Kentucky Places: Tom Dorman State Nature Preserve

This site is dedicated to the "real" Kentucky, not the homogenized world most of us live in but the parts of the state that are unique. Unfortunately, when it comes to the natural world all we really have left are the scraps. The Kentucky that Daniel Boone first encountered has long been clear-cut or plowed under, and is now being paved over as you read this. However we do still have a few scraps to remind us of what used to be. One of my favorite scraps close to Lexington is the Tom Dorman State Nature Preserve. The Dorman is almost 1000 forested acres right on the Kentucky River in Garrard County just outside of Nicholasville on US 27. Although it's only 30 minutes from Man O' War Boulevard it seems secluded - I've rarely encountered anyone else hiking there. You get some great views of the Palisades, the giant limestone cliffs along the river that are the reason none of the big towns in Central Kentucky are located right on the river.

Here's what you do: pack a lunch and hike the main loop trail clockwise out of the parking lot. After 10-15 minutes, you'll see a sign for the the ridge trail, which dead ends about 1/4 mile from the loop. Take the ridge trail until it ends (you'll see another sign) and eat you lunch on the huge boulders at the end of the trail, overlooking the river. When you're done with your lunch (and your nap), return the way you came until you reach the loop trail again, then continue on the loop clockwise once again. The trail will take you down to the river's edge (where you can take another nap) then it'll lead you back to your car alond an old pioneer road. I've been told by locals that this road was used during colonial/pioneer times to reach a ferry located on the river before there was a bridge.

The Nature Conservancy also owns several preserves nearby, but the Dorman is the largest and the best place to hike. As an aside, the Tom Dorman State Nature Preserve is owned by a state government agency that you've probably never heard of, the Kentucky State Nature Preserve Commission. The KSNPC is responsible for protecting Kentucky's endangered species and most significant natural areas. They are definately worthy of your support if you care anything about retaining some of Kentucky's last unique places. The best way you can do that is get a nature license plate the next time you register your car, it only costs $10 extra (tax deductible) and the KSNPC gets the money and uses it to buy fantastic places like the Dorman!

Kentucky Places: Hunt-Morgan House

Nothing quite gets me as fired up and nerdy as talking about the War Between the States, except maybe talking about barbecue. I was raised on stories of how the Yankees burned my great-grandmother's family farm near Colesburg, even though after the war she married a Union soldier. Of course, like many Kentuckians, I have ancestors on both sides of the war (there are dozens of Union and Confederate privates and even a few Confederate generals and congressmen in my family tree) but I've always been more interested in Confederate history; I guess I'm a sucker for a Lost Cause.
When most folks think of Kentucky during the war (if they think of it at all) the first name that comes to mind is General John Hunt Morgan, the Thunderbolt of the Confederacy. Morgan was the epitomy of the Southern cavalier, tall in the saddle, feather in his hat, point Van Dyke on his chin, gallantly riding against the Yankee horde who invaded his beloved Commonwealth. Morgan spent most of the war blowing up bridges and railroads, just generally harassing Union troops and forcing them to waste a lot of time, money, and manpower they would otherwise have used to fight the Confederate Army of Tennessee. A lot of old-timers in Kentucky will tell you they have relatives who rode with Morgan, and there's even a club for them to join the "Morgan's Men Association". I don't belong myself, but as THE old-timer I got to tell you that I have a few ancestors who were in the 8th Kentucky Cavalry CS under Morgan, and one of Morgan's uncles-by-marriage is even in my family tree!
There are a whole bunch of books on Morgan and his men, some of which I'll get around to reviewing one of these days. All over the Commonwealth, from Hopkinsville to Mt Sterling, you can find historical highways markers detailing the exploits of Morgan's Raiders as they hassled the Yanks from behind enemy lines, but if you want a first-hand experience walking in his footsteps you need to visit the Hunt-Morgan House in Lexington. Owned by the non-profit Bluegrass Trust for Historic Preservation, the house was built in 1815 by Morgan's maternal grandfather and saved from the bulldozers in 1955 by a group of preservation minded citizens. Since then the home has been restored to its antebellum glory and it's waiting for you to come and tour it. In addition to the home and period furnishings the house contains a small War Between the States museum complete with saddles and sabres. The coolest items incude General Basil Duke's coat and a scale model of the Morgan statue that graces the Fayette County Courthouse lawn. The house is open seven days a week for guided tours, which cost $7 per adult. There is also a small gift shop for all of your antebellum souvenir needs, and you can even rent out the formal garden for weddings.

