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Kentucky Ark and Parks
  • JomarT
  • Hannah T
  • Brian Tussing
  • JomarT
  • Hannah T
  • Brian Tussing

Kentucky Ark and Parks

Une aventure de 12 jours par JomarT, Hannah & Brian En savoir plus
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  • Début du voyage
    26 juillet 2025
    Kentucky Ark and Parks
    2
    2151

    And so it begins...

    26 juillet, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 86 °F

    On Saturday morning, we piled in the van and began the 8 hour trek to Dry Ridge, Kentucky. Brian and Zach managed to engineer a cargo roof rack on top of our van. We bought it used but we didn't realize that it didn't come with the mounting equipment. Brian, ever the engineer, went to a tractor supply place and found brackets that would work. A few tweaks of some hoses he had in the garage, and we he and Zach had it mounted and ready to go.

    The one thing we are looking forward to on today 's long drive is a stop at Culver's. It's been a while since we enjoyed artery-clogging Butter burgers, fried cheese curds, and milkshakes.

    Our Vrbo house rental is in a quiet subdivision in Dry Ridge Kentucky. We took a quick walk around the neighborhood to stretch our legs before hitting the hay.    En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks
    11

    So many signs...so few bison

    27 juillet, États Unis ⋅ 🌩️ 88 °F

    On our 3 mile hike, we took the detour to try to find some of the bison herd. It's really hot and humid here today. We walked around the gravel trail desperately in search of those magnificent beasts.
    Hannah was the first one to spot the small herd coming into view at the farthest corner from our location. Zach sprinted around the loop trail and was rewarded by being able to see the bison up close and capture some great photos.
    There were bison signs everywhere, so anticipation was high. We were so thrilled that we finally spotted them.    En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks
    11

    Big Bone Lick State Park

    27 juillet, États Unis ⋅ 🌩️ 88 °F

    After a restful night's sleep and a relaxed breakfast, we headed to Big Bone Lick State Park. This beautiful area is known for a few things:
    1. It's the place where animals would come to lick the minerals (salt and sulfur) that dried on the banks. This made them easy to hunt. Thus, there are lots of big bones here.
    2. Lewis and Clark came here and gathered bones for Thomas Jefferson. When those bones were analyzed, the animal "mastadon" was named for the first time.
    3. One of the few remaining herd of bison live here.
    We hiked 3 miles through some beautiful trails, and we even found a swinging bridge. It's really hot here, and I must admit, we enjoyed some post-hike air conditioning in the visitors center.    En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks
    Ambassador Jack RabbitBoone, the Mayor1The new, type-2 VW micro-bus212024 KTM 790-twin Adventurer1Austin-Healey "bug-eye" Sprite

    Rabbit Hash Kentucky

    27 juillet, États Unis ⋅ 🌩️ 90 °F

    Rabbit Hash Kentucky is a small town about 20 minutes from Big Bone Lick State Park. We decided to visit because
    1. The General Store dates back to 1831.
    2. The General Store has live music, candies, soaps, clothing, and Ale 8 Ginger Ale.
    3. The town is on the Ohio River.
    4. The mayor is a dog; a Bluetick Coonhound named Boone.
    This place was so quirky and fun. We drank Ginger ale, enjoyed the river view, and browsed cutesy, little shops.
    Our big claim to fame is that we met the Ambassador of Rabbit Hash. He is a beagle named "Jack Rabbit". He is called an ambassador because he came in 2nd place in the 2024 election. Jack definitely has our vote in 2028! Lol!    En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks
    1
    The skies were clear, our temperature tolerable.1Coach Zac TaylorJoe throws for a completion to Tee HigginsBengals doing calisthenicsNow THAT'S a Camera!And then the rain falleth.

    Who Dey!!!

