2018 02 18 23 Day trip Madison Indiana and we left Two Rivers RV Campground just in time.

Madison, Indiana - February 18, 2018

Day trip to Clifty Canyon Nature Preserve. The level of water is intriguing Tori but she doesn't like to swim as much as she likes dabbling her feet in streams.

Shows how much rain has been seemingly falling for weeks. Everywhere we go the footing is very soggy. 

Our boots and pants were smudged liberally with mud. 

The other attraction on this day trip was the fountain in the old town square of Madison, Indiana. Perhaps the church was built later but it seemed an odd juxtaposition to have the mythological creatures right next to the steeples. 

Two Rivers RV Campground, Carrollton, Kentucky - February 15-22, 2018

Watching the progression of the Kentucky River rising we were glad to move on though our path out...? Eventually, every path eventually became overwhelmed with muddy waters.

The exit became a bit too challenging with the pond overflowing on to Second Street. By the time we left, the photographer (Bob) would have had water half way up his legs if he had gone out to take another shot. The last photo in this group would be completely flooded too. As it was, we had to go to the left and through a residential neighborhood. Based on our prior experiences, that is not our preferred exit strategy for any small town. We never know how accurate our RV GPS app is regarding one-way streets, overhanging wires and narrow, sharp turns. Our luck held and we found a good sized street without corner obstructions that led back to the main road to the highway out of town.

2018 16-17 Two Rivers Campground and Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory

Two Rivers Campground, Carrollton, Kentucky - February 15, 2018

A lot of water all over Kentucky. Dogs are very disappointed to find the path covered with overflow. 

We have gotten rain 3 of 4 days in Padukah and 5 of 7 days here in Carrollton. Good news is the coach is dry inside. Bad news is the tool bags in the truck bed box were wet and so were the tools inside. We will have to figure out a way to keep more water out of the box. 

Louisville Slugger Factory, Louisville, Kentucky - February 17, 2018

The mega bat is actually metal and stands 120 feet high. It is an exact-replica of the 34-inch bat used by Babe Ruth. They do not allow photography in the factory but there are two different sets of lathes - one set has 5 super large machines used to carve the minor league, sales and mini bats. There is a total separate set of machines used for the major league players bats. The wood selection, length, weight, stain (or not), paint (or not), knob and depth of cupping (boring) in the bat end are chosen by the player. 

Bob holds an Albert Pujols signature bat. 34 inches, 31 Ounces. This factory carved bed posts, spindles and swinging butter churns, and baseball bats starting in 1884 by hand. 

The Johnny Bench bat is 35 inches, 32 ounces. Any ball player can request a personally designed bat or use one of the previously designed bat.

The Bat Vault where anyone can hold a bat designed for Ted Williams, Hank Aaron and Derek Jeeter. Some are replicas since older bats are brittle and not on display. 

A Babe Ruth Model. 

RJ Reynolds who played for 8 seasons, Dodgers and Pirates. 

A double knob bat. These styles were suppose to be like a counterweight to the head of the bat. I would love to see someone use this in a game. 

The P72 model is the most popular style for major league players. Created in 1954 and is the only retired model because Derek Jeeter used this style during his minor and major league careers. The Louisville Slugger Company decided to retire this model number when Jeeter retired and renamed it DJ2. The only exception would be for a direct family member of the original player, Les Pinkham. So keep your eyes open for Zeke Pinkham playing at the University of Louisville and projected to be picked early in the draft.  

About 3000 bats are housed in the vault. There are additional bats in Cooperstown and in storage here that need special atmospheric conditions.

Bat model for Stan "The Man" Musial.

The "G69". A replica of the Lou Gehrig model. An original is under glass at the factory. 

Check out Bob's pitching in the simulator.

One strike, one ball and one foul tip. That black dot on the catcher's mitt is his pitch. Nice going. 

Model M159, 34.5 inches, 32-33 ounces. Stan Musial.

Factory atrium

Signature plaque for Ozzie Smith. Each player who signs with H&B has a plaque in the lobby. These signatures are transferred onto metal and burned into each of their ordered bats.

Bob in the batting cages, choking up for the shorter swing of a slasher. 

A 450-million year old piece of Kentucky limestone carved into a 17-ton ball and glove sculpture.

Lunch a couple blocks away at the Mussel & Burger, of which we had neither.
Big Flakes of snow are coming down outside. 

Bob had a local brew, Kentucky Kolsch and Seafood Sliders. I had the mac-n-cheese with bacon and fried cheese curds. So rich I couldn't eat more than half.

As if Kentucky needs any more precipitation, we had rain changing to snow today. 

2018 02 10-14 Paducah, Kentucky Lake, National Quilt Museum and Levee Wall.

February 13, 2018, Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky

Taking the scenic route to our hiking trail when Bob suddenly stopped the truck and backed up. 

The nine-banded armadillo has been in Kentucky for about 20 years.

This one didn't stop foraging for very long and took very little notice of me.

Sunny day for a walk near Kentucky lake. 

My cousin, Kay Thompson, loves the new Dutch door that David Schupp made and installed in her new house in Puducah. We are holding a "King Cake" which we had seen in the stores when we went through Alabama and Louisiana. All we knew was it had something to do with Mardi Gras. Kay explained that partying actually starts in January with friends and neighbors getting together. The cake is similar to a coffee cake with fruit and nuts as the filling. The simple icing is in Mardi Gras colors of green, yellow and purple. Inside is suppose to be a small baby Jesus figure and whoever gets it in their piece brings the cake to the next party. There is at least one party every week ending on Fat Tuesday. 

