Around Louisville (Thurs.)

We had a pretty full agenda today and left the campground around 10:00 a.m.  (We can't seem to get to bed before midnight; we hate this stupid Daylight Savings Time out here.)   Our first stop was George Rogers Clark's homesite, here in Clarksville overlooking the Ohio River.

His home was right on the bluff overlooking the Ohio Falls on the river, on land given to him because of his military successes, which included Vincennes.  The falls really was a series of rapids caused by water flowing over ledges of hard limestone composed of vast numbers of fossils. 

The first rapids began in front of what is now downtown Louisville and coontinued to Sand Island, a distance of 2.5 miles and a drop of 26 feet.  When Dam was built in the 1920s, the river's flow was restricted and most of the rapids were covered with water.  Today, only remnants of these rapids remain below the dam. 

We left here and stopped back by the RV to get Joe's walking stick.  His right hip and left heel were hurting and he was having a hard time walking, so we hoped the walking stick might help.  Our next stop was at the "Falls of the Ohio State Park," where some busloads of school kids were enjoying a field trip with a picnic here.  We parked next to a pickup with a sign in his window that we probably need.

There were several people fishing on the "bank," and a boat or two out in the water.  We didn't walk down to the fossil beds

 but they have a very interesting history, going all the way back "387 million years ago when the earth was covered by water.  Vast numbers of corals, sponges and other sea creatures thrived under the prehistoric waters.  As the corals and other prehistoric sea inhabitants died, they were buried in layers of limey sediment that caused them to fossilize.  During the retreat of Ice Age glaciers, rushing melt-water carved the Ohi River basin and exposed the Devonian fossil beds, providing a unique view of the ancient coral sea floor, preserved in stone."

We worked our way through the interpretive center, and were glad we did because it explained a lot.  They even had a children's area.

As we left, we passed a statute of Lewis and Clark, with the inscription "When they shook hands, the Lewis and Clark Expedition began."  BTW, the Clark of Lewis and Clark was William Clark, brother to George Rogers Clark.

Our next adventure was Churchill Downs, so after a quick Quiznos lunch right across the street from the University of Louisville's Cardinal baseball/football stadium.

At Churchill Downs, we first walked into the track to get some information.  No racing today because they raced on Monday, the holiday.  Usually this time of year they race Thurs., Fri., Sat., and Sun.  We may come back tomorrow for the race.   

The ticket guy directed us over to the Kentucky Derby Museum, which was just at the end of all these buildings.  Joe heads through the "starting gate" to check out part of the museum, and one of the first exhibits was of some of the hats worn at the Derby.  I even picked out a favorite (black and red).

We had a really good walking tour

of this facility:  we got to see where the horses are saddled and walked prior to going out on the track, and the tunnel they walk through to the track.  Then we went out in the grandstands right next to the track, and we could see the barns in the back.  He said there were probably about 1300 horses in the barns right now.  He also told us that if nothing else, we should know who won the Derby the year we were born.

And the finish line.

But the best part was yet to come.  They always have one of the race horses here, and the one right now was the 2009 Derby winner, Mine That Bird (we actually watched that race on TV).  He is a beautiful horse.  A full-blooded miniature horse named Winston is always in residence here to provide company to the race horse.

We went through the

gift shop and Joe found a horse he thought he might be able to safely ride.  And we looked over the gold cups the Kentucky Derby winners receive (4 lbs of solid gold plus a jade base).

By now we were both dragging, so we headed back to the RV and had a little rest (I even took a short nap).  Then we went to dinner and made a Costco run, which was 10 miles east of Louisville.  I actually thought we might end up in Cincinnati, but GPS Lucille took us right to the store.  It was a full day, and we extended out time here by at least one more day so we can see a little more of what Louisville has to offer before we head on south/east.