Monday, October 19, 2009

Visiting Land Between the Lakes

Have you ever been to Land Between the Lakes (LBL) before? It is a wonderful gem located in northern Middle Tennessee and Lower Central Kentucky. Mr. Fix-it, the Jimster and I took a one day trip to LBL to explore some attractions it has to offer. The planetarium was our main objective but we were able to take in other things as well.
Most attractions in LBL are historical unless you simply wish to camp and hike. Some very important attractions relating to the history of this geographical area are the iron ore furnaces. In the early 1800s mining and smelting iron ore was the main industry of this area. Giant stone furnaces were built to smelt the iron ore. Wood was the primary source of fuel for the fires that would reach up to 3000 degrees. That is pretty hot! Since LBL is rather rural and was heavily forested there was plenty of wood to burn in the furnaces. Consequently, hundreds of acres of old growth forests were burned off in the 1800s. Most all of the forested areas in LBL are second growth forests. They are wonderful ecosystems full of flora and fauna. But let me back up here a minute.
LBL is reputed to be the largest inland peninsula in the United States. It was created by damming two rivers on either side of this peninsula. The two rivers are the Tennessee River and the Cumberland River. The damming created two new lakes; Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. Unfortunately, when these two rivers were dammed many communities were flooded and 950 families had to be relocated. There is still evidence of the people who lived in this region but the entire recreational area is now publicly owned. It belongs to you and I!LBL draws two million visitors per year. Our family makes ample use of the lakes to go boating during the summer months. One of the Jimster's favorite things to do is to ride the tube behind the boat. Mr. Fix-it fishes, and I swim and relax. Occasionally we bird watch. LBL is home to many types of birds that are easily seen along the river. Our favorites are the bald eagles and herons. They are simply magnificent and it is such a thrill to see them in the wild-or anywhere really. Now that boating season is over we thought we'd head up to the Golden Pond Visitor's Center and see a show at the planetarium. The show was fun and quite reasonably priced. We enjoyed it. The visitor's center had a great display of animals native to the area, along with a pictorial history of LBL. I also purchased a book at the visitor's center that I have found most helpful in my quest to identify more wildflowers in this region. It is titled Wildflowers of the Land Between the Lakes Region, Kentucky and Tennessee. It includes not only only wildflowers, but monocots, and woody plants native to this area. It is authored by a couple of Austin Peay University professors (Edward W. Chester and William H. Ellis) and is very informative. It includes color pictures as well as an in depth history of the region.
After our visit to the planetarium we came out of the building to a steady downpour. Not to be discouraged we decided to continue north from the planetarium to Grand Rivers Kentucky; home of the famous Patti's Settlement tourist attraction. They are known for their 2" pork chops and 6" meringue pies. The Jimster tried them both and was kind enough to share some bites with his mom and dad. We all approved of the food and the atmosphere in the restaurant-quiet with a super good ambiance. Just outside of the restaurant are several gardens, some petting animals, a wedding chapel, and this gigantic wheel. The Jimster enjoyed talking with the geese-who are not so friendly so watch those hands!
I think we could've easily stayed there all day had it not been raining so hard.

I've only touched the tip of what LBL has to offer. There is also an Elk and Bison Prairie, many side lakes, campgrounds, a wrangler camp, hiking trails, off road trails, old cemeteries, a working 1800 era village called The Homeplace, a Nature Station, and many more fun and recreational things to do. Most attractions are free. If you are ever in the area and are looking for a great outing in Tennessee or Kentucky that does not have 'Great Smokey Mountains' in the name, check out Land Between the Lakes and discover this gem of Tennessee and Kentucky....

in the garden....

20 comments:

  1. That looks/sounds like a interesting trip. A little bit of everything.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That looks like a good place to visit - lots for everyone to see and do

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds like my kind of outing, particularly with a restaurant trip at the end. Va. has a lot of old furnaces in the mountains, and I am glad that I never saw them when the land was being stripped of wood for fuel.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds like a day I would have enjoyed! I love the name-"Land betwen the Lakes." Almost sounds British. (I am a Beatrix Potter fan!) I love to visit historical places. Thanks for sharing Tina!

