Vagabonds Vagabonds - Kentucky Adventure Tour - 2024

[Jim Oaks]

Kentucky Adventure Tour - Day 1:

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The TRS Vagabonds pay tribute to the original Vagabonds that consisted of Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs. From 1914-1924 Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs calling themselves “the Four Vagabonds” embarked on a series of cross-country summer camping trips and their adventures were well-documented and publicized.

If Ford Motor Company was smart, they'd create a 'Vagabond Package' that was a Ford SUV (Henry Ford) with Firestone Tires (Harvey Firestone) with LED off-road lights, perimeter lights, electric cooler and inverter (Thomas Edison), and include a guide on camping and nature (John Burroughs), and pay tribute to this part of Ford history.

The Kentucky Adventure Tour (KAT) is a 900+ mile loop (not counting the hard sections) around the hills and mountains of southeastern Kentucky. It is about 40% rural narrow twisty paved roads with the rest being gravel, dirt roads and trails. I keep wanting to call this the Kentucky Adventure Trail.

On Sunday September 8th, @Robertmangrum.rm, @snoranger, @ericbphoto, @85_Ranger4x4, and myself met at the Red River Gorge Campground in Stanton, Kentucky and setup camp. This is a beautiful piece of property at the end of a road just outside of Slade, Kentucky. It has beautiful open fields with a nice, wooded area that borders the Red River. It's a primitive campground and only offers portapotty's. When I was planning this trip, it was the only place I could find that was willing to let us stay just one night on the Labor Day weekend. Most campgrounds require that you book the whole weekend.

Driving to the campground on Sunday, I noticed that the campgrounds around Slade were packed, so finding this campground with very few people in it was a blessing.

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Breakfast consisted of an english muffin with a sausage patty and egg in between it. Here I had already cooked the sausage and I'm toasting the english muffins on the skillet and I fry my egg.

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After having breakfast on Monday morning and packing up our camping gear, it was Go Time!

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Ya, I couldn't resist. We had stopped for gas and ice, and I when I looked up and saw the 'Go Time' sign, I had to take a picture.

From here we headed to the Natural Bridge State Resort Park. The park was founded as a private tourist attraction in 1895 by the Lexington and Eastern Railroad. In 1910, Louisville and Nashville Railroad acquired the land when it purchased the Lexington and Eastern Railroad. In 1926, L&N's President Wible L. Mapother turned over its approximately 137 acres to the Kentucky State Park Commission, making the Park one of Kentucky's original four state parks when that system was established the same year. There are over 20 miles of trails over uneven terrain from moderate to strenuous difficulty, including trails to White's Branch Arch, Henson's Cave Arch, and other scenic areas. Some of the most famous sites in the park are the arch itself, "Lover's Leap", and "Fat Man's Squeeze".

The natural sandstone arch bridge spans 78 feet and is 65 feet high.

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In the photo above you can see people starting up through 'Fat Mans Squeeze' to get to the top of the arch.

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Can you see it? It's way over there. See it? Forget it. Look at that cool TRS Staff Member shirt and Vagabond shirt! LOL

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After leaving the state park we headed to the Nada Tunnel which is along the Kentucky Adventure Tour route.

Nada Tunnel is a historic 900-foot long tunnel along Kentucky Route 77 in Powell County, Kentucky, in the United States. Formerly a railway tunnel, the tunnel has often been described as the "Gateway to Red River Gorge" for the shortcut it provides motorists to the Red River Gorge canyons of the Daniel Boone National Forest.

Built for the Dana Lumber Company between 1910 and 1911, Nada Tunnel (pronounced nay-duh by locals) was named after Nada, Kentucky, then a logging town about 10 miles past the tunnel's entrance. Solid sandstone was blasted with dynamite and dug out with steam machinery and hand tools, with two teams working from each side of the ridge.

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The tunnel's original dimensions were 12 by 12 feet, but when the first train load of logs became stuck and had to be blasted free, the tunnel's height was increased to 13 feet. Narrow gauge steam locomotives of the Big Woods, Red River & Lombard Railroad regularly hauled timber extracted from the vast forests of the Red River Valley through the tunnel, to a sawmill 15 miles away in Clay City.