I guess I should mention that this isn't really Morgan's house, but his grandfather's and then his mother's. He never lived here as an adult, he lived in a house across the street (which, I should mention, he bought from the very same uncle-by-marriage whi is in my family tree, Colonel Thomas Hart). That house was torn down in 1955 and turned into a lovely parking lot. If it wasn't for the folks at the Bluegrass Trust, this home would also be a parking lot. Which is why you should join.

Kentucky Places: Blue Licks Battlefield

Blue Licks Battlefield State Park is a great place to visit if you are a Kentucky history buff, ecologist, or fan of mismanagement. Let's start at the beginning, which is several thousand years ago. Huge bison herds, thousands of head strong, congregated at the Licking River mineral licks near what is now the park. These big critters ate most everything in their path and stomped on the rest, creating a pretty barren landscape at this ox-bow. The habitat was so harsh that only pretty specialized plants could survive here. One plant in particular, the Short's goldenrod, is a federally endangered species and is only found in the Blue Licks area (in Kentucky anyway). Jump forward a few centuries to 1782, and this becomes the site of the battle of Blue Licks, the last battle of the Revolutionary War. Daniel Boone led a company of pioneers into a rout at the hands of Shawnee allied with the British, right at the very same spot as the mineral springs and the goldenrod. Most of the pioneers were killed . All of the bison were wiped out at about the same time, and without the heavy grazing and trampling the barren openings started to turn in scrubby woodlands. Jump ahead another century to the Gilded Age and some enterprising locals realized they had something special on their hands. They started bottling "Blue Licks Springs Mineral Water", and tourists came to soak in the springs for a little natural spa rejuvenation. So in this one little spot we have a unique endangered species, a battle featuring Kentucky's most famous pioneer, and an historic tourist attraction.

And now for the mismanagement...

You can't see the mineral springs any more. Because they aren't there anymore. They were blown up and the US Highway 68 bridge across the Licking River was built right on top of them. The bison were slaughtered long ago, as I mentioned, but there are still a few Short's golenrod plants left for you to see. Not many though, because in the 1960s the state bulldozed most of them and built a campground, which is also sitting on top of most of the actual "battlefield" where the fighting took place. RVs with sattelite dishes are now parked where the Shawnee whipped the pioneers. There is a bathroom, with showers, on the spot where Boone's son was killed. You can visit a monument to the fallen Kentuckians at the park, although it isn't at the site where they are buried. They built a parking lot on top the graves long ago.

I should say that most of these horrible deeds were done decades ago. The state park has recently renovated their museum and it is first rate. Their trail system preserves a portion of the bison trace, the trail that migrating buffalo gouged into the earth, and you can still see the Short's goldenrod along it. If you can, the best time to go an visit is during their annual battle reenactment, which coincides with the blooming of the goldenrod. While the preservation of the history and the natural habitats has pretty much been a disaster in the past, they are making efforts to preserve what they have left. And the fried chicken in the lodge buffet isn't bad. Just an hour from Lexington, it's worth the trip on a lazy afternoon.

Kentucky Places: Carter Caves State Park

Carter Caves State Park near Olive Hill is often overshadowed by its more famous cousin to the West, Mammoth Cave, but it is well worth the visit. Like Mammoth, it is swamped with tourists in the summer, but since they are mostly there for cave tours or at the campground or lodge (neither of which are anything special), you'll pretty much have the trail system all to yourself. If you are really outdoorsy, you need to float Tygart's Creek from Olive Hill down to the park, but you'll have to do it in the winter unless you want to drag your canoe the whole way. It's about a 15 mile trip or so, but the clifflines are fantastic. Winter is the best time to see the cliffs while hiking, too. I suggest checking out the 4Cs trail for a view of some of the rugged backcountry of the park. If you want to go underground but avoid the tourists, they actually do have cave tours all winter, as well. Check out Cascade Caverns which is a pretty nice "tourist cave" with lights, big rooms, and no crawling. The days of crawling tours might be coming to an end anyway because of "White Nose Syndrome", a disease which is wiping out the nation's bat population and is probably spread by people visiting caves (as well as bats flying around, of course).

On your way from I-64 to the park you'll pass a bunch of touristy stuff like "rock shops", where you can buy rocks if you are so inclinded. There's also a little tavern (since Carter County is dry I guess that's not the right word) which usually features the musical stylings of the Git-R-Done Band, which is pretty good. If it's open when you go, there is a little trailer with BBQ and ice cream in the front yard of an old house a couple of miles before the park entrace which has the best food I've found around there.

http://parks.ky.gov/findparks/resortparks/cc/