Land Between the Lakes, KY and TN

In planning for the trip, we obviously spend a lot of time with maps.  During one such session, Jerry pointed to a spot in the middle of the country and asked what it was.  We had never heard of Land between the Lakes, we even kept saying it wrong.  But we checked it out and put it in our planned new destination schedule for this trip.

What a lovely place it is.  It is a long peninsula that spans the border between Kentucky and Tennessee.  The Cumberland River and the Tennessee River flow on opposite sides of the peninsula.   In the early 1800s settlers displaced the native people and built farms and ranches on the lush land.  Flooding was common but the massive floods in 1934 not only covered this area but were throughout Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and further.  The Army Corps of Engineers dammed the rivers and created two lakes, Kentucky and Barkley. The TVA used eminent domain to remove the people living here.  Today the area is a National Recreation Area.

The lush grasslands and tall hardwood trees are the main “residents.”  The people who come here are mostly local and probably come here for many weekends and vacations.  The area is great for hiking, walking, fishing, boating and hunting.  There are three sites that are geared to families, the Nature Center, Planetarium and Homeplace.  We have happily found LBL a great stop.

But first we had to hunker down during a heavy rain day. 

The next morning the skies cleared and we headed out.  We found this herd of bison grazing in the pastures.

Then we went to the Elk and Bison Prairie where a gentleman relaxed.

We took a five-mile hike into the forest accompanied by the honking and cawing of waterfowl. We enjoyed the early budding of a few wildflowers

watched a duck swim

crossed bridges and dams

and spotted turtles along the way.

Our reward for all this activity was dinner in Grand Rivers, a cute tourist town that seems to never dim their holiday lights.  It boasts 350 residents and 350,000 visitors.

The main restaurant is Patti’s 1880s Settlement, built in 1977 (no, that is not a typo).  The restaurant has grown to include an inn, a waterwheel, animal pens, ponds, shops, catering halls and a second restaurant.  The decor is kitsch to the nth degree but in a fun way.  It is THE place to dine in town (actually there are a couple of other places but not so famous).  We enjoyed our dinner and the flower pot bread but saved room for the specialty of the house, pie. 

 In this case a chess pie, and here is what you have been waiting for, food photos.  Yes, the two forks means we shared.