After leaving rural West Virginia, we had a change of pace staying in a small city park in Pikeville, Kentucky. This area's big tourist draw is that it is the home of the Hatfield & McCoy feud, and there are signs to that effect all over. We learned that the historic feud began in the Tug River Valley, separating West Virginia and Kentucky. Most of the McCoy family lived in Pike County, Kentucky, while most of the Hatfield kin lived on the West Virginia side. If you want to learn more about the feud, check out Wikipedia. But we weren't here for feuding! We'd planned on a one-night stay in the small RV park nestled in the larger Bob Amos Park but ended up extending for a second night because of the excellent recreational opportunities in this city park. We didn't realize it until we arrived, but the RV Park requires advanced reservations as it is unmanned and has an electronic gate. To get the gate code, you must have a reservation. Fortunately, as long as there are vacancies, you can get a same-day reservation by calling or call or going online right outside the gate in the parking lot, and that is what we did. This park offers full hookups with 50 amp service plus cable TV for $25/night, a nice price.. Check-in time is supposed to be 3 pm, but we were able to get the gate code by calling the local police station and get in at 2 pm. We got a decent 4G LTE signal (2-3 bars) along with many cable TV stations. I especially enjoyed getting to watch some HGTV after not having cable for most of the year! We chose site 21, which backs up to a recreational field and is right next the parking lot. This was fine the first night, but what we didn't know was that the local college has early morning soccer practice in the field on some mornings. On our second morning, we were awakened by folks in the parking lot at 4:45 am and brilliant field lights coming on and lighting up Pearl's bedroom at 5 am! So, our second night was not nearly as restful as the first.
I had to see this for myself but chose to ride my mountain bike. I must admit that one of the hills was so steep I had to get off and walk part of it. But I finally arrived at the top and was able to take in the views. There's a caged overlook with holes in the screening for photos. It's hard to imagine the amount of work this involved! There was some pretty fall foliage and great views of the mountains as well. The other thing that Bob Amos Park offers is a really nice hiking/mountain biking trail. We walked part of it our first night, which convinced us we needed a full day to explore further. Accessing the trail requires hiking or biking up a fairly steep switchback at the start. You can see it behind the sign here. Once up to the trail, you'll find rolling hills through the beautiful woods and a gravel surface. The steeper hills are paved, which is nice; it prevents run-off, I suppose, and also makes it easier to pedal up without spinning out. I am happy to report that no bears nor venomous snakes were encountered! On our full day, I took my mountain bike on the trail. Barry's rotator cuff was still hurting, so he hiked instead and caught a few photos of me riding. This was a short but challenging climb! The trail turned out to be only 2.25 miles one way -- short but sweet. It ends abruptly at the bottom of a very steep, long hill right on a busy road, so there was no way to pedal back up after turning around. I had to walk that one, but all the other hills were pedalable, though challenging. You will get a good interval workout on this trail! There are also two narrower hiking-only trails that branch off from the main bike trail. One goes up to the Cut-Through Overlook, but judging from my bike ride up there, the elevation gain would make this a tough one. Barry walked the Wellness Trail in addition to the bike trail. Here's the regulation running track, which was located right near the bike path trailhead. The track got a lot of use, as did the road through the park. It was nice to see so many folks out walking or running and enjoying the unseasonably warm fall weather. Also near the trailhead were outhouse and moonshine still replicas along with some spooky Halloween decor. On our way out of town, we found a local coin laundry and got the clothes cleaned, one of the less glamorous but necessary chores of RV living. Laundromats are one of my favorite places to catch up on my reading! Next stop: A lovely state park in Virginia!
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We've stayed in several campgrounds this year where we so wished we had the kayaks we sold back before we moved to Belize. Most of the paddling friendly parks were on or near lakes. But this one, with sites right on the east fork of Twelvepole Creek, which leads to East Lynn Lake, would have been one of the best for a leisurely paddle, seeking out birds along the creek banks. We saw several campers doing just that, including some of the many children in the campgrounds. They actually rent kayaks here, but with Barry's ailing rotator cuff, paddling was not a possibility for him this time. But all was not lost: there were other recreational activities in the East Fork COE Campground. A short hiking trail, the 1.5 mile East Fork Trail, starts in the campground. This trail is a little steep in sections, beautifully wooded, and covered with lush green moss in parts. When we hiked it, we saw no one else on the trail and no signs that it had been hiked lately. Most of the campers here seem to prefer golf cart travel to walking, judging from this weekend. The paved campground road is also nice for bicycling, though I had to ride solo because of Barry's shoulder. Since I was riding by myself. I didn't venture out of the park onto the winding road with no shoulder, but rode up and down the campground road several times to rack up 20 miles. The terrain was flat to lightly rolling, nothing difficult. Although the road was closed for the season beyond Area 3, I rode around the gate to Areas 4-6, a wonderful ride since no cars were present. The autumn scenery along the road was just glorious! Although this was undoubtedly a beautiful campground with good recreational opportunities, we might not visit again due to the difficult access (narrow, winding roads) in and out of the park.
Up next: We spend two nights in Kentucky in a very different type of park. |
Emily & BarryWe're a long-married, early-retired couple who are currently traveling as nomads with no fixed home base. After years of living in North Carolina (Emily's home state), we spent 18 months living oceanfront on Ambergris Caye, Belize, a year road-tripping the US in a Honda CR-V, a year in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and are now roaming North America in our 32' motorhome, Pearl, following warm weather whenever possible. Archives
July 2019
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