Despite not having my bearings, I was obliged to help this little box turtle cross the road. I saw another one further up the road, but wasn't able to stop because a coal truck was bearing down on me. Later, I found myself trapped behind a coal truck as we twisted our way down the switch-back roads leading to the valley.
Just as the coal truck turned off, a red truck appeared in the opposite direction with an "OVERSIZED LOAD" banner. He waived me over and told me that I needed to clear outta the way. "Gotta house coming through." The road was so narrow it didn't have white border lines, nor did it have a shoulder. When the house finally turned the corner, I had to raise my eyebrows. Seemed to be going in the wrong direction if it was headed to the dump.
Shortly thereafter, a rain shower erupted. It slowed my progress significantly, but I finally made it to my destination in the middle of Kentucky Ridge State Forest. I decided to skip the maze on the return trip and took HWY-25 to Corbin where I had lunch. I intended to get BBQ at Bubby's but ended up at the wrong exit. I realized my mistake the second I walked into Sonny's but stuck around anyway. There ice tea glasses are the size of your head! Their pulled chicken BBQ didn't disappoint, but the fries did.
Instead of heading home, I took a short detour to Cumberland Falls. The clouds hung heavy in the sky, but the rain held off. I parked at the lodge and checked out the view of the Cumberland River from the deck. Then I took the short trail down to the Falls. There I saw a man with a long white beard and a teeny grey kitten tied to a silver ribbon which served as a leash. I chatted with him a bit while I played with his kitten named "Gator"; born on the 4th of July & bottle fed. His family was on vacation from Ohio and Gator had seen Cumberland Gap the day before. I regret I didn't take a photo.
On the return hike, I spotted another box turtle. Since he was in the woods, I left him to his own devices after a short chat and photo session. He seemed the confident sort. Nice way to end the day.
