A guide for exploration
Kentucky travel sparks curiosity
WHEN I WAS GROWING UP in Ashland, my family didn’t travel much, and when we did, we often visited West Virginia or Ohio. I was probably 18 years old before I ever got past Lexington, and cities further west—Louisville, Hickman, Paducah—might as well have been a different world.
One of my early travel memories, though, does come from Kentucky. When I was 13 or 14 years old, and throughout high school, I played in golf tournaments. One of my favorite locations was the historic Paintsville Golf Course. To finish the course, you have to cross a swinging bridge over the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. That bridge is unique to Paintsville—and crossing it is a memory I’ll never forget.
Throughout my career with Kentucky’s electric cooperatives, I’ve been lucky to travel all over the state. Everywhere you look, there’s a unique story. And if you’re like me, you’re always curious to know more.
April’s issue of Kentucky Living celebrates the people, places and experiences that make our cooperative communities unique. From one-day vacation ideas to Kentucky’s new trail experiences, this is a guide for exploration, and, hopefully, a spark for curiosity.
We all tend to get isolated in our day-to-day experiences, and it’s easy to forget that every community has a past. Sometimes the past can be strange. Have you ever heard of the Kentucky meat shower? Imagine what it must have been like to be a Bath Countian in 1876, when the sky opened up in a new way.
Every community also has a future. We live in fascinating times, and many aspects of our lives are rapidly changing, from energy to communications to the nature of work. Our challenge is to be present where we are today, and at the same time, appreciate where we’ve been and where we’re going.
This year, I hope you’ll get out and enjoy all that Kentucky’s co-op communities have to offer—from new trails to weird history and everything in between.