    ReplyDelete
  5. i spent a long weekend camping at lbl a few years ago but had no idea what I was missing until reading your post.

    we did do the bison drive, camping, and some water activities, and thought we had a tremendous time, we'll have to stay longer next time and explore

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've never been there but need to go! I've always wanted to see the bald eagles flying in the open. That mill looks very neat. It would make a great center piece for a nursery!

    ReplyDelete
  7. The first time I encountered old furnaces ws when I was in college in Pennsylvania. It is an interesting part of history. Your outing looks like a super day! I have heard of Land Between the Lakes, but have never been. Wonderful info Tina, thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looks like you all had a good time. What a nice place to visit, thanks for the tour. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've never visited this area, but only driven by on the interstate. Funny that you should mention "Patti's Settlement." We saw signs for it last week as we were returning home from Gatlinburg, and we both wondered what it was. There are several signs, each with a number, and at first we thought there were 20 "Patti's". I finally realized the number referred to the miles to go:) Thanks for all the great info, Tina; we're always looking for a long weekend getaway, and this wouldn't be that far away.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good morning all! It is a glorious day here though we have had frost two nights now. I'm on my way to see the damage. Thanks for stopping by it was a wonderful day trip for us and for anyone close by.

    ReplyDelete
  11. It's been many years since I visited the area, but I remember it as beautiful. That pork chop sandwich and pie sounds good.
    Marnie

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a wonderful post Tina. I've been to LBL & it's a most interesting place. I've been through the "farm" & it's very educational & fun. I also saw the bison. Huge animals.
    I heard it was 33ยบ in Huntingdon Sunday morning. Rather cool.
    It's cooled off here. Yesterday was very nice. Cool but a good temp to work in the garden. I got a job done that I've needed to do for some time now. That side of the yard is done except for canna bed. I hope to get that done soon. Very sore now.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I've never heard of LBL, but it looks great from the photos. Sounds like a fabulous time was had by all.

    Freda

    ReplyDelete
  14. Looks like a very fun and interesting place to vist. Someone had talked of some furnaces before and I find that all to be very interesting. That type furnace sounds like it may have been a primative foundry, but on a small scale. How things do advance. Very interesting. Great photos.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Tina,
    That looks like an amazing place to visit! I wish it wasn't so darn far away. Thanks for the info! ( those meringue pies sound heavenly.)
    Rosey

    ReplyDelete
  16. Very interesting to hear how it was formed. I love these types of places where you get the beauty of nature and some history to go along with it. I'd never heard of LBL before. Sounds like you all had a really fun day.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I spent lots of time at LBL as a child and some time as an adult now when possible. Ate at Patti's a couple of years ago. Love the place and need to get back again for those yummy pies! Well worth a visit. I need to get back to explore the furnaces again with the Saint as well. Has been a long time since I really checked them out. KY Lake is full of Small mouth bass that brings people from miles away to the area. I went to a planetarium when I was a teenager with a group of friends but don’t know if this was the one or not. Probably so and I need to check it out again because as a kid, I only went along for the laser and music show so did not appreciate the place as I should have. Thanks for all the forgotten info in my mind on this wonderful place Tina!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Nice place. We live within an hour of a historic furnace like that. Its such a neat piece of history!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I hadn't heard of LBL before but it looks and sounds like a very interesting place.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Sounds like a really interesting place. I love the look of the water wheel and the furnaces. Wikipedia says there were 14 at one time. There is an old one near here and like the ones there the war put them out of business.

    ReplyDelete

ALL SPAM WILL BE PROMPTLY FRIED. PLEASE DO NOT LIFT PHOTOS OR WORDS. THANKS!