| s/y Nine of Cups Kentucky, Missouri and Kansas Summer 2010 |
| Kentucky Facts... Capital: Frankfort Area: 40,411 sq mi - 37th biggest state Population: ~4.3 million High Point: Black Mountain - 4,145' Low Point: Mississippi River, 257' State Nickname: Bluegrass State State Flower: Goldenrod State Bird: Cardinal Kentucky was the 15th state to enter the Union on June 1, 1792. |
| Kentucky is from the Iroquois Indian word "Ken-tah-ten," which means "land of tomorrow." |
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| Neither of us had ever spent much time in Kentucky, so we thought we'd include it on our itinerary. We spent the night in Lexington and saw brochures for the "Bourbon Trail". How could we pass it up? There were several distilleries to choose from, but based on our timeframe and easy access, we chose Buffalo Trace Distillery which ended up being an excellent choice. |
| After a very extensive, interesting tour, we had the chance to sample the wares. At 10am, not as appealing as later in the day, but David enjoyed the samples nonetheless. Bourbon is definitely not Marcie's drink of choice. |
| Life in Kentucky revolves around horses (and bourbon). |
| We spotted the distinctive water tank long before we saw the distillery. |
| The grounds were beautifully kept and very inviting with oak barrels visible through the windows of the old brick warehouses. |
| The Kentucky Derby has been held annually in Louisville, KY since 1875. It is run on the first Saturday in May and is limited to thoroughbred horses that are 3 years old. The race is currently run at a distance of 1 1/4 miles and has been since 1895. The Derby is often called "The greatest two minutes in sports", as the race is usually run in about that amount of time. The race is also known as "The run for the roses", as the winner receives a blanket of roses that is presented in the winners' circle. |
| We left Kentucky and drove through the very southern part of Indiana. Marcie, always looking for something to see, noted that the Lincoln Boyhood Memorial was in Lincoln City, not far from the highway. So...off we went. Not overly impressive actually , but a good respite to break up the trip. Next, we passed through Illinois and across the Mississippi River into Missouri. Having lived just outside of St. Louis for a year, we enjoyed seeing the Gateway Arch once again, but didn't have time for visit. |
| The Gateway Arch, also known as the Gateway to the West, is part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Missouri. Built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States in the 19th century, it has become the city's iconic image. The park is a memorial to Thomas Jefferson’s role in opening the West, to the pioneers who helped shape its history, and to Dred Scott who sued for his freedom in the Old Courthouse. |
| Missouri Facts... Capital: Jefferson City Area: 69,709 sq mi - 21st biggest state Population: ~6.0 million High Point: Taum Sauk Mountain - 1,772' Low Point: St. Francis River, 230' State Nickname: Show Me State State Flower: White hawthorne State Bird: Bluebird Missouri was the 24th state to enter the Union and became a state on August 10, 1821. |
| Missouri was named for an Algonquian Indian word that means "river of the big canoes." |
| We stopped in Independence, Missouri, home of Harry S. Truman and a national historic site. Besides being Truman's hometown, this city is a nexus for historic trails west...the Oregon Trail, the California Trail and the Santa Fe. Remnants of the trails, e.g. wagon wheel ruts, are still visible in some places. For more information about historic trails in the USA, click here. |
| The town is dedicated to the Harry S. Truman and the Truman Home is now part of the National Park Service so we took a tour and learned quite a bit about Truman, a plain, honest man who became 33rd US president. |
| The further west we went on I-70, the flatter the land became. Fields of wheat and corn blew in the wind; windmills abound and sunflowers lined the highway...and then we were in Kansas! |
| Kansas Facts... Capital: Topeka Area: 82,282 sq mi - 15th biggest state Population: ~2.8 million High Point: Mt. Sunflower - 4,039' Low Point: Verdigris River, 679' State Nickname: Sunflower State State Flower: Sunflower State Bird: Western Meadowlark Kansas was the 34th state in the USA and entered the Union on January 29, 1861 |
| Kansas was named for Konza (also called Kansa or Kaw) Indians who lived in the area. |
| How to tell you're in Kansas! |
| Kansas is home to the Old West towns and gunslingers we heard about when we were growing up. Towns like Wichita, Abilene and Dodge City. Some of the legends are true and some are bigger than the truth. We stopped in Abilene, dusty and hot, but "the end of the Chisholm Trail", the cattle drive trail for Texas longhorns. |
| No twisters while we were there and no wizards, but we're sure we saw Toto running around. Wizard of Oz fans, click here. |
| The Lebold Mansion in Abilene, Kansas is a 23-room mansion built by Conrad H. Lebold in 1880, one of the early founders of Abilene. |
| St. Fidelis Catholic church in Victoria, KS was dubbed by William Jennings Bryan, the "Cathedral of the Plains", when he visited in 1912. It's one of the "8 Wonders of Kansas". |
| Kansas is part of Tornado Alley, an area of the US that is hit by more tornadoes than any other place in the world. Kansas claims the record for the highest number of F-5 intensity tornadoes since 1880. |
| Hailstones keep falling on my head! Hailstones are classified according to their size, ranging from pea size to golf-ball sized, to baseball sized. Kansas gets lots of hail storms. The record hail stone fell in Coffeyville, KS in 1970 and was 5.7" across! |
| Before we knew it, we were back in Denver. We had committed to refurbing a property for rental and had our work cut out for us. The two weeks went by quickly. Our nephew, Dan, worked with David on the deck and outside projects along with grandson, Taylor. Marcie tackled painting the interior and cleaning. A tough two weeks with no photos to show for it, but a good job done. September 14 seemed to be sneaking up on us. Only a month left and lots left to do. We needed to head back to Las Vegas, but first a sidetrip to Albuquerque to see niece, Gentry and her family. The only "problem" with heading to New Mexico is there was a lot to see along the way and you know how distracted we can become! Ride along with us to New Mexico, the "Land of Enchantment" and all the stops in between. |