All giggling aside, Big Bone Lick State Park is about 45 minutes into the country from the Clements' place in northern Kentucky. Martin and I headed out right after breakfast with a tight timetable. Martin's parents were due in the early afternoon so we had only a short window to hike.
The drive took us through some pretty country full of wild turkeys and deer. We parked at the visitor center, which was devoid of visitors, but was at least plowed enough that we didn't have to dig our own parking spaces. The big disappointment was that the gift shop was closed so I couldn't buy any t-shirts.
We started with the Big Bone Creek trail that winds through the forest near the creek. That trail was all of half a mile so we jumped on the Bison Trace trail for another half mile and a glimpse of the bison sitting on their hay amidst the snow and ice. Along the way Addie spotted a rabbit and the chase was on. Addie didn't catch the fluffy little bunny, but it was the start of a couple of hours of off-leash madness for Addie. Back at the car we picked up the Gobblers Trace trail that climbed a ways up a hill before following along the boundary of the park to the crest of the hill.
State parks in Kentucky are generally "enhanced" with RV hookups and campsites and all the rest that seem awfully foreign to west coast folks. We saw several RVs that were likely trapped by the heavy snow and in fact saw Santa Claus loading his beat up car onto a trailer. Clearly, Santa needed some time away from the sleigh and the reindeer and chose Big Bone Lick.
Across from the homes on wheels we picked up the Coralberry Trail and followed it around the lake. We saw more rabbits and Addie disappear over a hill and a pair of deer bound away from us. The trail wound through the woods a bit before coming back to the lake, which it turns out is artificial, created by a dam.
On the upside, the dam made a fairly steep hill coated with ice and a light dusting of fresh snow. I was walking down when I heard Martin coming up fast behind me. I stepped aside as he slid by. It seemed a good idea so I sat down and pretty quickly we were down at the bottom of the dam.
It was just a short walk back to the car and only a quick stop at the main entrance to take a picture of the sign. There are only four miles of trails, but the lack of people and the snow made it a worthwhile outing for the day after Christmas.