Once the forests had been cleared, the timber companies pulled out of the area. The railroad tracks were removed and a dirt road was laid in the unlit tunnel in order to accommodate horse and pedestrian traffic. Nada Tunnel has since been paved to carry a single lane of road traffic.

From here @ericbphoto led us to the Sky Bridge Arch.

(snoranger on the left and ericbphoto on the right)

(snoranger, 85_Ranger4x4, Oliver, and Robertmangrum.rm (walking out of the frame))

(Robertmangrum.rm wishing he had worn his cool Vagabond shirt. LOL. J/K)

(I don't think I know anyone that smiles more than Robertmangrum.rm)

(Me, Oliver, and 85_Ranger4x4)

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Above is ericbphoto and his dog Livvy. I've seen Livvy several times over the years, but never really got time to spend time with her. Livvy gets a little separation anxiety when Eric leaves to use the restroom or take a shower. I think we all found ourselves bonding with her and comforting her every time that happened. She's a very sweet companion.

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Leaving the Sky Bridge Arch, we worked our way back to the KAT and eventually found ourselves on Spaas Creek road. The KAT has some optional lines marked as 'Hard'. This was not one of them. This was the main route but was a little rougher than I expected to find on a main route. Don't get me wrong, I loved it!

(This isn't a pose above. This is a screenshot from a video.)

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Snoranger, 85_Ranger4x4, and Robertmangrum.rm took the low route. Ericbphoto and I took the high route.

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This was an interesting spot. Looking in that cut, we were approaching from the left around the bend, and then coming up through this cut. It's deep enough that the rocky edge could rub against the body, so we spotted everyone coming through it. I don't seem to have any photos of anyone coming through it, so I took a screenshot from the videos. The video of this trip will be coming soon.

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Shortly after leaving Spaas Creek we found ourselves going up Pumpkin Hollow. Pumpkin Hollow was starting out much rougher than Spaas Creek was. This road turned trail had a lot of ruts, mud holes, rocks, and off camber areas. I got about 3/4 to a mile up the trail when I heard snoranger call out on the radio that he was scraping everywhere through here. At the same time, I had just crawled over a rocky ledge after a couple of attempts. Snoranger expressed concerned about getting a lot of damage, so I got out and walked up the trail some. Although I think we could have made it, I think it would have taken quite a bit of time, and it was already around 5:00 pm. We still needed to find a place to setup camp and make dinner before it got dark, so we made the decision to bypass this section and head to Callies Lake and Campground in Bowen, Kentucky. I had to continue up the trail a little further to find a place to do a 100-point turn and turn around.

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The nice thing about Callies is that they not only did they have showers, but they also had a store and Restaurant. I resisted their tempting menu knowing I had a cooler full of food to cook this week.

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We had just enough time to set up camp, make our dinners, and eat before the sun set.

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It was a beautiful day. With a high temperature around 75 degrees and a low in the 50's at night, it was the perfect weather for our adventure.

Video:

Coming soon.

Maps of Day 1:

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[Jim Oaks]

Eric, Jim, Justin, Kevin, and Robby

 

[Jim Oaks]

Kentucky Adventure Tour - Day 2:

Tuesday morning (09/03/2024) we had breakfast, broke down camp and hit the Kentucky Adventure Tour (Trail). Today's adventure would take us from Bowen, Kentucky to the Turkey Foot Campground (Daniel Boone National Forest Campground) which is northeast of McKee, Kentucky.

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This route would also take us through the Hollerwood Offroad Park area. We spent a lot of time off pavement today with several mudholes and small water crossings.

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When you leave the town of Beattyville heading counterclockwise on the Kentucky Adventure Tour you go through this tunnel under a railroad track.

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Along the way we found a place to pull off for a potty break, which ended up being a lunch break.

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The area appeared to be a clearing for a logging road and provided plenty of area off of the road to stretch and walk the two dogs, Marley and Livvy.

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One of my biggest concerns was where we would stop and camp for the night. Looking at the map, it appeared that Turkey Foot campground was going to be our best option and would allow us to set up camp around 5:00 - 5:30 pm giving us plenty of time to make camp and cook.

