Bernheim Forest was founded by Isaac W. Bernheim in 1929 with a goal of connecting people with nature. He hired the NY Central Park landscape designer Olmsted to design the 16,000 acres of land. Trees and gardens were planted, 40 miles of trails now exist and it is unbelievable in realizing this area was once clear-cut of all trees. The place runs on grants, donations and volunteer effort. When you enter, a $15 per vehicle donation is requested, but if you cannot pay you are still welcome to come in. By the same token, if you can pay more, that is appreciated. Bernheim truly wanted to make the place accessible for all.
The “Giants of the Forest” are structures made totally of wood. Initially it was thought they would decompose within a 3 year period of time. Now it has been 5 years! With some minor repairs, I thought the structures were amazing!
“Little Nis” of 3 Forest Giants. Notice the size of the giant.
“”Mama Loumari”
“Little Elina”
My friend and I were enjoying the walk along ponds with fish and bullfrogs in the sunshine, although it looked like rain would be later in the day. Many people were out hiking, fishing, shopping at the huge gift shop and eating at the cafe. It would be easy to make it a day’s activity here.
Here’s a close-up so you can see the wood pieces:
Isn’t the work with wood amazing? And they are huge!
Off we went to James B. Beam Distillery. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at The Kitchen Table … best smoked brisket, grits and corn relish I ever had! Then the whiskey tasting. My friend was our designated driver so she had just a sip from each of my tastings. Of the 5 I tasted, some had no taste, one very sweet and maybe one was okay. Bottomline, I am not a whiskey drinker unless you’re poring it into maybe some minty beverage.
It was a fun way to catch up with a friend and so happy the weather cooperated. She lives in a beautiful area of Kentucky.
My second national park on this trip is a beautiful park with the world’s longest cave system. With over 460 miles of interlocking passageways, the Domes and Dripstones tour had hundreds of steps up and down, while we only walked 3/4 mile through the cave! No photo captures the magnificence or the hugeness of the cave system, whether I stood in large rooms or squeezed through narrow passageways.
Some cave photos:
The grounds above the cave system are green and well-maintained as was the campground. There are many hiking options, plus an almost 10 mile bicycle trail. With a sunny, 82 degree day ….great time for a bicycle ride! Or so I thought, as I headed out on my bicycle. I discovered about 4 miles in this was not enjoyable on my hybrid bike tires and wished I had my mountain bike. What took me almost a half hour one way was 14 minutes back on the road!
Staying at the national park campground with no water, electricity and wifi was wonderful. Four days to truly unplug. As I write this draft blog post, ants, centipedes and other small critters drop in on me. People from different campsites stop by and visit; tours of my van have been provided too! The birds were singing; the squirrels running around and up trees. I think we’re all enjoying the sunshine since we knew rain was in the future. At night while walking the grounds near the lodge and visitor center, the deer were asking why I was in their area. The park really does empty out at this date, but all staff here know the holiday and summer crowds are coming! The cave tour I was on typically has 100-110 people on it. Our tour group had 8 people; quite the personal tour for us!
The park service does a wonderful job of spreading the message: we need to protect and care for our national parks. I like the fact that canned water was available for purchase …. Not in plastic bottles! And no paper towels in the restrooms.
Canned water
Yes the rain came and the Arkansas leak fix did not work. My van was leaking below the lights in front of my rearview mirror from the previous night’s rain. Damn! I waited for the lodge and visitor center to open. I was 15 minutes early. I decided I should eat breakfast so I stopped at a cafe in the lodge. When the woman asked what can I get you, I asked if she knew of a good auto repair place… it was a Friday; nothing would be open on the weekend. She did and a maintenance guy there also added he has had cab lights on his truck tightened. Off to the GMC place in Glasgow, Kentucky (1/2 hour away) and they tightened the lights and siliconed around them and the antennae. I was very fortunate for them to squeeze me in. I did also say I would sit there all day till they found time. I was out by noon!
Back at the campground I was fretting the upcoming rain so I booked the Historic Cave tour to be underground for 2 hours. This tour was so different! When the cave system was first discovered this was the only entrance and it was into large rooms! African American enslaved individuals mined the saltpeter used in the Civil War. You can see the hollowed-out tree trunks once used as water pipes. The history of the mine was fascinating as we walked 2 miles on this tour. The cave’s rooms on this tour were large in width and height!
There is a fungal disease affecting bats, white-nose syndrome. To protect them we walked over a bio-security mat to wash the bottoms of our shoes so we did not spread any fungi from one cave to another. Interesting!
I attended a ranger talk at night, walked some trails, birded at another and watched the Green River ferry in action. You jam so much in at a time when the rains stops! I was only a short distance away from my next campground so I visited 3 Amish-owned businesses, grabbed a sandwich, bought some items, and unfortunately was driving the back country roads in torrential rains, thunder and lightning! Yes, the van leaked. It seems a 50 mph drive through an impactful rain causes water to find its way to my misery. Will deal with it another day and hope for sun in the in-between time!
Photo of a very sweet-tasting chess cake. Bet you never heard of a “chess cake”. I purchased it at an Amish-owned bakery. Also bought a sandwich with lettuce and tomato; a luxury to enjoy when on the road.
