Southern Indiana Part II

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One of the must do things when in the Louisville Kentucky area is a trip to Churchill Downs - home of the Kentucky Derby. We didn’t want to go see a horse race but tour the facility and go to the museum. When we looked into how to reserve a tour spot, we discovered that it wasn’t really that simple. There were over a dozen different tour options. They last between 1 to 4 hours and cost between $25 to $150 per person. Some include lunch while one includes a bourbon tasting. We took some time and looked over which ones sounded interesting and had availability while we were in town. We settled on the “Barn and Backside Tour”. This 1 hour tour takes you to the far side of the track, opposite the grandstands. It’s where about 1400 horses live along with all sorts of trainers, jockeys and support staff. It’s almost like a small town with a restaurant, church and school.

This tour is offered several times per day. The early morning tours get you there while the horses are training out on the track and cost $50. Tours later in the morning and afternoon are five bucks cheaper but won’t have horses on the track. We opted for one of the two early morning tours. Initially we thought the 7 AM tour would be best. But in order to get there on time, we would have to set our alarm awfully early. Plus sunrise wasn’t until 7:49 so most of the tour would be in the dark. So we booked the 8:30 tour on a day that the weather forecast looked favorable.

We still needed to set our alarm and got the thrill of driving in rush hour traffic, be we made it to the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs well before our required check in time. Tour tickets also allow access to the museum, and we are told we had time to watch an introductory video before we leave for our tour. Named “The Greatest Race”, the movie is shown in an interesting theater. It’s a large oval room with a huge screen that wraps around the full 360 degrees and is 15 feet overhead. In the center of the room are fifty or so stools that swivel around permitting viewers to watch pay attention to the action as it moves around the room. It’s as if you are sitting in the middle of the racetrack infield. It’s a well done movie and does make you think you’ve just experienced a real race.

Churchill Downs and Museum

Inside Oval Theater

As the movie ended, our tour group was called to the front desk to meet our guide and board the van. We had a group of eight plus the guide so we all fit rather easily in the van. There is actually a tunnel underneath the track and part of the infield that gets vehicles from the museum area to the backside without needing to drive around on surface streets. The view of the grandstands from the other side of the track was pretty impressive. I can only imagine what it would be like on the first Saturday in May.

Single Purpose Vehicle

Grandstands Viewed from Backside

We stopped at spot near one of the turns on the track and all filed out of the van. There was a small grassy area with a few picnic tables on the outside of the track behind a 6 foot chain link fence. Lots of horses were out for a training session. Our tour guide explained about the training and the track and answered all of our questions.

Our Tour Group

Horse Sticks Out Tongue at Us!

Jockey Takes a Nap?

Pretty Grey Horse

The horses would run past from left to right. Sometimes at breakneck speed but other times at just a trot. They would go a hundred yards past us and then turn around and walk back right next to the fence. It was really fascinating to watch these muscular, beautiful horses out for a morning run. Right next to our stop are the starting gates attached to a John Deere tractor. We spent about 25 minutes at this stop before being herded back into the van.

A Pair of Horses Race By

Starting Gates

Next we drive past many of the several dozens of huge stables. The guide has a intercom system so we were all able to hear the description along the way. Each stable has the horses from some trainer. A few of the other tour guests were much more into horse racing and would ask questions about specific trainers and even have the guy stop the van to get pictures. Shooting pictures thru the dirty van windows was a bit of a challenge and many of the horses in the stables were not posing out their door. We got to see some of the support building like the restaurant, church and school  as well as administrative buildings for the people in charge of the facility. There are dorm rooms that the trainers actually can stay for free. There was one horse out getting his morning bath after his training run.

One Horse Posed

Stables at Churchill Downs

Bath Time

Before we knew it our tour was over and we headed back thru the tunnel towards the museum. I can’t speak to other tour options but this was a fun and interesting one to take. It’s not clear how this tour changes when the horses are not on the track since we spent much of the hour stopped and watching them. We head back into the museum to begin our exploration there.

2020 Derby Winner - Authentic

It’s a pretty big place and there are countless displays with all sorts of stuff from past Kentucky Derby winners. From watching the race on television, we knew that clothing and hats are a big part of those attending the race. Some of the outfits definitely didn’t seem like the right attire for a horse race but what do I know? There is a wall with a list of all the horses that ran and their order of finish for each year of the race. There is even an area with three model horses in front of large displays. Hop on and you can race the derby yourself. It was a good museum even though we have limited interest or knowledge about the Kentucky Derby.

Bold Suit Choice

Flashy Dress

Triple Crown Trophy

Homage to 1973 Winner - Secretariat

Wall of Derby Race Results

Horse Race Simulator

Racing Painting

Main Entrance to Churchill Downs

We’ve been finding lots to do in the area but there are a few more hiking trails right in Charlestown State Park that we haven’t gotten to. Trail #5 starts near the entrance to the camping area. It’s just under 2 miles without much elevation change. We also notice that the trail passes right next to our campground loop with a spur trail from the campground. That way we can just leave the car parked at our site and head out for the shorter hike before lunch. It’s a pretty trail with a platform at about the halfway point that serve as a overlook of Fourteen Mile Creek. The woods are dense enough that we cannot make out the creek very well but we know it’s there. With our shortcut from the campground, this hike was probably just over a mile.