Turkey Foot Campground is nestled along the banks of War Fork Creek in Jackson County. The road into the campground crosses a low water ford across the creek at the campground entrance and has a sign telling you to not cross if it's flooded. Low lying areas are prone to flooding, so you have to be alert for flooding when driving, camping or crossing streams in this area.

This campground did not have a group camping area, and the campsites were spread apart, but there was a picnic area / playfield with a horseshoe pit located at the end of campground alongside the creek. We decided to make camp there hoping that a Ranger wouldn't come along and keep us out. This late on a weekday I really didn't foresee anyone coming in to use this area, and figured a Ranger probably wouldn't say anything if we weren't causing any trouble.

At one point in the evening a police car did come through and drove by slowly but didn't stop.

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All of my dinners on this trip were foil packs that I prepped on my tailgate, wrapped in heavy-duty foil, and then cooked over hot coals. Tonight's dinner was chicken with pineapple, shrimp, potatoes, carrots, green beans, onions, and peppers, and mushrooms.

Turkey Foot Campground would be the site of The Ranger Station's first drone crash.

I have a DJI drone and only had a couple of opportunities to fly it before this trip. While doing some filming at tree top level, I started to slowly move the drone backwards while the camera was facing forward and ran it into a tree branch. I watched in horror as the drone bounced back and forth in the trees as it dropped to the ground like a ball in a pinball machine. I was able to find it with help from @snoranger and it was fortunately undamaged.

This is a primitive campground and only offers a vault toilet. While using the toilet I looked at the wall and discovered that whoever built the building did not stagger the cinderblock when they made it. I've never seen this before.

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Day 2 Maps:

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

While very primitive Turkey Foot is probably one of my all time favorite campgrounds.

The spots are isolated enough it is very easy to pretend you are all by yourself. The landscape had been worked over quite a bit... but made to look natural. Like those stairs going down the river, they look like they have been there forever. There was a lot of that around.

Plus the regular camping sites had lantern hangers.

But seriously though, it was just sounds of nature. No neighbors, no distant highway, no boats on the river. Just bugs, birds and the babbling river... and the occasional drone crashing thru trees.

 

[bobbywalter]

the first drone crash. proud moments in history.

 

[Jim Oaks]

the first drone crash. proud moments in history.

I probably should have mentioned this,

The pilot was not injured.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I probably should have mentioned this,

The pilot was not injured.

Any landing you walk away from...

After hitting as many branches as possible on the way down I was surprised the drone didn't get hurt either.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Kentucky Adventure Tour - Day 3:

Wednesday (September 4, 2024) we all woke up early, had breakfast and packed up all of our camping gear. It's a good thing we got packed up when we did. We were talking about the trip when I heard the humming of what sounded like a big drone. As the noise got louder, I realized that it was a lawn mower. Moments later a guy from the park service pulled up on a large mower and asked us if we minded if he cut the grassy field behind us. Then two other guys showed up with weed eaters. Had we not woken up when we did, we would have had a rude awakening. But once we were packed up, you couldn't tell we had ever camped there.

We headed into McKee where we stopped at a shell station to fuel up and use the little store. While we were there, an old guy pulled up in a Ford Ranger and said that he was leaking something. Snoranger, Robertmangrum.rm and ericbphoto looked at it and determined that it was just condensation from the air conditioner.

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We headed on down the Kentucky Adventure Tour which took us back down a gravel road through the hills of Kentucky. As I rounded a bend, a skidder had just pulled off of the road dragging a large log behind him. The logger stopped and I asked the guy if the road was clear and proceeded forward.

We came to a section where the KAT map listed a cave, so we got out to check it out.

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The cave had a creek running through it which is probably what formed it. Robertmangrum.rm and snoranger went all the way down to it.

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We continued on our journey. It was a beautiful day with temps in the mid 70's. As for me, the weather itself was a wonderful vacation from the 100-105 degree temps that I left in Texas.

