May 25 2008

The mileage is short today so there was no need to rush out early and hit the road. Breakfast wasn't even thought about until Patty's 8:30am "call to oatmeal" sound! The motel accommodations are few and far between in these parts of rural America, so planning overnight stops evenly spaced from one to another is very difficult. Yesterday was close to 90 miles, today only 28. Tomorrow promises to increase only slightly with the next back to 90. Oh well, at least we get a clean bed, warm shower and good food. No sleeping in tents or on the ground for this group.

The sun was on high, the air warm, and the wind still as we finally pedaled our way out of the motel's parking lot. The route promised to be relatively flat today twisting and turning through the rich Kentucky farmland. The Ohio River is just off to the northwest now as its works its way along the Kentucky border. The land is peppered with oil rigs slowly trying to find that rich crop. It is amazing to see these drills churning away all by themselves in the middle of a corn field. One would think that maybe the farmer was hedging his bets. If he can't find oil, then at least he can be subsidized for his corn crop or sell it for ethanol production. Either way he comes out a winner and by the sight of some of the farm homes, there are some very successful gamblers in this area!

The small farm towns of years ago now exist in name only. Hitesville, Smith Mills (does still have a fire department) and Geneva, all provide a stop sign or cross roads, a few homes and several closed up shops or gas stations. The towns people have long since moved to "greener pastures" or have found Wal-Mart!

Henderson (pop 27,373) is the only metropolis en-route and therefore our "home away from home" for the night. But Henderson, like its former neighbors has a history. In the heyday of the 19th century tobacco exporting industry, the town was listed as the richest per capita town in the US. With its access to the Ohio River, it was a natural port town. In the older sections of town, one can find homes representing pre-Civil War architecture, the Italianate built around the 1860’s and 1870’s, and the fancier asymmetric Victorian built at the close of the century.

Along the banks of the Ohio River just north of Henderson, John James Audubon State Park houses the world's largest collection of Audubon's art and offers exhibits on the artist's life. Here, nearly two centuries ago, John James Audubon, renowned naturalist and artist, came with his family to operate a small mercantile business and to explore the surrounding wilderness in search of wild birds to study and sketch.