Viewing Platform on Trail #5

Bright White Fungus

After lunch, we head out to another hike in the park. This one is Trail #6 - a 2.6 mile loop with 250 feet of elevation change. The trailhead is near a parking lot at the far southern end of the park right next to the Ohio River.

Mighty Ohio River

We decide to take the loop in a clockwise direction since that will have us do the wooded and slightly hilly portion first and then follow the more level path for the second half. It wasn’t very challenging but there were some interesting rock formations early in the hike near one of the geocaches on this trail. At about the halfway point is a gully and falls to cross. Fortunately there is a bridge to make the crossing easy. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been enough rain recently to make the falls anything more than a trickle.

Rocky Trail

Mushroom Poking Out

Heading Toward Bridge Over Gully

Bridge from Opposite Side

As the trail works it’s way back down to the river, there is an old stone structure. It’s not clear what it was used for. The stonework is in great shape but there are decent sized trees in and around it so it appears to have been abandoned many years ago. Just below this structure is a spot where the river is easily visible. My eye catches what looked like a splash, but as I look more closely, it wasn’t from a jumping fish but rather some underground release of air or some other gas. We don’t smell anything so it isn’t likely to be a gas pipe leak.

Large Stone Structure

Unknown Bubble Source

The last half of the hike was on a flat trail that turned into a service road then the road to the boat ramp for the park. Along the way were a couple of structures that were behind fencing. It wasn’t clear if they were some sort of water level monitoring system or remnants of the park's past life as the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant? This was a nice hike and relatively easy.

Possible Water Monitoring Station

Unknown Building

The following day would bring is to the Yew Dell Gardens about 20 miles northeast of Louisville in Crestwood Kentucky. The gardens are on what had been the property and private residence of the Klein family. The home being built in the late 1940’s. In the late 1990’s, a group of local volunteers banded together to purchase the property upon the owner’s death. Today it is a beautiful gardens that offers classes, conducts plant research and has facilities for rent for weddings and the like. Being over 55, we got in for just $5 each for several hours of enjoyment. There were lots of fall displays up during our visit.

Yew Dell Entrance

Fall Display

The most striking feature was the beautiful castle that overlooked some of the gardens. The stonework is simply amazing. And it’s design, with the large round tower and turret, is quite stunning.

Stunning Castle

Circular Stained Glass in Castle

Another Castle View

We spent a great deal of time wandering thru the various gardens. They have done a good job of identifying the plants so we can learn as we enjoy the sights. There are a few other support buildings scattered around the property. One cement block building was given a living roof. There is also an old log cabin as well as the original main house with neat eyebrow dormer.

Old Cider Press

Bright Red Leaves

Living Roof

Log Cabin

Original Home with Eyebrow Dormer

One of the other unique areas within the gardens is the Fairy Forest. There is a path that is lined with small fairy houses that appear to have been made by children. They were charming but the real draw were some of the more elaborate fairy houses at the end of the path.

This Way to the Fairy Forest

Rope Ladder Up Stump

Side By Side Fairy Doors

The first one was a carved wooden bench with carved mushroom supports. There were a handful of these more ornate and detailed fairy houses. It was a kind of magical place.

Mushroom Bench

Two Fairy Houses

Framed Fairy House

Colorful and Eccentric Fairy House

We grabbed our picnic lunch from the car and found a picnic table on the grounds to enjoy the views before finishing the rest of the gardens. There were more displays with pumpkins, gourds and Osage oranges all around the gardens.

Interesting Plant

Fountain

Another Fall Display

Scary Faces in Stonework

There are also some hiking trails in the wooded section of the property. Completing these before leaving allowed the bodies to get a little more purposeful movement instead of the slow pace needed to enjoy the gardens. There is a pretty pond along one trail and as we were passing by, my eye spotted something in the grass that I nearly stepped on. A praying mantis blending into its surroundings almost too well. Yew Dell was a nice place to spend a few hours while in the area.

Pond Along Hiking Trail at Yew Dell

Well Hidden Praying Mantis

Another Castle View on Way Out

For our last full day, we stayed on the Indiana side of the river and went to Lapping Park. The park has the 2.8 mile Flatwoods Trail that loops around the park. There is both a golf course and disk golf course as well. Our main reason for heading there were the numerous geocaches along the trail. It was a pretty park although parts of it are pretty close to the expressway so it isn’t a peaceful setting. We did manage to get 9 of the caches in the park during the hike.

Small Creek by Flatwoods Trail

We really enjoyed our 10 nights in the southern Indiana/Louisville area. Our next stop will keep us in horse country - maybe even more so - Lexington Kentucky.