Texas Road Trip Journal-Day 4
June 5, 2007: We stayed the night in Poplar Bluff, MO. There is not much going on in this small town, and we didn't care either. We woke up late for the last leg of our trip home. We actually left at about 9 AM so we could be well rested for the final part of the trip. Today would predominantly be a driving day with relatively few stops.
We drove down US 60, which is a US highway, but for most of the way is basically the same as an interstate -- 4 lanes all the way. This is all beautiful country with lots of trees and scenery. As we drove further east we eventually got to the Mississippi River. Actually, we leave Missouri, cross over a bridge and go into Illinois and then must cross again over the Ohio River. This is where the Ohio feeds into the Mississippi....quite a unique spot in the U.S. Once we cross through the small tip of Illinois and into Kentucky we continued on US 60 towards Paducah.
The bridge on the left crosses over the Mississippi, the one on the right over the Ohio. The barges are in the Ohio.
We continued on towards Paducah and then hopped onto I-24 and headed towards the Western Kentucky Parkway, which would take us up to I-65 near Elizabethtown and then link us on the final leg at the Bluegrass Parkway from E-town to Versailles. The initial part of the drive from Paducah to the Western Parkway is very nice. It passes by two of Kentucky's largest lakes -- Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Lake Barkley is one of the world's largest man-made lakes. We also pass by the entrance to the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. It was really too bad that we didn't have more time to stop and look at this. But it would make a great vacation stop for anyone with sites such as The Homeplace, a planetarium, an elk and bison prairie where you can see these animals in a natural habitat and other interesting sites. This will have to be another trip for us sometime.
Just after the lakes, we passed by Eddyville. When the name Eddyville is mentioned in Kentucky, most people know of it as the home of the Kentucky State Penitentiary, which sits along the shores of Lake Barkley. It is also nicknamed "The Castle on the Cumberland" and has been the site of 161 executions since its establishment in 1886. Originally, the executions were carried out by means of an electric chair, which was installed in 1911. We didn't get a chance to visit here either, but if you are in the area, I understand it is worth a visit.
The Castle on the Cumberland -- Eddyville Penitentiary
As we headed further northeast along the Western Parkway, we passed the entrance to the Pennyrile Forest State Park, near Dawson Springs, KY. This park was named for the tiny Pennyroyal plant which is found in the woodlands surrounding the park. This looks to me to be a perfect place to go hiking and camping.
The parkway continues for many miles through a number of small Kentucky towns and eventually arrives at I-65. Solomon and I finally made it back to Lexington at about 7 PM. It turned out to be one long drive home and one long, quick trip.
Roadside guidance provided by......
