Tally-HO..Ho..Ho, Trixie is taking her turn blogging. We left soggy, wet Mammoth Cave State Park and headed northeast to Lexington, Kentucky. Sun, hot sun and horses were waiting for us at the Kentucky Horse Park and Campground. Lexington KY. is the horse Capital of the world and, oh my, what a beautiful setting. The lushness of the surrounding farmlands and the beauty of the horses is breath taking.
Breeds Barn Paddock
I spent two days ooooing and ahhhhing at the athletics of horse and rider during a 3 day event of dressage, stadium jumping and cross country competition at the park.
We arrived without reservations, as again another ordeal with Reserve America and
inability to reserve a spot for us. With fingers crossed we arrived the Wednesday before
Memorial Day weekend at the Kentucky Horse Park and Campground with plenty of first come first serve sites available. Electric hookups, laundry, bathhouse and a pool we were feeling very "flush."
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| Bath time at the stables |
Then the big rigs started rolling in “A"-class RV's and horse trailers the size of a small apartment.
We were humorously humbled with our roof top tent, flying our
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| Kentucky dry camping |
Kentucky Horse Park is a separate State Park from the campground, meaning there are fees
for entering the Horse Park and of course, fees for the separate Campground. Sodas were
$3.00, coffee, $3.00 and ice cream, $6.00....cha-Ching, cha-Ching!
Riding our bikes about a mile next door to the Horse Park was easy and later even easier as we
found the back door past the hunter-jumper area. BTW this was also peddling by the newly installed plush ROLEX Stadium with a seating capacity for 30k.
1,200 acres of pastureland, barns, horse museums, miles of white fences and HORSES! I was in seventh heaven. Buddy felt sorry for the horses and spent the afternoon fixing his bike tires. He was somewhat enthusiastic on the trolley ride pulled by a big, beautiful draft horse which we met later in the Big Barn along with an exhibit of restored carriages.
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| Visitors' Barns |
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| Trolley Draft horse |
industry and of course, competitive horse shows.
The next day, Memorial Day, we were invited by our campsite neighbors to tour the local bourbon
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| Keeneland Race Track |
live racing takes place in April and October on this immaculately manicured track.
Next we were off to do some "tasting",Kentucky bourbon that is. Wild Turkey and Woodford Reserve were our destinations. By the way, there is 6.6 million barrels aging in Kentucky warehouses. The number of people is 4.4 million. I guess they love their bourbon! Before noon we were having a Russel's Rye Manhattan on the rocks at the Wild Turkey distillery. Making our way to Woodford Reserve, we were just in time for a double-oaked Woodford Reserve barrel head tasting. Leaving the distillery we headed over to Versailles, a charming small town with a great, hip Grill and pub called Ricardo for a late lunch.
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| #2 horse to win!! "High Ho Trixie" |
The building was constructed in 1885 and was the former Southern Railroad station. Later, the building was moved to its current location and it’s a terrific place to stop for a nosh.
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| Barrel Head tasting. Woodford Reserve |
What a busy, memory making Memorial Day! That evening we started packing up our camp, to the sounds of a country band playing in the distant pavilion while saying thanks and good-byes to our neighbors.
We planned to take the scenic Parkway to Savannah. Tennessee.
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| Retired Derby Winner! |
Our goal was to meet with a true Southern gentleman, Sam C, the developer of the TAT Trans America Trail, roll mapping system. Our next stop is Counce, Tennessee near the “other” Savannah.
Happy Trails Y’all...it be peachy!
💋...........