 Valentine's Day, February 14, 2018

Happy Valentine's Day, Birthday Bob. 

Dakota just invited herself into the extra chair next to cousin, Kay. She looks so innocent sitting there like it's an every day thing. 

These statues outside the National Quilt Museum represent some of the people met by Lewis and Clark during their expedition. The little girl is holding a cloth and the Native American behind her holds a medallion, both used as trading goods when meeting different tribes. 

The Yo-Yo Club meets every Wednesday for several hours of free hand quilting in the lobby of the Museum. This quilt and one other will be raffled off with all the proceeds going to the Museum since all the materials are donated. 

Bob before we were amazed by the artistry of the quilts. These are truly works of art so we could not take pictures due to copyright laws. One of our favorite (and the docent's choice) was the one of various scenes from "The Hobbit". 

This picture does not do justice to the actual art piece but each tulip is created with different colored thread embroidered into shape while the red crosses are embroidered then highlighted with gold thread. All the colors just pop off the fabric. 

Levee Wall art panels illustrate some historical scenes of Paducah.

The panels were completed in 2010 and the artist returns each year to repair any panel that needs a touch up. 

2018 02 03-08 Hiking Hot Springs Arkansas and then on to West Memphis.

Sunday, January 28, 2018 - Shreveport, LA

Dinner with cousin, Marie Thompson Kalmbach and Smudge. Her husband, Bill, cooked roast beef. We had a good time in Shreveport and even had some decent weather. 

Hot Springs, AR - February 4, 2018

Hiking at Lake Catherine State Park. Tori wondered off the path a little and got some vine wild rose thorns wrapped in her tail. It frightened her so much she spun around wrapping the vine completely around herself. We spent 5 minutes trying to hold her still long enough to cut the vine off and unwrap her all while Dakota tied Bob's legs up with her leash.

Falls at Lake Catherine State Park. Tori loves to walk through streams but I have to watch her closely because she gets really close to the edge. 

Selfie. The last day that it actually got warm and had plenty of sun. This winter is freaking us out. 

Lake Catherine

There are no underlying supports on this bridge so the chains are very noisy as Tori and I walk across. She hates unfamiliar noises and really wants to get off.

Cloud Nine RV Park Rec Center porch had several rocking chairs so we could just sit back and look at the scenery.

 West Memphis, AR - February 8, 2018, Tom Sawyer RV Campground

Sure glad we found this place because we were rained on for over 24 hours the day before we left. Had we stayed at a site without concrete pads with 2 inches of rain on the ground it would have been seriously ugly.  

One of the "alternative" camping options. This is about 10 feet above ground. The campground is along the banks of the Mississippi and in May 2011 even that height would not have kept this place dry. 

Memphis Zoo - February 8, 2018

Took awhile to make the connection to the hieroglyphic facade.  Egyptian writing...Memphis. Get it? Duh!

Was not expecting to find the Asian motif so domineering at the back of the park. Not just a pagoda and a pair of lions. Inside the pavilion was a 6 foot bell and ...

Here are 5 of a rare, old world troop of Sulawesi crested black macaques. One named Zimm escaped in June 2015 and was luckily recaptured. Zimm now resides in an updated exhibit in the China section with her new family of six macaques. Sandy, Lyla, Cedric, Linberg, Marie and Stella. 

Only one orangutan but he was very interested in what Bob was doing. 

Kudo, giraffes, cheetah, panda (who knew?), orangutan and antelope.

Mandrill, Nile Crocodile and adorable baby antelope. There were 3 Nile crocs. Now while I have seen numerous alligators these where huge. The close up of the head reminded Bob of Smaug the dragon in the Hobbit. 

Nice rack of antlers on the reindeer.  A grey wold looking playful. There were a pack of 4 or 5 and all of them were cream colored and kept staring at Bob. Must have been his hat. Two lionesses on guard while the King of the Jungles was sleeping. The cougar was vocalizing continuously for over 15 minutes. Weirdest thing we have ever heard. Finally, a Fishing Cat. Someone went way out on a limb to name that feline. 

This very angry looking gorilla is made of recycled tires.  

The Majestic Grille Restaurant where we had lunch after the zoo. It is a restored movie theater built in 1913. We couldn't figure out what they were showing but it was a Cary Grant movie. 

It has the largest private movie screen in the city constantly showing silent and classic old movies. Can any of you visualize this space as a movie theater because I got nothing. 

For desert we shared a flight of 2 ounce sweets.
Tiramisu, Lemon Meringue pie, Carrot cake, Strawberry shortcake, Key Lime pie and Chocolate mousse (the best one). Yummy. 

After lunch we took a pleasant walk down Beale street which was only a block away from the Majestic Grille. Still was too early for any entertainment. 

Lots of "souvenir" shops. 

Chicago had their cows, New York had their bulls and Memphis has its guitars. 

The Man in Black.

Princess, your carriage awaits. 

A lot of tug and barge traffic. This one is heading down stream. Tugs with 12-15 barges were plying the "Big Muddy" all day and night. Those traversing down river were fine but the powerful engines of the tugs trying to go up river was disturbing during the early morning hours.

Someone wants a hug.

Tomorrow we move on to Paducah, Kentucky.