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This one-lane bridge came up on us fast. We were rolling down a 2-lane paved road, rounded a bend, and there it was. The KAT map didn't label this as a one-lane bridge. It's just labeled as 'slick'. I can see how this wooden bridge could be slippery when it gets wet.

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On Wildcat Road we came upon some downed trees covering most of the road. We probably could have gotten past them with some light rubbing but decided to cut them and clear the road for the next person. Snoranger made quick work of them with his electric chainsaw.

We eventually came to the Camp Wildcat civil war site and stopped to take a look around and learn more about it.

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As the Confederates started up the Wilderness Road on the morning of October 21, 1861, Gen. Schoepf moved four companies of the 33rd Indiana Infantry Regiment, 350 men, 0.75 miles to the east of Camp Wildcat to Round Hill, a steep, high point along the road. Confederate pickets attacked the Union force just after they arrived at Round Hill, but the Confederates soon withdrew to report the situation to Gen. Zollicoffer. Zollicoffer sent most of two regiments, the 11th Tennessee Infantry Regiment and several companies of the 17th Tennessee Infantry Regiment to attack the Union detachment at Round Hill. Just before the attack, the companies from the 33rd Indiana were reinforced by 250 men of the 1st Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry Regiment (U.S.) and a small number of home guards. The Confederate regiments attacked the steep hill but after an hour of fighting the 11th Tennessee Infantry retreated. Soon thereafter Union reinforcements arrived, forcing the 17th Tennessee Infantry to retreat as well.

Zollicoffer then sent the 29th Tennessee Infantry Regiment and several companies of the 17th Tennessee Infantry to attack a location called the South Rim across the road from Round Hill. By then, the Union had fortified this point and the Confederate attack on this point also failed. Later, the Confederates failed to detect a gap between the 33rd Indiana Infantry and the 7th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment (U.S.) before Col. Garrard sent reinforcements to close it. With casualties mounting to no effect, Zollicoffer ceased attacking the Union position. The Confederates withdrew during the night. They continued their retreat to Cumberland Ford, which they reached on October 26.

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The sign above reads:

'On the morning of October 21, 1861, Confederate troops attacked the Union army here at Camp Wildcat. Brigadier General Felix Zollicoffer, leading 7,500 Confederate soldiers, was intent on driving the Union forces from their hilltop position here along the Wilderness Road.

The Union's camp was aptly named. The rugged terrain of the Rockcastle Hills made travel hard. Zollicoffer later described Wildcat as "almost inaccessible."

By the time the Confederates reached Camp Wildcat, reinforcements under General Albin Schoepf had joined the single Union regiment encamped here. This raised the number of the Union's forces to 5,000. The Confederates attacked repeatedly. According to Zollicoffer after being "...under heavy fire for several hours from heights on the right, left, and in front, I became satisfied that it could not be carried otherwise than by immense exposure, it at all." By nightfall. they ceased their attack and retreated back down the mountain.

After spending a restless night digging new entrenchments and sleeping on their guns, the Union soldiers discovered the next morning that they had successfully held their ground. The Confederates had gone in the night and were on their way back toward Cumberland Gap.'

It's incredible to stand here looking over the area and imagine that at that time there were 5,000 union and 7,500 confederate soldiers as well as artillery in this area fighting.

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We continued along the KAT headed towards Livingston, Kentucky. Just before Livingston the dirt road ended at the Rockcastle River. The KAT map showed that the route crossed the river, so we looked it over and found what we thought was the shallowest part without any rock obstructions.

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When 85_Ranger4x4 approached the water, I thought to myself 'go slow'. He created a wake and about halfway across the engine died.

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I backed into the river, ericbphoto hooked my tow strap to him, and I pulled him out.

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85_Ranger4x4 found that water had got into the plug for the distributor, so he sprayed it with brake cleaner and after reconnecting it, it fired right up.

But then it died.

85_Ranger4x4 remembered that he had shut the fuel pump off when he turned the key on to unlock the steering wheel so he could steer out of the river. After turning the fuel pump back on, the green beast roared back to life.

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Continuing our journey along the KAT we came across another natural stone arch along the side of the road. This time we didn't have to hike to see it. Google maps had this road labeled as both Line Creek Road, and Rooks Road.

