Day 14 - London, KY to Stanton, KY

It's another sunny morning.  Time to move on.

Up at 8:00, on the road by 10:10 am.

It was an interesting 75 mile trip.  We left London on US-30 and cruised along a divided, two-lane highway for a while, then the GPS didn't know where the road was.  Turned off the GPS and enjoyed a bit more cruising on US-30.  Then, it became a single, dual-lane highway.  It was hilly and curvy, some parts had no berm (a white line and then a drop-off, with no guard rails).  Fortunately, traffic was light.

US-30 had lots of caution signs.

We passed through towns with interesting names ...Mummie, Levi, Zoe, and Zachariah.  

We stopped in Booneville at the Ole Bus Stop Diner for an early lunch.  Service was excellent and the menu selection was huge.  Our sandwich orders were so large we had to pass on their homemade desserts.  We're in Kentucky ... they had a smoking and non-smoking sections.

4 Guys RV Park is in the Daniel Boone National Forest ... it's about 60 miles southeast of Lexington.  Services are modern.  It'll be a good spot to explore from.  This stop is the 400th time we've set up the trailer.

It's 91° and very humid.  Everyone is inside their RVs this afternoon.

We took an orientation drive around the Red River Gorge Scenic Byway this evening.  We'll go back tomorrow for pictures.

Day 13 - London, KY (Day 4)

It's Labor Day.  Our labor was limited to doing laundry, draining the gray tank and microfiber cleaning of the Airstream interior.

It's another hot day.  The A/C is a blessing.

We made reservations for 3 days at 4 Guys RV Park near Stanton.  It'll be our home base for exploring Red River Gorge, Natural Bridge and Nada Tunnel.

Carol swam in the pool to cool off ... and slipped getting out.

Day 12 - London, KY (Day 3)

We're taking a day trip south to the Cumberland Gap today.

On the road at 10:30 am.

Travelled the southern portion of National Geographic's "Wilderness Road Heritage Highway".

First stop: Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.  Went to Visitors Center, viewed history film, and drove Skyline Road to Pinnacle Overlook.

Second stop:  Drove through the Cumberland Tunnel to Cumberland, TN to visit a Daniel Boone exhibit and an Iron Furnace.

Third stop:  Dr. Thomas Walker State Historic Site near Barbourville.  Dr. Walker was the first white explorer to find the Cumberland Gap.

Returned home at 5:00 pm having driven 142 miles and set foot in three states ... KY, VA and TN.

Watched Joe Burrow and LSU battle Miami.

Day 11 - London, KY (Day 2)

Ran the A/C all night to keep the humidity down.  Comfortable sleep.

Well, we've finally gotten to OSU vs. OSU football game day.  The game is at noon and we're positive the OSU closest to London will win.  And they did ... Buckeyes 77 - Beavers 31.

We explored London a bit.  Grocery shopped and checked out a laundromat.

Watched Cincinnati beat UCLA and Notre Dame beat Michigan.

A low key day.

London Fun Facts:

• Home of the annual World Chicken Festival that celebrates the life of Colonel Sanders.
• Features the World's Largest Stainless Steel Frying Pan at the World Chicken Festival.

Day 10 - Breaks, VA to London, KY

The holiday weekend is upon us.  It's time to move to a site where we can "hunker down" for three days.  The closest place we could find is in London. KY ... 140 miles away.

Up at 9:00 am.  Hooked up and ready to go at 10:50 am.  Had an early lunch at the lodge and hit the road at noon.

We followed the GPS route even though it left out the part of Country Music Highway remaining from our trip to Breaks.  We had planned to finish that scenic drive, but getting to a holiday weekend campground had priority.  

It was sunny during the drive.  The route guided us over and through forested hills and valleys.  We drove through the eastern section of the Daniel Boone National Forest.  Beautiful scenery.

Arrived in London at 3:35 pm.  We're in site 148 at Westgate RV Campground.  A brief shower popped up as we finished the last trailer setup steps.  There are dark clouds and thunder at 6:00 pm.

Day 9 - Breaks Interstate Park (Day 2)

Quiet, cool night.  Slept well.  Some clouds early.

Looks like we'll be alone at this end of the camping loop tonight.  The rig to our south was gone when we got up and the one to our north is leaving today.

Breakfast at the Rhododendron Restaurant at the Lodge.  Total bill for two, large breakfasts was $13.14.  Tipped the bill and then some.

We headed out to explore the park.  Stopped at the Visitors Center, then foolishly ignored distant thunder and headed for the Tower Tunnel Overlook in sunlight.  A few raindrops fell just as we got to the overlook.  The raindrops quickly turned into a downpour.  The 1/4 mile walk to the car was up a root and timber stepped trail.  We were soaked through and through by the time we reached the car.

Returned to the trailer to dry off and discovered one of the Fantastic Fans wasn't fantastic after all.  It hadn't closed when the rain started.  Spent an hour or so drying the fan frame and bed.

Did a scouting trip for the Clinchfield and Stateline Overlooks before dinner.  Will go back to Stateline at sunset.

Day 8 - Greenup, KY to Breaks, VA

We're off to see the "Grand Canyon of the South" at Breaks Interstate Park in Virginia.  Kentucky and Virginia share management of the park, so it should be a legitimate Kentucky stop.

Left at 11:00 am, got to the campground at 3:15 pm.  US-23 was excellent, KY-80 was curvey.

Sunny and hot (low 90s) most of the way.  Passed through a heavy shower south of Pikeville.

Breaks Interstate Park is located partly in southeastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia, in the Jefferson National Forest, at the northeastern terminus of Pine Mountain.  It's mountainous, forested and beautiful ... but, you don't get here by accident.

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