Geocaching March 2016

Last month we visited some interesting caches on the Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky. The LBL is a great place to visit, with over 170,000 acres of forest, wetlands and open land that spreads through Kentucky and Tennessee.  It has over 300 miles of shoreline and over 500 miles of trails for hiking, horseback riding, and camping. A lot of the caches are hidden near old cemeteries back in the woods.  Did I mention that some of them are way back in the woods?

Bethlehem North Cemetery cache had these nice iron entry fences that I always enjoy seeing.

I always make sure to walk around and check out the old headstones.  This one was for a Civil War veteran...

World War 1 veteran....

And this one for a Spanish American War soldier....

The cache was quite a hike thru the woods but dad and I found it with no problem....

The Eddyville Ferry cache was hidden at the former site of the Eddyville Ferry. ...

The Lady Cemetery cache was named for the Lady family.  The really interesting thing about this cemetery was the graves for the family slaves, along with a marker....

The cache was an easy find....

The graves of the slaves were all tucked away a little further down the hill, in a circle, with a marker commemorating the slaves....

Rocking U Riding Stables

One of our favorite things to do when we're at the lake is to go horseback riding and we like to drive to the Rocking U Riding Stable at LBL Wranglers Campground.  They offer either 30 minute or 90 minute guided rides and we've done both.  Personally I prefer the 90 minute rides only because I like to be on the horse as long as possible.  The trails are beautiful and wind in and out of dappled shade in the woods with glimpses of the lake here and there.



They have a large string of horses that are beautiful and healthy looking.  You can tell that they take good care of their horses.  The stable area is clean and the staff is friendly.  We had to cancel our trip at the last minute because of rain, and when I called, they were accommodating and quickly fit us into their schedule for the next day.  Everyone I spoke with either on the phone or in person was pleasant and out going.

Our guide was Miss Audrey, and she was as sweet as can be.  She and I spent the entire time talking and she went out of her way to be sure that all of us were comfortable with our horses.  Along the trail we came upon a large turtle in our path, and Audrey carefully picked him up and relocated him before we continued on.

I could honestly spend half the day riding the trails here.  We had a fantastic time out in the open air, with horses that were well behaved and easy to manage.

I'd like to thank Miss Audrey for being such a pleasant young lady.  She was cheerful and entertaining and I could tell how much she loves her job and the horses.  She is a real asset to Rocking U.  Thanks again Audrey!

Visit their FB page here.

If you're in the Kentucky Lake area and want to go horseback riding, I highly recommend Rocking U Stables.  From their website:

•  Trail Rides leave on the hour with the exception of 12-1pm •  Rides are available for up to 15 riders at a time for ages 6 and up •  Pony rides available for ages 6 and under •  Riders under 12 must wear helmets, which are provided •  Long pants and closed toe shoes are recommended •  Cost is $18 for a 45 minute ride and $30 for a 90 minute ride •  Rocking U accepts cash or traveler's checks

For more information or to make a reservation call 270 924-2211 .

LBL Cache #3 - Edsel

Our recent geocaching trip to the Kentucky Lakes LBL region had us in hot pursuit of several good geocaches, two of which I highlighted here and here.  The third cache, and my favorite of the day, was named Turkey Bay ATV Series - Edsel.

My last post left off with us starting down this steep and rocky ATV trail....

 Is this a centipede?  Can you see it?  I've never seen a yellow one before....

There was a steady stream of ATV's and motor bikes zooming up and down the trails.  That really looked like fun.  Plus it had rained the day before so everything was rather muddy and they were kicking up mud everywhere.  You can just make out another ATV coming down the hill on the right side of the picture....

 

Then off and up the next hill they went....

Up ahead we spotted the remains of an old Edsel and the location of the geocache....

Isn't this crazy, out in the middle of nowhere?  There's a geocache hidden someplace in this vicinity...

Kyle playing mechanic....

Chablis pretending she is driving away with the car....

Ok, I had just misplaced my camera lens cover right before Chablis took this picture.  So I am smiling and literally thinking to myself "Where the heck did I lose that damn lens cap?  I can't believe I dropped it someplace.  What the heck."  I was so pissed off and then I found it in my back pocket.  Idiot!

The side door panel had this cool label imprinted on it...

Isn't the dashboard great?  I just loved this shot!  Look at all that rust....

After we found the cache and my lens cover, we had to decide which way to head back to the car.  I opted for back up the hill and retrace our steps the way we came.  Kyle and Chablis voted for hugging the shoreline and seeing if we could avoid the steep climbs.  I told Kyle to lead the way and off he went....

We almost made it all the way back and then ran smack dab into a marsh that we couldn't cross or walk around.  The parking lot is literally 100 yards across this bay, but the water was way too deep to walk across.  I think Chablis may have shed a tear....

Our only option, other than a complete back track, was straight up.  And I mean up!

Half way up the hill we found a random destroyed building.  Of course Chablis had to climb around on it....

Poor Kyle was starving.  I threw a ClifBar at him and he's sitting here thinking, "Yummmmm,  ClifBar.  This is so good."  LOL!

Chablis just sat and laughed at him.

Here we are headed back to the parking lot.  This was the original hill we had to climb at the very beginning of our journey on our way to the old tanker geocache....

I love the way these fungus grow.  Does anyone know if this is the kind that you can cook and eat?  What are they called?

Believe me when I tell you Kyle was hungry.  He practically ran the last block to the car.  It was a fun morning in the woods.  Total time was about 3 1/2 hours.

LBL Cache #2 - The Silo

On our recent LBL caching trip we did a couple of great hiking geocaches.  I told you about one of them here.  The next cache on the list was the Turkey Bay ATV Series - The Silo. 

The Turkey Bay area of LBL has 2500 acres put aside for OHV's (off highway vehicles).  They have almost 100 miles of trails in a variety of terrains and skill levels.  Talk about fun!

As we hiked to the cache area we passed a dozen people on ATV's and motor bikes, out enjoying the trails and having a great time.  Everyone slowed down when they approached us, giving us a wide berth and a friendly wave.  Once we reached the cache area, we came upon the remains of an old silo....

The silo made for a fun photo opportunity....

Then we split up and began looking for the cache....

The GPS pointed that-a-way....

I sat and pondered the view and the hike we almost had to make to the cache.  I counted my lucky stars that we approached it from a different direction and saved my legs and back from that brutal climb....

We made the find, signed the log, checked the GPS and headed off down this trail towards the next cache.  More to come....