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Continuing down Rooks Road brought us to yet another water crossing. This time it was crossing the Cane Creek. The creek bed makes up part of the road.

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It was time to start looking for a campground. After looking at the map, we made the decision to head for Laurel Lake Campground just past the Laurel River Lake. This was another great campground that has showers and a store with a kitchen. I think they also gave us a great deal on our sites.

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For me, tonight's dinner was steak with shrimp, potatoes, carrots, onions, green peppers, and zucchini. It's crazy, but I actually eat better when I'm camping than I do at home because I don't have a microwave, and I'm forced to actually cook.

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This was quite a day, and we covered quite a few miles, but we didn't get as far on the KAT during this 3-day period as I thought we would.

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Kentucky Active Shooter:

You probably heard about Joseph Couch who shot at vehicles on Interstate 75 near London, Kentucky on Saturday September 7th, and then fled into the woods. They're still searching for him as of today. We had passed through the area just north of the shooting on this day. That area is now closed. I listed the shooting on the map so you can see where that was and where they're searching for him in relation to where the KAT route went.

Kentucky Adventure Tour - Day 3 Map:

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

But then it died.

85_Ranger4x4 remembered that he had shut the fuel pump off when he turned the key on to unlock the steering wheel so he could steer out of the river. After turning the fuel pump back on, the green beast roared back to life.

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[Curious Hound]

Ok. If that’s what you want to call it.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Kentucky Adventure Tour - Day 4:

Thursday morning (September 5, 2024) we had breakfast, packed up camp, and needed to head to the Prizer Point KOA campground at Land Between the Lakes for TheRangerStation.com 25th Anniversary.

We made the decision to take the Kentucky Adventure Tour south to Cumberland Falls Road (SR90) and then follow that west to the Cumberland Falls State Park. While travelling down Forest Road 193 we came across these ledges and decided to stop and take a look.

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We also decided to take a group photo since we were about to be leaving the KAT.

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While traveling west on Cumberland Falls Road (SR90) we spotted this great lookout and decided to stop.

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You could tell that this was once a beautiful lookout and that a lot of money had been spent on its construction, but the signs were gone, and the trees had been allowed to grow up and block the view.

In 1929, the stock market crashed and sent the world into the Great Depression. During these years, many Kentuckians were out of work and fell on hard times. President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted a variety of civic programs to try to revive the nation, known as the New Deal. Within this package of programs, the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) functioned as a means to provide relief for unemployed, unmarried men in exchange for labor on public projects.

Starting in 1933, three CCC camps were erected in Corbin near the Cumberland Falls State Park area- companies 509, 563, and 1578. The men of these companies built everything from trails to parking areas and picnic tables. The National Park Service supervised the men’s work and the Army supervised the men at their housing units. The young men earned three meals a day, about 30 dollars a month and basic education for their services. CCC work at the Cumberland Falls State Park continued until 1937.

More than likely this lookout was built by the Civilian Conservation Corp in the 1930's.

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I bet this lookout below once had a beautiful view.

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You can still get a view from the top of it along the road.

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From here it was just a short drive down the mountain to the Cumberland Falls State Park.

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In 1750 the Cumberland Falls was rediscovered by the explorer Thomas Walker who named it after the Duke of Cumberland. The first recorded landowners of the falls were Matthew Walton and Adam Shepard in 1800, both engineers who served under George Washington during the American Revolution.  Walton and Shepard surveyed the land in 1814 and were issued a land patent in 1828.

The first landowners to settle permanently at Cumberland Falls were Lewis Renfro, a Baptist minister, and his wife Mary, who built a cabin there in 1850, which would later be used as a hospital during the American Civil War. The falls and 400 acres of surrounding land were purchased in 1875 by Socrates Owens, who then built the Cumberland Hotel. Visitors traveled from Cumberland Falls Station at Parkers Lake in joltwagons pulled by mules, a four-hour journey. Upon reaching the Falls, they crossed the river by wading, rafting, or fording in the wagons. When Owens died in 1890, his widow, Nannie William Owens, and his son, Edward F. Owens, took over the hotel. The Owens family later sold the hotel and 400 acres to the Cumberland Falls Company who in turn sold it to J.C. Brunson, who renamed the hotel the Brunson Inn.

