USA Travel Ideas

I found a little-known bit of Civil War history at Columbus-Belmont State Park, atop a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in Kentucky.

In an effort to stop Union ships, Confederate troops here stretched a huge chain across the river, anchored on each side by massive earthworks in Columbus, Kentucky and Belmont, Missouri. The river's strong currents quickly broke it. Read the rest of this entry »

One of my favorite local landmarks is Bennett's Mill Covered Bridge, which crosses Tygarts Creek near the town of South Shore in northeast Kentucky. Read the rest of this entry »

A coal mine may not sound like it's worth a side trip, but Kentucky's Blue Heron Coal Mining Camp certainly is.

You can get there via the Big South Fork Scenic Railway, an open-air train based in the small town of Stearns. At its peak, the remote mine employed 300 men. Recordings in the "ghost structures" of the buildings describe the miners' lives, and mannequins illustrate the cramped conditions. Read the rest of this entry »