    28 juillet, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    On Monday morning, we got the chance to attend a Bengals training camp practice. We hadn't planned this, but when we drove through Cincinnati on Saturday, we got the idea to check into it.
    It turns out that the practice camps are free and open to the public!
    We arrived at 9AM and got in line with the rest of the fans. We were going through the gate by 9:30 and were given Bengal- themed cooling towels!
    By 10 AM, the players took the field.
    We got to see all the players so much closer than if we had bought tickets to a regular season game. It was so cool...and yet so hot.
    Brian picked great seats. When Joe Burrow and company lined up to run some plays...they were right in front of us. They ran about 10 plays and then the rain hit and the players hustled off the field....the practice was over. We ended up seeing them practice for about an hour. It was a great morning!    En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks
    1Inside the crawl-through tunnelZebra SharkRope bridge over the Shark TankRay swimming over a crawl-through tunnelGiant Grouper

    Newport aquarium

    28 juillet, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    We drove across the Ohio River to the Newport Aquarium. We had not been since the kids were quite young.
    It's one of our favorite aquariums.
    We all have a new favorite sea creature: the Shark- Ray. These guys are so cool and loved to show off in front of the crowd.
    The aquarium has a lot of overhead glass tunnels . It's so unreal to have the fish swimming over you.
    Exhibits included an albino alligator, jellies, sea horses, frogs, geckos, snakes, and several touch tanks. Our time ended with my favorite...the penguin exhibit. The other great thing about the aquarium is that it was indoors and air conditioned.    En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks
    2Strava's GPS tracking of our Zip-Lining.

    Screaming Eagle Zipline

    29 juillet, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    On Tuesday morning, we headed to Williamstown, Kentucky, to go to the Ark Encounter. We had made reservations for the Screaming Eagle Zipline at 10;30, so that was our first stop.
    After a brief safety lesson, we were off for our two hour adventure. We ziplined over the beautiful canopy of trees in the area. We began and ended in view of the ark.
    They took pictures for us as we could not take our phones with us.
    It was so much fun!    En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks
    2

    Noah's Ark

    29 juillet, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F

    The Answers in Genesis ministry has spent over a decade constructing a life-size model of Noah's Ark. They used the account in Genesis and researched the technology that existed in that day to be as accurate as possible.
    The ark is HUGE!! It's so impressive that Noah and his family were able to accomplish that project without modern tools. It just made us realize how many miraculous events led up to the completed ark.
    They even showed how Noah and family might have fit all the animals in the ark...plus supplies and living quarters.
    It was truly amazing!!    En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks
    Hannah with a kangaroo
    Gray crowned stork1Our favorite llamaA zonkey...donkey crossed with a zebraRed Tegu

    Ararat Zoo

    29 juillet, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 90 °F

    Outside of the ark is the Ararat Zoo.. They have an interesting and odd collection of animals at this zoo. We were under a heat advisory, so we possibly did not enjoy the zoo as much as we would have on a 75-degree day.
    There is a picture of a Llama that captures our sentiment at that moment.
    Overall, though, we enjoyed it.    En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks
    Jomar's enthusiastic ride on dino' carousel 🎠!On a large variant of sloth, in my Watkins Glen racing hat, beating Zach on a "Zach rabbit"!(At least) Hannah enjoyed the ride.My selfie: I look hot, sweaty and crazy-eyedEmzara's BuffetDecor at Emzara'sWe all ate so much, we thought we may look like this animal and its facial expression!Brian"s unhealthy plate: pudding, cookies and a cake floating on a sea of spicy baked beans. Yum!

    Carousel and Emzara's Buffet

    29 juillet, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

    Our plan for the day was that we would eat breakfast at our house, then have trailmix as a quick snack after ziplining and not eat a real meal until 5pm. We followed this plan and worked up quite an appetite. After we had toured the whole ark and the zoo and took a quick ride on a very unique carousel, we were quite hungry.
    We ate at Emzara's Buffet. (Emzara is the name they have given to Noah's wife...she is not specifically named that in the Bible)
    Whatever her name was...her food was great! We all desperately needed green veggies, so this was one of our healthier food choices over the past few days.    En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks

