April 4-9, 2024
I spent six days at Canal Campground in Grand Rivers, Kentucky. It is an Army Corp of Engineers Campground with about 110 campsites. It was almost filled when I arrived on Thursday, April 4. I think that was because of Spring Break and lead-up to the eclipse on Monday, April 8. The past two nights, the campground has been sparely occupied, probably about 20% filled.
The campground is on the shores of Barkley Lake. It’s a huge lake. When the sun rises, it seems like it’s far off in the distance, a couple miles away, shining light over a slight ridge of trees on the far side of the lake. It’s a picturesque environment. I loved watching the sun come up.
I did my usual walking “schedule” of 10K steps or more each day. This place was a birders delight, and walking provides an opportunity to have some exercise while being social with others and listening to the birds sing. They were active all day long, some beginning before sunrise and others staying vocal after the sunset. My Merlin app recorded 46 different species over the six days. I heard a owls hooting a couple nights, but Merlin did not pick it up. One night it sounded like a Great Horned Owl. Another night, it was a different type of hoot, but I cannot say what it was. I heard coyotes on a few nights, too!
The campground is about one mile north of Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. The park is a 170,000-acre narrow strip of land, called the Tennessee Ridge, stretching about 45 miles between two lakes, Barkley and Kentucky Lakes. The lakes themselves run much longer, over 100 miles each. Both the park and the lakes reach from Kentucky into Tennessee.
This land used to be called Land Between the Rivers, as the land was bordered on the east by the Cumberland River and the west by the Tennessee River. These were wide rivers, not easily crossed, such that the land and people were isolated. That was before the dams were built, First, a series of dams were built on the Tennessee River, by the Tennessee Valley Association, beginning in the 1930s as part of Roosevelt’s New Deal program. The other was built on the Cumberland River by the Army Corp of Engineers in the 1960s, backing the water up to form the Lake Barkley.
Route 453 runs the length of the park. It has a good road surface, and it is a decent width to allow for bicycles, though there is no bike lane. The road has a lot of variation with rolling hills and winding curves all along the pine forested environment. The hills were not long and not very steep, but they went up and down often. The two days I rode on it, one day 33 miles round-trip to the Nature Center, the other 45 miles round-trip to the Visitor Center, there was not much traffic, and the drivers seemed to be particularly courteous.
The Nature Center has around 50 rescue animals living there. They would not be able to survive in the wild for a variety of health reasons. There were four owls (Barn, Barred, Screech, and Great Horned), two Bald Eagles, two vultures, a Red-tailed Hawk, and several wild turkeys; there were six different kinds of turtles, four snakes, two lizards, and a bullfrog; there were two coyotes, two Red Wolves, and two deer.
Near the Visitor Center, there is a fenced off, 700-acre Bison & Elk Prairie, where one can drive their vehicle and catch views of these animals. It is not open to bicycles or motorcycles, so I had to skip it. There is also a Planetarium that runs nature and astronomy shows on the hour all day long from 10-4. The Visitor Center contains a great deal of historical information about native and settler populations and activities in the area. As is the case with most national parks and recreation areas, those living here before the 1900s encountered a rough lifestyle, as was documented in the visitor center displays.
But for me, not so rough. My van equipped to help make life comfortable. I have water, lights, a fridge, stovetop, and other amenities that make practical things easily done. I have a nice bed that fits my body seemingly to perfection. I have been sleeping great, 7-10 hours nightly, waking up rejuvenated each morning to a brand-new day. it works for me …
I have all of this wonderful natural environment. Although the desert is my favorite environment, for this trip I now have the woods, all those trees and other plants, and its multitude of attractions. A forest is both a comfort and a stimulant, an inspiration to the mind and soul.
Comments