Driving through Kentucky’s back roads we saw several of these signs and we wondered if this really meant we’d see a horse and buggy.
Turns out, yes, we did see a horse and buggy…just driving down the road in front of us. Luckily, there was nobody else out here so it was easy to pass.
Our first stop for the day, Fort Donelson National Battlefield, was actually just over the Kentucky border in Dover, Tennessee. According to the National Park Service (NPS), “The North’s first major victory of the Civil War came with the surrender of Fort Donelson on February 16, 1862. After two days of hard fighting, General Buckner felt compelled to accept General Grant’s ultimatum for an unconditional and immediate surrender.”
The park preserves much of the original battle site, including the river batteries and the eroded remains of the fort.
While we were exploring this area, these two men were having an in-depth discussion about what the Confederates should have done differently to win the battle. They spoke as if the battle happened recently, instead of almost 150 years ago.
Our next stop was Hopkinsville.
This was the town that Joel’s mom grew up in. He remembers visiting his grandparents as a kid. We were able to visit the home she grew up in during the 1940s.
After checking out the old family home we drove over to the town’s visitor center. Here we were told that Ebonite, a bowling ball manufacturer located in Hopkinsville, is the largest producer of bowling balls in the world. The company produces 2,500 bowling balls per day, which amounts to 600,000 bowling balls each year. Who knew?
Our last stop for the day was Paducah, Kentucky. We came here because Paducah is about halfway between Nashville, TN, and St. Louis, MO, so it was an ideal place to stop for the night. We weren’t expecting much but we found it to be a really cute town with great restaurants and friendly people.
We were surprised to learn that the town was laid out by explorer William Clark (of Lewis and Clark fame).
The main attraction in Paducah is the National Quilt Museum. “The National Quilt Museum is the world’s largest and most prestigious museum devoted to quilts and fiber art.” – Kentucky Tourism.
We read a quote from the St. Louis Dispatch, “It’s not unlike going to the art Museum in Chicago…it’s so unexpected.” We have to agree. It felt very much like looking at works of art. We spent so much more time here than we expected to.
Katie Pasquini Masopust – “I enjoy painting without any inhibition, then searching that painting for a perfect little composition that I can enlarge and make into a quilt. Sometimes I make a painting, then a quilt of that painting, then a portion of the quilt become the inspiration for another painting, and that painting may hold another composition for a quilt. I like moving back and forth between the two.”
There was a whole display of miniature quilts
We found one from our hometown – Henderson is part of the Las Vegas Valley
Our time in Kentucky was pretty fun…and we seem to have picked up some of the local slang, y’all.
Beautiful quilts! It takes a lot of work and dedication.
What a surprise was the Quilt Museum. I was like Joel, I didn’t even care about looking at the photos, of course I did..and I,too, was very surprised….it is an art form of it’s own. Thanks for the photos. I particularly enjoyed the narrow street in downtown Paducah. Good job, y’all.
thanks Jerry! I write these postings with you in mind.