you like this kind of thing, carve out a couple of hours to check this out.

What is called a “water tower” in the first picture below is actually just a tall column of water with an open top The purpose of it is to absorb the spikes of water pressure that resulted from the piston movement of the original steam powered pumps. The water level would rise and fall with the pistor movement to integrate the pressure over time, lowering the peak pressures in the water mains.

 

 

Louisville Slugger Museum

I’m not a baseball fanatic, nor am I even a casual fan, but I did play as a kid and do enjoy the all-American history of the sport. The Louisville Slugger baseball bats are manufactured on-site here so I signed up for a tour of the museum and factory. The factory tour was interesting but not really *that* interesting. They core out tree sections for bat blanks and then grade them by weight. They then use CNC or pattern tracing lathes to cut bats, then brand them, sand them, dip them in coating and ship them out. I’m sure there are many trade secrets in the process but it’s not overly impressive as a tour. That said, I enjoyed it and some of the background story made it quite interesting. The museum was mostly lost on me since I’m not a heavy duty fan of the sport but I enjoyed moments at minimum. It’s well worth the time and money, I recommend it.

 

 

Churchill Downs, Site of the Kentucky Derby

I’m even less of a horse racing fan than a baseball fan. You’ll actually find me at the occasional baseball game but I’ve only been to the horse races twice in my life. That said, I was pretty close to Churchill Downs so I went for it. The Kentucky Derby was held just a week ago. The park was mostly cleaned up from the event but there was still garbage being collected out of the stands, power washing being done, etc. I took a guided tour, which was excellent, and then wandered the mostly empty grounds for a while. It was eerie to be in the place with essentially no one inside and all the doors unlocked.

 

 

From here I took off towards St. Louis and crashed at Washington State Park south of STL. It was dark and I was tired when I arrived just before 10pm. I was up and out before 7am. Again, I had the park to myself, not a single camper in the whole loop I was in. Quiet, peaceful and my first long, hot shower since leaving my parent’s.