In 1927 the Kiwanis Club sponsored a trail to be built from nearby Corbin, Kentucky, and dedicated to Kentucky governor William J. Fields.  Construction occupied some 200 laborers over nine weeks.  However, as late as 1929, the Izaak Walton League wrote of access to the falls saying:

The unspoiled charm of Cumberland Falls is due to the fact that the falls are difficult to reach ... Road maps show roads leading from Corbin, twenty miles to the northeast, and from Williamsburg, eighteen miles from the southeast, but both these are so rough as to be practicable only for saddle-horses.

In 1928, a proposal to accept the falls as a park was brought to the floor of the Kentucky Senate but was defeated.

The area was a favorite vacation destination for T. Coleman du Pont, a Kentucky native and U.S. Senator from Delaware. Disturbed by plans to build a hydroelectric dam at the site, Louisville Times editor and conservationist Tom Wallace spearheaded a campaign to save the Falls from 1926-1931. In 1930, Wallace and other conservationists persuaded DuPont to purchase and donate 600 acres surrounding the falls to Kentucky, urging the commonwealth to set aside the property as a state park.

Despite DuPont’s death later that year, additional land was purchased, and in 1933 the state legislature designated the property as Kentucky’s third state park. The park was officially opened on September 7, 1931. Much of the early work at the park, including construction of DuPont Lodge and cabins for guests, was undertaken during the Great Depression by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) employees.

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I saw 85_Ranger4x4 about to take a selfie with his son and stuck my head in real fast as I was walking by.

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Knowing that we had a long drive ahead of us, it was time to leave. We would have to travel approximately 260 miles to go from here to the Prizer Point campground at Land Between the Lakes and would take an estimated 5-hours with stops to get there.

In addition to that, I would have to break away from the group and travel 30 minutes north of Prizer Point to the Walmart in Princeton to order a cake for our gathering on Saturday.

In all, it was a fantastic trip with my fellow Vagabonds, and I didn't want it to end. I can't wait for our next trip!

Kentucky Adventure Tour Day 4 Maps:

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Kentucky Adventure Tour - Day 3:

Wednesday (September 4, 2024) we all woke up early, had breakfast and packed up all of our camping gear. It's a good thing we got packed up when we did. We were talking about the trip when I heard the humming of what sounded like a big drone. As the noise got louder, I realized that it was a lawn mower. Moments later a guy from the park service pulled up on a large mower and asked us if we minded if he cut the grassy field behind us. Then two other guys showed up with weed eaters. Had we not woken up when we did, we would have had a rude awakening. But once we were packed up, you couldn't tell we had ever camped there.

We headed into McKee where we stopped at a shell station to fuel up and use the little store. While we were there, an old guy pulled up in a Ford Ranger and said that he was leaking something. Snoranger, Robertmangrum.rm and ericbphoto looked at it and determined that it was just condensation from the air conditioner.

View attachment 117403
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We headed on down the Kentucky Adventure Tour which took us back down a gravel road through the hills of Kentucky. As I rounded a bend, a skidder had just pulled off of the road dragging a large log behind him. The logger stopped and I asked the guy if the road was clear and proceeded forward.

We came to a section where the KAT map listed a cave, so we got out to check it out.

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The cave had a creek running through it which is probably what formed it. Robertmangrum.rm and snoranger went all the way down to it.

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We continued on our journey. It was a beautiful day with temps in the mid 70's. As for me, the weather itself was a wonderful vacation from the 100-105 degree temps that I left in Texas.

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This one-lane bridge came up on us fast. We were rolling down a 2-lane paved road, rounded a bend, and there it was. The KAT map didn't label this as a one-lane bridge. It's just labeled as 'slick'. I can see how this wooden bridge could be slippery when it gets wet.

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On Wildcat Road we came upon some downed trees covering most of the road. We probably could have gotten past them with some light rubbing but decided to cut them and clear the road for the next person. Snoranger made quick work of them with his electric chainsaw.