    Trail Ride

    30 juillet, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    We checked out of our rental house, packed up all our belongings, and headed to the Kentucky Horse Park.
    It was a beautiful day, and Hannah and I decided to take a trail ride around the Park.
    Hannah rode quarter horse named Charlie and I was on a Tennessee Walker named Skybax.
    They were both very good boys and did not try to eat grass or do other naughty horse behaviors. Although Charlie may have followed a little too close to his girlfriend at times.    En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks
    Random horses on the groundsTrolley rideTrolley rideHow to load a horse on a shipBartering for Arabian horses over in an Ottoman tentBeautiful landscaping

    Kentucky Horse Park

    30 juillet, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    We are still under a heat advisory, so we split our day between looking at actual horses outside and touring the International Horse Museum in the air conditioning.
    We watched the Champion showcase where they brought out famous retired race horses. We also took a trolley ride around the grounds. The trolley was pulled by a Suffolk draft horse named Punch and a Belgian draft horse named Manny. So fun!En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks
    Kitchen
    Stairs to the loftMaster bedroomLoft bedView from the main floorYoung people ladder 🪜 stairs!Front deckIn the Hot-Tub (we DID try it, just forget to bring a phone)BasementBasementHannah in a hammock on the lower deckSelfish in a hammockIn the Hot-Tub! (Not us, but we DO have a hot-tub)

    Canopy 7 Treehouse

    30 juillet, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    After leaving the Kentucky Horse Park, we headed to our next rental home. It's in the "town" of Rogers, KY and is beautifully in the heart of the Daniel Boone National Forest and the Red River Gorge.
    It is technically a treehouse because it is up on stilts in the middle of a forest.
    It is so adorable. There are 3 levels: the main floor with the kitchen and master bed and bathroom, the loft with 2 twin beds and the basement with a family room and another bathroom.
    After unloading, Hannah and I "hung out" in the hammocks.    En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks

    Gorge Underground Kayak Tour

    31 juillet, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    Bright and early Thursday morning, we drove to The Gorge Underground Kayak adventures. We took a tour in which we paddled kayaks through an underground lake.
    The cave is an old mine that sat abandoned for decades. In 2014, this tour company bought the mine and turned it into this kayak adventure.
    The cave is 50 degrees, and the water temperature is 40 degrees.
    We were given a helmet with a light on it so we could see where we were paddling.
    The guide used a SUP (stand up Paddle board) and she would stop at various places along the way and give us some fun and educational facts.
    Several places had some low lighting, but a lot of the cave was dark.
    It was a very cool experience!    En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks

    Kentucky Reptile Zoo

    31 juillet, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 86 °F

    After eating at a local restaurant, we stopped at a small reptile zoo. This one had quite a few venomous snakes, but the zoo works with several research facilities. They donate the venom for research using chemicals in the various types of venom for drugs that help to treat lupus, cancers and heart disease, to name a few.
    For a small zoo, they had some pretty cool snakes, gila monsters, alligators and turtles. We finished touring the zoo right as the rain started.    En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks
    Beginning of the trail
    Another swinging bridge!!Beautiful hiking trailsEye of the Needle stairsI called it "Skull Rock"A base of the bridge.Zach and Brian, when 1st coming to the bridge.Seeing thru Natural Bridge to Battleship Rock (behind trees).There was a Sky Lift for non-hikers.View from the top of the Battleship RockClose-up of the same."Crown Mtn. Is.", from Battleship Rock (my name for it)1Devil's Gulch

    Natural Bridge State Park

    31 juillet, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    After kayaking, we headed for Natural Bridge State Park, which was only about a 6 minute drive.
    The hike up to the bridge was quite strenuous. So. Many. Steps.
    Also, the final steps leading up to this beautiful arch were quite steep and VERY narrow. *see video
    However, it was worth all the steps for the gorgeous view! It was breathtaking!
    We continued on a Ridge trail until we found another beautiful overlook called Battleship Rock. The front rocks are curved like the bow of a ship.
    Another incredible view.
    The trails that led back to our van were lovely but uneventful except for... The Eye of the Needle staircase. Descending those steep stone steps was quite perilous. A couple of times, I just sat down and scooted down them on my bottom. I am not proud of that, but I didn't want to fall.
    It's still really humid here, and we were all a sweaty mess when it was over.    En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks
    Yes, that's a (venomous) copperhead snake! Hannah was bold (I was not)!Copperhead 🤯, in motion!

