Archive for the ‘Kentucky’ Category

Top 3 Reasons to Visit Louisville, Kentucky

Thursday, February 18th, 2010
It’s a slow day for any news concerning the Great Smoky Mountains or hiking in general, so I thought I’d take a little time to give a shout out to my adopted hometown; Louisville, Kentucky. Originally from just up the river in Cincinnati, I'll explain some of the reasons that have kept me tied to the Derby City, and at the same time, lay out my top 3 reasons why someone should spend a visit to this fair town of ours.


Kentucky Derby and the Derby Festival

If you need an excuse to party for two weeks straight, make sure to visit Louisville during the Kentucky Derby Festival. The city throws out the red carpet for the greatest race in all of sports. Two weeks prior to the Derby (the first Saturday in May), the city holds the largest annual fireworks show in the country. Over the course of the next two weeks, Louisvillians and visitors alike partake in concerts, parades, formal and informal Derby parties, the Great Balloon Glow and Race, the Great Steamboat Race, Golf Tournaments and hundreds of other events leading up to the granddaddy of all horse races.


Sports Town USA

The state of Kentucky may not have any pro sports teams to speak of (unless of course you count UK Basketball), but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any great sports around to spectate or even partake in. Near the top of all spectator sporting events is the annual University of Louisville-UK basketball game - one of the most heated and most anticipated rivalry games in the country (this side of the Crosstown Shootout between Xavier and the University of Cincinnati, of course!).

If you’re into long distance running, the city sponsors the Derby Mini-Marathon during the Kentucky Derby Festival, and is one of biggest mini-marathons in the country.

In recent years, the city has played host to a number of major sporting events, including the Ryder Cup, several PGA (golf) Championships, the Iron Man Triathlon, the Senior Olympics, as well as the National Masters Road Cycling Championship.

Speaking of cycling, the city has become a bit of a Mecca for two-wheeled sports. Louisville is currently building a 100-mile bike path loop around the city. We also have one of the best bike clubs around. The Louisville Bicycle Club traces its roots back to the late 1890s and is now one of the top 10 largest clubs in the country. The LBC sponsors a ride almost every day throughout the year, and on most days you’ll find at least 2 or 3 rides starting from different locations around the city. Even during the coldest months of the year you can find 40 and 60 mile rides, as well as a few centuries on the schedule for the “Mad Dogs”.

The city is currently building a new basketball arena for the UL Cardinals, and recently opened the new Muhammad Ali Center for the hometown boxing legend. Several years ago the city also opened Slugger Field, the home of the AAA affiliate for the Cincinnati Reds.

Finally, visitors should check out the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum to see how the famous baseball bats are made. You’ll also be able to take a gander at some of the bats swung by the likes of Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Pete Rose, or Ted Williams, among the many other collections of baseball memorabilia housed at the museum.


Foodie City

Believe it or not, but one of my favorite things about Louisville is our incredible selection of restaurants. We have the second highest number of “mom and pop” restaurants per capita in the country - just behind New York City. The city has also recently earned the designation from Bon Appetit Magazine as one of America’s top five small-town (?) food capitals. (Note to Bon Appetit: Roughly 714,000 people live within the city limits)

As a result of the culinary school here in town, many of the graduates over the years have fanned out across the area to create an awesome selection of restaurants. You can find cuisine from many corners of the world right here in the Derby City.

Some of the best places to go include Lynn’s Paradise Café (Lynn beat the Food Network’s Bobby Flay in a “Throwdown”), the Irish Rover for authentic Irish food and atmosphere, and Ermin’s Bakery and Café (a great place for lunch).

My personal favorites are Baxter Station (check out the Moroccan Soup), Havana Rumba (their Masas de Puerco is excellent – don’t forget to try the fried plantains!) and the Gesthaus where we regularly dine on the awesome authentic German food.

> Although Louisville doesn’t have any real hiking to brag about, there are a lot of great things about this city; whether you live here, are looking for a place to re-locate, or looking for a new place to visit on your next road trip.

For more information about Louisville, please click onto the Louisville Visitors Guide.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

Posted in Baxter Station, Derby Festival, Derby Mini-Marathon, Havana Rumba, Kentucky, Kentucky Derby, Louisville, Louisville Bicycle Club, Louisville Slugger, Lynn’s Paradise Café, Muhammad Ali, visit | Comments Off

Obama’s national parks funding campaign promise

Thursday, February 4th, 2010
Did Barack Obama renege on a campaign promise?

Tom Kiernan, president of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), thinks so.

Here's the statement from a press release published earlier in the week:

(the) NPCA is calling on President Obama to keep his campaign promise to continue the federal commitment toward restoring our national parks in time for the 2016 centennial and beyond. Further, compared to the overall federal budget, the Park Service is very small—only one tenth of 1 percent. “Providing parks the funds needed to serve visitors and protect resources is a tiny investment in our national heritage, and will provide economic benefits and jobs in struggling communities nationwide,” said Kiernan.

The release also stated:

... the Administration’s budget request for the national parks will barely cover costs to pay the bills, let alone restore the operational needs to serve park visitors and protect America’s wildlife and heritage for their second century.

The President’s 2011 budget request for the National Park Service is approximately $2.7 billion—a decrease of $21.6 million (8%) over the current fiscal year 2010 budget. Within the total budget, nearly $100 million in park programs are reduced or eliminated—including Save America’s Treasures and Preserve America grants—and parks are left without funding to pay for cost of living adjustments for staff. The operations budget proposal does not come close to meeting the $100 million request by the National Park Second Century Commission, and is insufficient to maintain current park operations and visitor services. The budget also includes a $44 million decrease for construction and maintenance needs. Budget reductions mean that the proposed $35 million increase for park operations fails to fund basic Park Service needs.

