KY - I could enjoy hosting a few van dweller guests [split] New Comer

[Turtlelady]

Hi, Friends. I'd like to refresh this thread and put my hat in for meeting van dwellers in eastern or western KY. Tonight that seemed appropriate when I followed Nature Nuts posts links here hoping to see if he might currently be in KY. Maybe I should move it to another thread?

Like the OP in this thread, I've lived away from KY for many exciting years in far flung places and adventured in many others. But my heart home has been and will always be in Kentucky. We returned to KY eventually for work and to live near cave exploring ops. We have retired here on a rocky ridge in western KY although I and sisters own family land east of Morehead near Carter Caves State Park where I thought we would retire. 

I was looking forward to the non-meet up near Land Between the Lakes that was canceled. I hope it gets re-kindled when it is appropriate. The secret codes plan tickled me! Got my CRVL stickers all ready. We are west of Bowling Green, about 1 1/2 hours southwest of Cammalu and directly north of Nashville TN and 2 hours from Land Between the Lakes. My hightop van is my old lady hard shelled tent and expensive hammock stand. 

As a lucky travel companion with Shadowmoss I attended RTR'18 without my rig. I couldn't get away from my caregiver duties long enough to both drive out and enjoy the entire RTR. What a grand trip that was! I ended up teaching a class because Shadowmoss has a way of networking in subtle ways to put me where I enjoy being, even when I don't realize I will. Basically, I am a gregarious shy hermit; she pushes me out of my TurtleLady shell.  

I fit the overweight, bad joints, old fart with walking sticks MO described by others.  But my wanderlust is still quite young and eager, still.

Where is everyone now in relation to plans to be in Kentucky? 
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I am proud of how our KY Governor has thus far kept our covid-19 numbers compassionately low, but I fear the numbers will begin rising with pressures to open the economy. The planned Derby and State Fair in Louisville in August and September seem dicey to me.  I am usually not a fearful person, but at my age, and with a compromised spouse, I can be a grateful hermit and enjoy living safe at home to see another sunrise or sunset and to Skype with the grandkids, at least! Usually I am a vendor at the State Fair as a face painter. I was grateful when they determined we would be part of the 50% cut. My whole crew was leery of the perils there. Our traditional booth space is now part of the field hospital that has been waiting, but gratefully not needed. But traveling to a camp and social distancing there seems better than a trip into Walmart or Kroger, which I have not done for 4 months.

I could enjoy hosting a few van dweller guests who would respect social distancing and mask wearing when appropriate. Showering and a soak in the small therapy hot tub might be offered. Electrical hookups might be possible for a few. Within a mile we have a gas station, a small grocery/deli, a bank, a drugstore, Napa Auto Parts,  a Family dollar store. Ten miles away are Walmart and fast food options, Mexican food, a great local BBQ, and one finer dining option as well as other auto parts and hardware options.  

The narrow lane turn into our rugged 30 acre property would preclude large long vehicles, but vans and short rigs could navigate the road and head back out the circle drive. Room enough for a good campfire with social distancing, but not as lovely as Cammalu's water side site. Loners are respected and usually enjoy being here. It very quiet besides the frog chorus at dusk, the coyotes and the owls. It can be noisy with birdsong in the morning.

 

[rvwandering]

Turtlelady - I moved your post into its own thread so that more people would see it.
If you use facebook you may like the new HOWA group Camp Together https://www.facebook.com/groups/wecamptogether/

 

[Turtlelady]

Thank you. I appreciate you and this decision.

 

[bullfrog]

I haven’t seen any posts in the Hobbies forum for spelunking or caving and you might get some interest there as you are close to Sloans Valley. 50 years ago my dad and I were hired by Murray State University to explore and map the extensive cave system there but were cut short by flooding from Lake Cumberland. Actually climbed out a hand dug well after being trapped for14 hours. Tends to make you consider another occupation!

 

[Turtlelady]

50 years ago my dad and I were hired by Murray State University to explore and map the extensive cave system there but were cut short by flooding from Lake Cumberland. Actually climbed out a hand dug well after being trapped for14 hours. Tends to make you consider another occupation!

LOL! My husband and I with various friends spent many happy weekends living in Sloan's Valley Cave mapping while the lake was down. We were married in August of 1968 and spent 13 of the first 19 weekends of marriage mapping that cave in an attempt to beat the return of the water. We camped in the field near the Garbage Pit entrance until the weather froze our coveralls overnight. So we made camp inside the cave on a perch halfway down the breakdown slope of the entrance, out of sight of the main flow of cavers. Much warmer there. 
 
We fantasized about figuring a way to be paid to map caves. And you figured a way to do it! Good for you! It would be fun to share campfire stories with you someday.

Tomorrow I will enjoy telling my husband about your story of mapping and entrapment at Sloan's and see if he remembers hearing of it. His short term memory is poor now, but for those historical details, his memory is far better than mine. Did you by chance come out that time by way of what we eventually came to call the Dogbone entrance?  

I do vividly remember leading three men out the Minton Hollow entrance after they failed to find it in a crossover attempt. They didn't seem to mind being rescued while in the cave, or eating the food we offered when we found them. But when we got out and took off our caving gear for the hike back overland, they were shocked and chagrined to have been led out by a woman.

 

[bullfrog]

I was so cold after several hours in wet coveralls is was burning candy bar wrappers to warm my hands so I could try tapping out SOS on what I believe was the city water pipe. We had a professor that couldn’t fit through a cat hole so we sent two experienced guys out that way to get help before that passage way flooded. It was still a fairly tight passage to the exit and took forever for the professor to climb out. I had entered with my arms in front of me to help push him and had a friendly bat, at least I hoped it was a bat crawl over and down my back trying to get by a few times while waiting for the guy in front to help get him out. Some things you just don’t forget. After many years in the mines my dad always made me take twice as much water and food and made sure I always brought home half or have a really good reason.

 

[tiedyesmiley]

Hey, I am a little late to this party, but I showed up! I am actually from outside of Morehead. I am new to the vanlife, just getting started! I would be grateful for a meet up to like minded people. I would love to get ideas and talk about this lifestyle. I work in Lexington.

 

[bullfrog]

Our first seasonal jobs were campground hosts at Zilpo on Cave Run years ago. Lots of nice areas to do test runs at.

 

[nature lover]

Hello turtle lady. Glad you got your own post here I’ve been in and out of this for too long. Trying to get my Internet established and it’s not working at some of my camps. So my posts and responses are very erratic. I’m not in eastern Kentucky yet. All sorts of building problems taking longer and costing more than I anticipated. Then there’s this Covid crap. But you probably never heard of that. I hope to get to Kentucky soon my daughter and her husband are there and they just buried twins that were still born and it’ll be bittersweet but I want to be there. Just don’t know when it’s gonna happen. And the plans are Florida this winter. My daughters in Harlan and I work for Mission in Elola near Whitesburg, Letcher County.

 

[Turtlelady]

Hi, Nature Lover. I am so sorry to hear of your family's loss of those precious babies, and hope you get there soon. I imagine it will settle your daughter's heart in a the way that only family visits can, to have her father there for a bit. We are staying home pretty strictly due to the covid-19.