    Gray's arch

    1 août, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    Our big hike eventually brought us to Gray's Arch. This is another beautiful natural arch in this part of Kentucky. I think this is my favorite of all the hikes we have done on this trip. The cool weather helped bring this to the top of my list!
    We also saw a copperhead snake. There were those in our group that were more excited by this than others.
    Still a great hike!    En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks

    Kentucky's Tropical Forest

    1 août, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    We began our Friday with a drive into the Red River Gorge. We took a 4 mile hike through beautiful woods and fascinating sandstone formations. It was a beautiful morning. The temperature was hovering around 70 degrees, and the humidity was lower than we have had in over 3 weeks. We saw so many amazing views from bluff overlooks and the foliage looked almost tropical at many points of the journey.En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks

    Pilot Knob Hike

    2 août, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    Friday evening, we did laundry, built a campfire (sort of), and soaked in the hot tub. We love the hot tub after a day of hiking. Our muscles are feeling great.
    Saturday morning, Brian and I re-packed our bags, and we headed to the Lexington Airport. I am going with Brian to Wisconsin for a business trip and Hannah and Zach will drive the van home on Sunday.
    On our way to the airport, we stopped at Pilot Knob to hike to the top of this mountain. It is the spot where Daniel Boone first saw the land of Kentucky and fell in love with it.
    The hike was short and strenuous, but was well worth it. The views were phenomenal! We see why Daniel fell in love. This was a great last Kentucky hike!    En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks
    1
    The most uncomfortable extra hotel bed

    Lime Kiln Hike

    3 août, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    Saturday night, we landed at Green Bay Airport and then drove down to Appleton. On Sunday morning, we drove to High Cliffs State Park to walk along Lake Winnebago. The Canadian wildfires are still raging, so the visibility is greatly reduced. There is a moderate air quality alert today , so it's actually better today than it has been earlier in the summer. You can see the haze on the water in our pictures.En savoir plus

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  • Kentucky Ark and Parks
    11 of the fastest ave. speed and LONGEST circuits in America, ...or the World! ~4.5 miles!
    Some fans were buying used IMSA car tires (high perf., partly used). Transport methods varied!GTP, the lowest level, or "Porsche club" :-). Porsche 911: the std in this smaller engine, light car1Late-model (>2021), mid-engine Chevy corvettes. Even better looking & much better wgt. distribution.Prototype, showing how fast a X, not an XX, seconds pitstop can be.Carbon fiber monocoque section of a prototype (highest level) IMSA car. Unbelievably light, strong.Close- up of carbon fiber X-section. See fiber directionality, fasteners & E-conn.Lamborghini's2 fine ladies (Jomar and Ferrari)An old Willy's Jeep wagon w/ an early 90's Cummins 5.9L diesel (think Dodge pickup) engine installed1Cummins 5.9L, 2V, DI turbo dieselThe Ford F40, mid-engine V8 race car of,... "Ford vs. Ferrari", 1960's.Prototype class IMSA car

    Road America

    3 août, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    After a brief hike in Appleton, we drove down to Elkhart Lake to watch the IMSA car races.
    The Road America track is very beautiful, but also very long.
    We thought we walked around all of it, but we realized there was a whole section of the track that we did not see.
    It was very hot, and we kept walking from one shady spot to the next and drinking lots of water.
    The course is very fan friendly: you can walk along pit row and see the teams up close, and there are tons of different viewing areas you can walk to.
    We were sweaty and tired when it was over, but we were glad we got to experience this iconic track.    En savoir plus

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