In an interview conducted by the NPCA in 2008, Obama stated:

"I am committed to addressing the funding shortfall that the National Parks Service has experienced, and ensuring that by 2016, the National Parks Service centennial, the national park system has the resources it needs to meet its unmet maintenance and operational needs."

Every dollar invested in parks generates 4 dollars?

The same press release also mentions a study commissioned by the NPCA that found that every dollar invested in national parks generates at least four dollars of economic value to the public, based on a cost-benefit analysis.

Digging into the study (An Economic Asset at Risk) a little closer, I determined that this conclusion is misleading. What the study defines as "economic value" is really perceived value. In other words, the authors of the study have assigned a dollar value to hiking a trail, or bird watching, or sight-seeing within the parks. There is no real money involved in this calculation.

The problem with this, as I see it, is that the study implies that every dollar invested going forward will produce four real dollars to the public, thus implying additional investments in parks to be a no brainer. If this were true most Americans would be all for this and the politicians would be following suit.

In my view, one threat to our national parks that isn't being considered is the national debt bomb that's going to explode sooner or later. If we don't reign in our elected officials and get our finances in order soon, our parks, as we currently know them, could be in jeopardy.

Not only is outrageous deficit spending burying our country in debt on the national level, but most of our states are experiencing severe financial problems as well.

It's not too hard to imagine that someday federal and state governments could be forced into making radical changes to our parks. Is it possible that "unproductive" parks could be sold to private organizations in order to help pay down the debt? Maybe the National Park Service or state parks could end up selling or leasing park lands for the building of lodges, condos or golf courses. What about corporate sponsorship of parks: "The Cades Cove Loop brought to you by McDonald's"!

Don't think this could happen? Last year the city of Louisville, Kentucky closed Otter Creek Park due to budget cuts. This was a major city park that had cabins, a conference center, hiking, mountain biking, climbing, fishing, etc. The orginal plan was to close the park permanently, however, after a massive public outcry, the city put out a request for propsal to see what other options were available. At this time the city is in discussions with the YMCA of Greater Louisville about it taking over operations of the park.

If the national debt wasn't such a huge problem, deficit spending on parks probably wouldn't be an issue for most people. Given the circumstances, the National Park Service needs to find new ways to increase revenues. It's time for our leaders to begin thinking outside of the box. Could new attractions, services or amenities be added that would increase visitation? Could the national parks do fund raisers? How about asking for donations in addition to entrance fees at the time visitors arrive at a park? What about selling merchandise and collectibles more aggressively - similar to that of a real business?


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

Posted in An Economic Asset at Risk, Kentucky, Louisville, NPCA, National Parks, National Parks Conservation Association, Otter Creek Park, Tom Kiernan, national dept | Comments Off

Mammoth Cave – A Way to Wonder

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
On Sunday, October 4, southcentral Kentuckians will have an opportunity to see Mammoth Cave National Park as they never have before, and they won’t have to leave home to do it. WKYU-PBS, Channel 24, will broadcast a virtual visit to the far reaches of the park in a one-hour high-definition documentary called Mammoth Cave: A Way to Wonder.

“The staff at WKYU-PBS presented the park with a rare opportunity and we jumped at it,” said Superintendent Patrick Reed. “The program reveals the story of the cave, and reminds us of why this place was set aside as a national park. We are very grateful to the Friends of Mammoth Cave National Park, Bluegrass Cellular, and the Kentucky Department of Tourism, all of whom provided funding for the project.”

The idea arose from conversations between the station’s Emmy Award winning-producer Cheryl Beckley and the park’s information officer, Vickie Carson in August 2008.

“Several things came together that led us to doing this documentary,” said Beckley, “like the convergence of the Ken Burns series on the National Park Service, the new six-mile lighting system in Mammoth Cave, the 20th anniversary of WKYU-PBS, and the advent of HD technology. It was the right time for a project like this to happen.”

“There is always a need to find a better way to explain the cave and share its beauty,” said Carson. “Even though the cave is the major feature of the park, it’s hidden and dark and mysterious. The cave is a delicate, foreign environment – connected to the surface world, but very different from it. Our task is to both protect and explain it.”

Beckley developed and directed the program, which contains four segments: history and prehistory; science and research; the park’s power to inspire; and compelling human stories of the cave and parkland. Each segment features interviews that together convey a holistic picture of the park.

The film crew traveled to the park repeatedly over 12 months to video-tape eyeless fish, delicate gypsum crystals, cave tours, kayakers, sunsets, spring wildflowers, fall color, endangered bats, and waterfalls both above and below ground – in all more than 60 hours of footage and interviews.

Mammoth Cave: A Way to Wonder will air on WKYU-PBS Channel 24 on October 4 at 8:00 p.m., and then again at 9:00 p.m. It will follow Ken Burns’ America’s Best Idea which will air during the prior week.

For those of you not in the WKYU viewing area, the DVD can be purchsed by clicking here.

Although not related to the film, you can get a pretty good overview of Mammoth Cave from this Youtube video:




Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

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Posted in A Way to Wonder, Best of the National Parks, Kentucky, Mammoth Cave, WKYU-PBS | Comments Off