My Day in Carrollton, KY

I've decided that Northern KY will not be my retirement town and since I won't be staying for the long haul, why wait to pull up roots. I've listed my condo for sale and will leave when it sells. Of course, that may take a year or more! In the meantime, rather than moping about my situation, I will be visiting various sites in the region, acting like a tourist on vacation. After all, the best thing about Northern KY is its proximity to so many wonderful destinations.

This past weekend I went to Carrollton, KY to visit General Butler State Park and River Valley Winery. My honest review... well, um, not worth the gas to get there. Sorry, but true for me. I thought Carrollton was actually a depressing little town. It was small, in a low-class kinda way, not quaint like small towns strive for, just small. I didn't see any restaurants or shops that I would have liked to stop into. I didn't see any pretty scenery either. It is located where the Kentucky River meets the Ohio River. Unfortunately, I didn't find either river to be very attractive. In the nearly four years that I have lived here, I have yet to figure out the attraction to the Ohio River. It is brown and dirty, some days it takes on the appearance of split pea soup. Personally, I would not want to touch the water. Yet, people who've grown up here enjoy boating, water skiing, and fishing out there. Yuk!

Enough about the town, how about the General Butler State Park? Sorry, not worth the gas either. Maybe if you like history, you could tour the house and cemetery and hear all about General William Butler and his family, but don't go for the lake, hiking, camping, or scenic overlook. All overrated in my book. The lake was small; three paddle strokes in a canoe and you would be on the other side. The water looked stagnant and muddy also; not something I would want to swim in. The trails were unkempt and frankly, unattractive. The park also is bordered by a major highway so you could hear a lot of traffic noise from the campground, plus it was crowded and the sites were so close to one another that there was no privacy.  And the only overlook was on the depressing town of Carrollton with the ugly Ohio River off in the distance.

Oh boy, did the winery save the day? Yeah, well, maybe. It was nice, but I would not recommend a trip out there just for that. If you happen to be driving through the area, it would make a relaxing stop, but it is not a destination.

I took a walk through the vineyard to get a close up view of their grapes. Lots of cute little birds enjoying themselves out there (but they were much too fast to catch on camera). 

The tasting room and porch were small but very well maintained with beautiful flowers, vines, and humming bird feeders. The hostess was welcoming and friendly, really made you feel at home.

Here are the vines in the background. It was a very small property run by a husband and wife team. I read that they use their own grapes and grapes from neighboring farms.

The wines were nice as well. You were able to taste as many as you liked before selecting a glass to drink there or a bottle to take with you. They had about ten to choose from. I selected the Bobby's Blush wine.

So, my day was not a total loss, but far from a success. I have lots more exploring to do before I leave Northern KY. Stay tuned for my next trip!

Not-so-cute Cow

Ok, I will now agree, not all cows are cute! This guy was peering at me through the fence during my fitness walk at the Boone County Arboretum. Poor guy was covered with flies, but he didn't seem to care, he just stood there mindlessly munching grass.

The arboretum is a wonderful place to walk. They have a 3.3 mile paved walking path that winds through the property and around a dozen or so soccer and softball fields. They have over 3000 different trees and shrubs and beautiful flower beds lining the path, along with a butterfly garden, children's playground, and tennis courts. The park is adjacent to farmland so once in a while, the cows are there to stare you down.

Other typical wildlife sightings are deer, rabbits, chipmunks, and tons and tons of birds.
Great park! Check it out: Boone County Arboretum

Fernald Preserve Wildflowers

I took a lovely tour of a former uranium processing facility (for those not familiar with the stuff, uranium is essential for nuclear weapons). Weird, right? Who would want to tour that? The Sierra Club, actually.

The Fernald Preserve in Hamilton Ohio is located on the former Feed Materials Production Center that produced high-purity uranium metals for the creation of nuclear weapons. They were active from 1951 to 1989. Now, at a cost of $4.4 billion to clean up the radiation, they are a wildlife sanctuary. The visitor's center was amazing. I could have spent hours in there reading the history of the facility and the life of the people that lived nearby and worked in the plant. The exhibits tell the site's story starting with the Native Americans, then the settlers and the farmers, through to the government acquisition of the land and construction of the facility, up until today, finishing with the clean up process and the restoration to its natural environment.

Our visit included a walk on some of the trails, highlighting the wildflowers, wetland areas, and prairie grasses. We were told that the site has been cleaned up to EPA's standards for its intended purpose, which means clean enough for nature, not clean enough for residence... yikes! Well, the birds don't mind. I read in one of their brochures that over two hundred species of birds have been observed there, and nearly one hundred different species have been documented as nesting there.

Definitely worth a visit is you are a history buff or a birder and are in the areas. http://www.lm.doe.gov/fernald/Sites.aspx

Almost a Year

Hard to believe, but August is this blog's 1-year mark. I said I would look back on my posts and determine if the Great Midwest was "right" for me. I guess I should do my posts for July and then decide... but, honestly, I don't have too much planned that I am excited about posting. I've just returned from a family vacation in Bryson City, NC and will be posting a few pictures from that region of the country, not from the Midwest. Funny, but my fondest memories are from locations other than Northern KY. Hmmmm... I promise to stay positive. I've lived here nearly four years and I've met some very nice people... but, honestly, I have to question whether it is "right" for me.

Ah, a beautiful waterfall on Deep Creek in Bryson City, NC on the southern side of Smokey Mountain National Park. This river is used for tubing but we were hiking early in the morning and beat the others. The water was actually very chilly and I never did venture in farther then my knees (my sister and niece went tubing, the brave souls!). Really, really pretty area. Our hike took us past three waterfall and along a lovely shaded trail beside the river. I could definitely picture myself going on frequent morning hikes if I lived here. Kinda puts Big Bone Lick trails to shame. Well, no kinda about it, Deep Creek puts Big Bone completely to shame!