Land Between the Lakes (LBL) is located on a forested peninsula between Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake in West Kentucky and Tennessee. The attractions include Elk & Bison Prairie, Homeplace 1850s Working Farm, Golden Pond Planetarium, Woodlands Nature Station. It also provides multiple outdoor opportunities: 106 miles of horse trails, 100 miles of trails for off highway vehicle, 70 miles mountain biking trails, 100 miles hiking trails for relaxing walks and backpacking, 22 boar ramps for sport fishing, and 250 days a year for season hunting.
While COVID hasn’t ended in US, the vaccination did bring more confidence to people who haven’t travel for a while. During this year Memorial Weekends, I saw the news from Zion National Park that visitors got into the line to wait park shuttle for almost a maximum of 2 hours. I believe Zion is not the only story, people were seeking for an opportunity to have some fresh air. Since I’m still a little bit worried about being exposed of a massive people gathering, I selected to visit Olympic National Park since it hasn’t reached its peak season during July and August.
When people talk about Olympic National Park, these words usually pop up: “Primeval Forest”, “Snow-caped Mountains”, “Indian and Pioneer History”, “Sparkling Streams and Lakes”, “Spectacular Coast”. Yes, Olympic National Park, which is located at Olympic Peninsula west of Seattle, lives up to its reputation to become one of the most diverse national parks.
Keyword: Road trip; Lighthouse; US 1 Highway; Miami; Deep sea fishing
Florida state has three national parks: Everglades, Biscayne, and Dry Tortugas. Everglades NP is well-known for its unique tropical wilderness and ecosystem; 95% of Biscayne NP area is under the sea; Dry Tortugas NP has a massive Fort Jefferson which was the third largest costal fort in US. In overall, these national parks offer completely different views than others.
Glacier National Park, which is also called the “Crown of the Continent”, is located at northwest area in Montana. It’s on the US-Canada border and is a sister park to Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada. The visitation to Glacier NP has increased dramatically during the past 3 years, compared to the first time when it hit 1 million visitation in July 2017.[1]It’s probably because scientists have estimated all glaciers may disappear by 2030.[2]
Outline: Cades Cove Loop – Ripley’s Odditorium – Synchronized Fireflies – Skylift Park – Clingmans Domes – Salt & Pepper Museum
Keyword: Road trip; Biking; Synchronized fireflies; Cades Cove; Clingmans Domes
Great Smoky Mountain has been the most visited national park for at least 70 years, which beats Grand Canyon NP and Zion NP as the second and the third.[1] I guess the biggest reason might be it closes to major cities and small towns. We drove from Louisville, passed through Lexington/Knoxville, and arrived at Friday night before Memorial Weekends.
The park has two main entrances by connecting with Highway 441: Gatlinburg, TN on the north, and Cherokee, NC on the south. There are many accommodations in Gatlinburg area as it’s very close to the north entrance and has various restaurant options, but be prepared for the crowds especially for holidays. Not recommend to stay in Pigeon Forge town, as you might get stuck on the road to Gatlinburg due to the traffic jam in Gatlinburg!
Colorado is an ideal destination for people who likes traveling. Aspen Mountain is the holy place for skiing in winter. Four national parks (Rocky Mountain, Great Sand Dunes, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and Mesa Verde) provide most diverse and gorgeous scenery. Multiple rivers, lakes, and mountain streams let Western Colorado become one of the best destination for fly fishing.
The idea of visiting Colorado just came in mind 10 days before the planned setting off date. I have thought about this popular place for many times, but it’s really hard for me to find a two-three week vacation to cover all places in one trip. Then I just decided to break it down to several small trips. This blog recorded the days I spent in Denver, Rocky Mountain NP, and Great Sand Dunes NP during Labor Day Holiday.
This blog recorded my short trip to Mammoth Cave National Park on Independence Day holiday 2018. The trip costed 2 days in total: one day for the most famous Wild Cave Tour and the other for Historic Tour. I also took the Domes and Dripstones Tour in 2017, but Wild Cave Tour is the one I highly recommended.
As one of the popular Bourbons in Kentucky, Four Roses Bourbon is a part of Kentucky Bourbon Trail. If you’re interested in knowing the history and how the Bourbon is made, making a reservation of historic tours is a good idea. When we visited here in early July, the distillery was still under construction, so a modified distillery tour and a tasting tour were provided.
These pictures were captured when I visited Lucky Cat Museum in late April. It was located at Essex Studios in Cincinnati, Ohio. The museum is opened from 3pm to 6pm, and it has several art walks throughout the year. The owner of this museum is Micha Robertson. She has spent almost 13 years for collecting 1,000+ lucky cats from various sources. I’m glad that she guided me through the collections and told me tons of stories about the lucky cats. She was a very nice lady and I had a great experience.
Today we visited one of the oldest bourbon distillery in Kentucky – Woodford Reserve Distillery. It is located at Versailles City and 50 miles southwest from Louisville.
Bourbon is a type of American Whiskey. It’s a distilled spirit made at a minimum of 51 percent corn and aged in oak barrels. It’s acknowledged to be a symbol of south America and strongly associated to Kentucky. Although the origin of Bourbon is not well documented, the distilling industry was brought by Scots to Kentucky since 18th century.[1]
Joy Domain 