Nice pictures! I've always thought it was beautiful, and wonder, why don't more people live there?They're crazy not to

Beautiful state. I lived there for a few years a long time ago.

I've been thru Kentucky several times. It is a beautiful state.

Beautiful!

I want to visit Kentucky. One of my family lines is from there. I tried to talk my one child who is home during spring break into going there, but he isn't interested. Kentucky is beautiful from everything I have seen.

I've never been to Kentucky. Thanks for the tour.

Nice pictures, I love the trees. I've been to a south-eastern corner of Kentucky, visiting some of DH's family. Would like to see more of the state.

Beautiful! The terrain is very similar here in Arkansas, at least in the part of Arkansas I live in, the north west corner. Thank you for showing us, it also makes me yearn for spring!

Beautiful horse country photos. We have enjoyed our travels through Kentucky. Mammoth Cave, the Corvette Museum, the Whiskey Trail, Berea and the craft museum and quilt barns in that area, and all the scenic backroads.

I’ve always been curious about Kentucky. Many years ago my husband was applying for internships and I found one in Kentucky. I was excited at the prospect of going there. I had visions of horse stables and bluegrass. My friend wa appalled saying why would i want to live near coal mines and poverty. I was fascinated that we had such very different views of the state. We never ended up there But I went to a wedding in Cincinnati once, where we walked over a bridge (I think it was blue?) into Kentucky, so I got a glimpse of it. I would like to see more. These picture are beautiful.

Dedtired, it was probably the purple people bridge. I have pictures somewhere...lol. We used to live in coal country, very depressing. Had to get my kids out of there.

What beautiful country. Kentucky and Tennessee are two of the southern states Id like to visit. For some reason, I have it in my head that they are not as hot and humid as other parts of the south. Im not sure where i got that idea or even if it is correct.

DawnInCal, it is not as humid as say, Alabama or Florida. We do get some pretty hot and humid days in the Summer, though. I just don't think it is as bad as further south.

The secret to summer weather in Kentucky and Tennessee is altitude. The lower parts of these states can be humid and oppressively hot in July and August. However, go up in altitude and you may get night time cooling and that can make the climate bearable. The higher elevations are at the eastern part of these two states where the terrain rises to meet the mountains.

The winter on the west side of Appalachia is more harsh than the eastern side and that has an effect on rhododendron. There are two distinct species of rhododendron that grow in these mountains. The western side has the species that is more winter hardy.

There is a lowland section of Kentucky that is river bottoms on the south side of the Ohio river and south of Illinois and Indiana. This bottom land is extensive, maybe ten miles wide and the summer is hot and humid there. It floods often. There is a bridge crossing the Ohio R. at Henderson. The highway crosses this bridge and continues south across the bottom flats. There are tall stakes with depth markings placed periodically along the side of this road. These stakes are there to show boatmen where the road is located.

The area around Bowling Green, KY and Mammoth Cave is karst landscape and has underground streams. The Corvette Museum was destroyed not long ago when a sinkhole opened under the showroom floor and swallowed the entire collection of Corvettes on that floor!

I believe the collection has been largely restored. Outside interests came forward to help.

The main competitive sport in Kentucky is basketball. A major crop is tobacco.

I can see Kentucky from my front porch. :) My father's family is from Kentucky, and my transplanted grandmother missed her home until the day she died. They are from eastern KY, so I've been to that area many times.

Last summer I took my daughters and grandsons on a short trip to the area west of Lexington. Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill and the Dixie Belle Riverboat at Harrodsburg, the Bluegrass Scenic RR, and Nostalgia Station Toy & RR Museum in Versailles, were stops on our route. We saw many downed trees, similar to your pic, Kathsgrdn, some growing along the beautiful stone walls lining the roads between the horse farms. On the way home, we stopped at Carter Caves, a favorite destination since I was a child.

Mamagoose, last Fall my daughter and I went hiking in the Red River gorge in southeastern KY. It had been raining a few days before that but the trails were open. Took the sky lift up on top of the mountain at Natural Bridge and then we hiked down the mountain. Same mountain I sprained my ankle on 2 years ago, different trail...we found the trail washed out in places and huge trees over the trail. Parts of it I didn't think I'd be able to get over but I did. Not sure why the trail was open when it wasn't clear. It was extremely humid and hot that day. We drank tons of water on the way down but I still ended up having leg cramps by the time I got to the bottom.

Not now.

The Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill is where I first fell in love with the shaker design -- clean and simple. I was about 10 years old, I think, when the family stopped on the way home from North Carolina.

My mother's family was (and some more distant relatives still are, I think) from Clay County. She lived for a time there as a child with her grandparents, during the depression. I've wanted to go see the area but haven't scheduled it yet. I know only vaguely where her grandparents lived (census record just says "Red Bird River Road".)

My father's family is from farther east, in the area between Hazard and Prestonsburg--Knott and Floyd counties. I'd love to see the Red River Gorge and Natural Bridge, but now that the kids are grown, it's hard to get everyone's schedules coordinated. We once camped north of there, in the Twin Knobs camp ground.

I used to live in Letcher county, which is next to Perry county, where Hazard is located.

Thanks, Kath. I could use a dose of green and blossoms right now. We're getting an inch or more of snow...today...tomorrow...next day... No sun here and nothing *green* for a long time.

1. The Corvette Museum was not destroyed. It was only a part of the museum that was affected.

2. Tobacco is no longer a major crop in Kentucky.

3. I don't think it would be wise to visit Kentucky right now. Many areas are flooded from recent heavy rain, and the governor has declared it a disaster area.

Hopefully, by Spring everything will be back to normal and Kentucky will be beautiful again.