Kentucky Capitol Building | Buffalo Trace Distillery
Monday - 7 October 2002: Lexington, Kentucky
- Again, a few notes from last night. We stayed at the nicest campground!
Elkhorn Creek Campground sits on an U-shaped bend in the creek. It looks
like a huge picnic ground - lots of lawn and big, old trees. The sites are
huge and well-spaced and the water pressure is fantastic. Our campsite was
$15... but I do have to comment on the "note" we were handed as we
checked-in with a dog. There is a specified dog-walk area (this is true in
nearly every campground) and "if your dog can't make it all the way to the
dog-walk area, you must clean-up after him! We have paid informants in the
park and if you are caught not scooping - you will BE ASKED TO LEAVE!" I
always clean up after my pooch, but was looking over my shoulder for the
Poop Nazis when I was walking Snickers. (By the way - he NEVER made it all
the way to the dog poop place.)
Elkhorn Creek campground also encourages campers to visit historic downtown
Frankfort
and lets you check-out very late! We left the poop-machine (Kathy's moniker
for Snickers) sleeping and went into town for nearly four hours! (He is
really getting used to being left now.) First, as is our custom when
visiting a State Capital, we went to the Capitol Building. The
Kentucky State Capitol Building is the largest we have visited to date.
The entire state of Kentucky is like one giant Thank You card to France -
Kentucky
is most thankful for France's help during the Revolutionary War. The Beaux
Arts-style Capitol building is a shrine to French Architecture. The rotunda
and dome are modeled on the Hotel Des Invalides, the grand staircase is a
copy of the Paris Opera and the State Reception Room is a copy of Marie
Antoinette's drawing room at Versailles. This is the first Capitol Building
where we have been asked to sign-in and show photo ID. There was a lot of
security present - State Troopers carrying weapons. (We have learned this
usually means the Governor is in his office.)
Kentucky Capitol Building
The State Reception Room
Interior of Kentucky Capitol Building
Pretty fancy, eh? (Well, it is still not as nice at the
Capitol Building in Minnesota - of all places!)
After our tour and a swing through the gift shop, where we purchased 10
postcards, had them placed in a bag, sealed, and initialed by the clerk (?),
we walked back to the Honda and drove to the famous
Rebecca Ruth Candy Shop. Rebecca Ruth make Bourbon Balls. We didn't take
breakfast today, only coffee, so the first thing we had today was a Rebecca
Ruth Bourbon Ball! Whew! I would not recommend a bourbon ball (free sample
or not!) on an empty stomach! They were really, really delicious. Hic.
Next, we had a tour through Historic Frankfort. Daniel & Rebecca
Boone are buried in Frankfort, Kentucky State University
is here and nearly all of downtown is a National Historical Landmark.
Our next stop was to the
Buffalo Trace Distillery. This was our first visit to a distillery and
it was simply fascinating. I think our guide was exceptional, which made for
a good tour. The distillery is the oldest (continuously working in the same
location) in the U.S., some of the huge, brick buildings are over 200 years
old. They still use river water (purified!) to make the bourbon in stills.
(The used mash is sold to Purina for dog food!) Buffalo Trace make their own
white oak barrels and use them only once. The barrels are then sold (most of
them anyway) to Scotland for whiskey aging, at between $30 and $40 each.
They distill ten different brands at Buffalo Trace. I had never heard of any
of their brands, but everyone else on the tour knew them. Their premier
brand, Buffalo Trace, is only distributed in Kentucky and Indiana. We
learned how the taxing on the bourbon literally changed the entire process
and that bourbon is the most regulated food product in America. I thought
the bars on the windows of the aging warehouses were for security and I was
right - but wrong. The bars were put there by the "revenuers" over 100 years
ago to stop the company from sneaking a barrel of bourbon out before paying
taxes on the liquor. Today, a barrel of bourbon has a tax bill of between
five and six hundred dollars! After the tour, which included the entire
process - right down to the hand-filling and labeling - we were taken into
the tasting room and given a shot of bourbon... again, nothing to eat yet
and it was after noon. That shot of whiskey went right to our heads and we
were seen in the gift shop moments later loading up on bourbon and assorted
gifts! Buffalo Trace bourbon was very smooth, did not burn, and was
served quite cold.
Bourbon aging in barrels at Buffalo Trace Distillery
We arrived back to Goldie to rescue our poor dog, hitched
the BC2 and dragged it 20 miles to Lexington, Kentucky where we are camped
at a lovely State Park,
Kentucky Horse Park. We will visit the Horse Park tomorrow. This
afternoon we-three went into Lexington - Home of the
Kentucky Wildcats and saw Rupp Arena and the
family home of
Mary Todd Lincoln. I did not take photos because the house is 2 feet
from a very ugly street and electric wires are all over the front of the
house and it was just awful! (Sorry - I was so disappointed. MTL is one of
my favorite characters in American History.) Next, we headed out to Paris!
(I told you this state was nuts over France!) We chose to drive the
Paris Pike, a 14-mile road between Lexington and Paris, because of
the beautiful horse "farms" on the road. Mile after mile of green pastures
and gorgeous horses, long-hair (!) and Limosin cattle grazing on the famed
Kentucky Blue Grass. The homes were simply gorgeous - huge brick mansions. I
can't imagine how many hours it takes to simply mow the lawn in front of the
homes!
Horses
 Paris
has a Historic Shrine. Not a Historic Monument, a SHRINE.
Duncan Tavern was a favorite watering hole of early frontiersmen,
including Daniel Boone. It is a beautiful building - as are
many buildings in town - made from mortared field stone.
Folklore tells us that bourbon was "born" in Paris, Kentucky. Originally
called Hopewell, the county seat was renamed Paris in 1790, since the county
was named for France's royal family - Bourbon.
Detail of field stone on the Duncan Tavern
Duncan Tavern Historic Shrine
You can see we were having a Big Day and really doing a lot.
It was getting close to 6 p.m. and we needed a few groceries - no nearby
restaurants and we wanted to listen to our Fearless Leader give his Address
to the Nation. We could not find a supermarket! Certainly, we would drive by
a grocery on our return from Paris? No, nothing. Finally, we crossed I-75
into Georgetown and saw a Winn Dixie. It was a horrible
store. They had three green peppers, none of which were edible. The Winn
Dixie had 137 varieties of pork products and three varieties of apples. For
some reason, they had a huge display of microwave popcorn, in boxes, in the
refrigerated vegetable section, near a huge display of refrigerated peanuts
in the shell. We asked the check-out girl, about 19 years old, if they sold
beer and she said "No, Georgetown is in a dry county." While scanning our
items, she held up a lime and asked DT, "WHOT is this?" and he replied that
they were 3 for $1. "No", she said, "I mean, WHOT is this?" "It is a lime."
"Oh, I knew it was either a lemon or a lime."
All over Kentucky we see signs reading, "KENTUCKY: Education Pays."
WHOTever!
RV Park:
Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky
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