Williamson wv exploration

The day was hot, but we managed to escape the rain. We cruised around town and visited such places as the old memorial hospital on the hill. We later met up with friends and headed to a HOG roast ... A stolen hog roast at that to fit in with the hatfield/McCoy theme... Then as you will see pictured an old fashioned lineup of Geocachers against the house. Before heading back to the hotel we combed the streets geocacher style. That's Kevin on the sign doing his best stealth mode on main street.

Settling into Williamson wv

We arrived and settled into the sycamore inn in Williamson. Interesting town on the Tug River with very busy streets! Maybe it's all the Geocachers in town? Below is a pic of what I see out of the hotel. Many of the houses are built right up along a mountainside. The unique little junk store below is what quickly caught my attention and that's where I headed. Took a walk down the street and found The Coal House, home of williamsons chamber of commerce since 1933 and entirely made out of Coal! We touched the side of the building and yep, fingers came away black. Im glad I wore white pants here. Found an off the street pizza parlor and popped in for a quick bite. Wasn't the cleanest or friendliest place on the block, but food was good. Check out their advertisement sidewalk sign. Nice.

Hitting the Road for the Hatfield and McCoy Geotrail

We set off this am for Hatfield/McCoy country to complete a Geotrail challenge. If you are wondering what a Geotrail is ...visit www.geocaching.com to learn more about geocaching, then visit www.hatfieldmccoygeotrail.com to learn more about exactly what I'm up to. We are in a race against remnants of Isaac rains, but we won't let the rain spoil the adventure. Raincoats are in the backseat. It's 11:25 and I'm in paintsville ky... Making my way toward pikeville. At a little after noon we arrived in Pikeville but only after making a stop at one of the several outdoor flea markets (pictured below). One booth caught my eye right away... You can't tell too much from the photo however pictured there you will see a grandmotherly lady sitting at her table and in front of her... A variety of yummy baked goods... And... Hardcore porn mags. That's right... It was grandmas Porn n Baked Goods booth right there in the open air market(look closely). She had even made a cute little cardboard sign to advertise. TG bought an ice cream cone and we were on our way. Quick bathroom break where the staff were kind enough to remind me that it isn't polite for men and women to go into the restroom together. Just as we were ready to make that turn toward WIlliamson WV we had to stop and take a gander at the Lincoln Memorial replica on the side of US23.

Let's go to Rabbit Hash KY

A friend of mine from highschool sent me a link one day about a little spot on the map called Rabbit Hash KY. A unique little place with an interesting history and a habit of voting their canine family pets in  as Mayors of the town. I woke this morning and thought...hey I think I want to go there. So we did. It was about 3 hours from where I live but that doesnt matter much when you love to road trip. For a complete history of Rabbit Hash KY check out their homepage at www.rabbithashusa.com

There was an old Ferry that ran from Rabbit Hash across the river to Indiana. It was a popular place during the Underground Railroad era as hundreds of slaves crossed the path you see pictured here in their effort to cross over the Great Ohio to Freedom. This is all that is left of the steps leading to the old Ferry loading area. 

 

 

The local flavor of the day. Stopped here for some grub! It was pretty much in the Boondocks just as it's name desccribes. It was more of a Sports bar atmosphere, but food was decent and bathrooms were clean.  I had a grilled cheese swich and they put it on Texas toast  and used cheddar which is always a plus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picked up a cool sign at Big Bone Lick State park nearby Rabbit Hash. An interesting park with Bison roaming the land. No resort lodge there, but they do have a campground which was FULL. A neat museum shows you a history of archeaological digs and findings then winds around to an outdoor exhibit showing replicas of the prehistoric beasts who found themselves trapped in the swampy ground and died there.

 

 

 

and here we have the calming waterfall leading to the Koi pond at a Japanese Zen Garden in Georgetown, KY.  It was a calming place and noone was around. Didnt much care for the old johnny on spots out back of the property, but other than that it was peaceful. Found a couple geocaches here too.

 

Just the kind of shop I love. Didnt buy anything here though tempted by much. Did get away with a Rabbit hash Tshirt though.

 

 

 

 

The calming exhibit of the dying  prehistoric beasts I mentioned earlier. We arrived just after a father and his 4 kids trampled by asking ..."daddy, what are those statues of big birds supposed to be eating. It looks all bloody?"

 

A buffalo friend resting in the sun. Signs everywhere said, BEWARE BISON are DANGEROUS. DO NOT FEED OR APPROACH.

 

 

 

A lunch break by the water with my trusty pathways lunchbag. Need to get around to cleaning out all the Cheezits that have spilled out  in there.

 

Oh look we are back at the prehistoric exhibit at Big Bone Lick. can you spot the Sloth peeking out at you?

Here are the public bathrooms setup in Rabbit Hash. I didn't use them. I did look inside though. There is a small sign there that reads, "Save Energy, Turn off the lights" I feel that there are enough messes made in the  public bathrooms that HAVE LIGHT.....the ones that are pitch black just never stay clean. Seems like people would realize that.

 

Opening doors to the Zen Garden

Unrelated...but always have to get some geocaching squeezed in.

Introducing the Mayor of town: Lucy Lou. Elected in 2008

Learning about the Mayor was more fun than the experience of the strange little man that approached us at a marina/bait shop/cafe on a golf cart...holding a toy cowboy gun and shouting "Bang" at us... twice.... as we climbed back into the car. Ahh the people you meet.

 

Scales:

 Area Beauty: 7

Danger: 3 (general hazards of highway travel)

Odd Encounters: 4

Cost of trip: 40 bucks gas, 20 bucks dinner at Boondocks Pub n grub

Its worth exploring these areas give it a try!

 

 

Route 7 Ohio

Along Ohio route 7 from Gallipolis to Rome( the Ohio version) there are a few neat places to see. Gallipolis being one of them. It's a quaint little town with a beautiful riverfront park. I stopped at the park there to learn the history of how the yellow fever was brought to town... because,..well... that caught my attention... And later Mound Cemetery was on my list ...where a clear view of the farms and towns  nestled along the Ohio river can be easily seen below.

Found this little diner right on Main street and popped in for a plate of Lasagna which was actually very good. The menu itself was 13 pages long so it took me some time to decide. Bathroom facilities here get my rating of 5 on 1-10 with 10 being wonderful.

Tired scale for this trip: 2 (10 being worn totally down)

Encounters with danger: 0

Encounters with human waste: 0

Scenery rating: 5 (with 10 being breathtaking)