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We eventually came to the Camp Wildcat civil war site and stopped to take a look around and learn more about it.

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As the Confederates started up the Wilderness Road on the morning of October 21, 1861, Gen. Schoepf moved four companies of the 33rd Indiana Infantry Regiment, 350 men, 0.75 miles to the east of Camp Wildcat to Round Hill, a steep, high point along the road. Confederate pickets attacked the Union force just after they arrived at Round Hill, but the Confederates soon withdrew to report the situation to Gen. Zollicoffer. Zollicoffer sent most of two regiments, the 11th Tennessee Infantry Regiment and several companies of the 17th Tennessee Infantry Regiment to attack the Union detachment at Round Hill. Just before the attack, the companies from the 33rd Indiana were reinforced by 250 men of the 1st Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry Regiment (U.S.) and a small number of home guards. The Confederate regiments attacked the steep hill but after an hour of fighting the 11th Tennessee Infantry retreated. Soon thereafter Union reinforcements arrived, forcing the 17th Tennessee Infantry to retreat as well.

Zollicoffer then sent the 29th Tennessee Infantry Regiment and several companies of the 17th Tennessee Infantry to attack a location called the South Rim across the road from Round Hill. By then, the Union had fortified this point and the Confederate attack on this point also failed. Later, the Confederates failed to detect a gap between the 33rd Indiana Infantry and the 7th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment (U.S.) before Col. Garrard sent reinforcements to close it. With casualties mounting to no effect, Zollicoffer ceased attacking the Union position. The Confederates withdrew during the night. They continued their retreat to Cumberland Ford, which they reached on October 26.

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The sign above reads:

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It's incredible to stand here looking over the area and imagine that at that time there were 5,000 union and 7,500 confederate soldiers as well as artillery in this area fighting.

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We continued along the KAT headed towards Livingston, Kentucky. Just before Livingston the dirt road ended at the Rockcastle River. The KAT map showed that the route crossed the river, so we looked it over and found what we thought was the shallowest part without any rock obstructions.

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When 85_Ranger4x4 approached the water, I thought to myself 'go slow'. He created a wake and about halfway across the engine died.

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I backed into the river, ericbphoto hooked my tow strap to him, and I pulled him out.

View attachment 117421
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85_Ranger4x4 found that water had got into the plug for the distributor, so he sprayed it with brake cleaner and after reconnecting it, it fired right up.

But then it died.

85_Ranger4x4 remembered that he had shut the fuel pump off when he turned the key on to unlock the steering wheel so he could steer out of the river. After turning the fuel pump back on, the green beast roared back to life.

View attachment 117422
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Continuing our journey along the KAT we came across another natural stone arch along the side of the road. This time we didn't have to hike to see it. Google maps had this road labeled as both Line Creek Road, and Rooks Road.

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Continuing down Rooks Road brought us to yet another water crossing. This time it was crossing the Cane Creek. The creek bed makes up part of the road.

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It was time to start looking for a campground. After looking at the map, we made the decision to head for Laurel Lake Campground just past the Laurel River Lake. This was another great campground that has showers and a store with a kitchen. I think they also gave us a great deal on our sites.

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For me, tonight's dinner was steak with shrimp, potatoes, carrots, onions, green peppers, and zucchini. It's crazy, but I actually eat better when I'm camping than I do at home because I don't have a microwave, and I'm forced to actually cook.

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This was quite a day, and we covered quite a few miles, but we didn't get as far on the KAT during this 3-day period as I thought we would.

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Kentucky Active Shooter:

You probably heard about Joseph Couch who shot at vehicles on Interstate 75 near London, Kentucky on Saturday September 7th, and then fled into the woods. They're still searching for him as of today. We had passed through the area just north of the shooting on this day. That area is now closed. I listed the shooting on the map so you can see where that was and where they're searching for him in relation to where the KAT route went.

Kentucky Adventure Tour - Day 3 Map:

View attachment 117499​

They did find the shooter today:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/18/us/kentucky-i-75-shooting-suspect-body-found/index.html