South-East Kentucky Road Day

Work travels took me to Bell County in South-Eastern Kentucky, along the Tennessee line. It was hot and humid, with rain clouds hanging in the sky. Google maps offered me a shortened route that turned out to be half make believe. It sent me looking for connecting roads that didn't exist as I wound through the tree covered mountains. Once I could no longer find the road, the app tried to re-route me; but of course there was no signal. Even my radio station went out as I entered the maze.

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.

Double Turtle Rescue

I brake for turtles! I'm constantly scanning the roadways for signs of these little hobos, carrying their home on their back. Turtles generally don't need any human intervention or rescue. However, I always feel like I've saved a life when I help them reach the other side of the road. Last week, I had the opportunity to save two within a dozen miles of each other.

Shy box turtle

While traveling down rural HWY 7 from Little Sandy to West Liberty in Eastern Kentucky, I spotted this tiny box turtle in the road. I pulled over in front of an abandoned filling station and hopped out to rescue him. By the time I'd returned to my car, the owner had driven over to see what was going on. Turtle rescue, sir. Just trying to save the day. I dropped the little box turtle in the grass on the other side of the roadway & continued my drive.

The fine art of turtle spotting

To my great surprise, I spotted another turtle trying to cross HWY 7. This was several miles down the road, and thankfully had a generous shoulder to pull over and park. As I got closer to my mark, I realized it was a snapper. Ugh! Not to be deterred, it was small enough that I could flip it on it's back and carry it across. The drop off on the other side of the road was steep, so I walked him down to a lower lying area near a creek bed.

This snapping turtle looks like he just emerged from the bottom of a pond.

The smile on his face is all I need for thanks.