Happy Labor Day!

Summer's winding down once again and as we go into this Labor Day weekend I can't help but to be amazed at just how fast this season has gone. We've had some successful programming this season but unfortunately our canoe program suffered from the excess of rain we saw for the month of July. I can't recall a July 4th in recent memory that was as wet as this one was. August saw one of the more successful Blue Licks Commemoration in recent memory, with over 3,700 visitors throughout the course of the weekend. If you didn't get a chance to make it out for this years event, you missed a great weekend filled with fantastic weather and even more fantastic programs and entertainment.

I have to admit something, growing up on a state park and having a father who was a programmer, I never really understood what Labor Day meant. For my family, it was a day that my father always "labored" for the many visitors to our park. In doing a little bit further investigation on the subject, I have come to have a greater appreciation for the day. I would like to share a little bit of what I've found.

Labor Day was first observed on Tuesday September 5, 1882. It wasn't until 1884 that the first Monday in September was selected to celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. While its origins are still debated, I like what the co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, Peter J. McGuire said of this proposed day. A day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold." It was these first Labor Unions that ultimately began planning an entire day of demonstrations and....you guessed it....picnics.

Today, the Department of Labor defines Labor day as a "yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country." While celebrations across the country differ from state to state, the first proposed outline of the observance has something that I find interesting. According to that first outline, the celebration of Labor Day should include- a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families.

With that, I realized the importance Kentucky State Parks play in Labor Day. While we may not have "carved all the grandeur we behold" or created the skyscrapers from steel, for those hard workers who have, we serve as place to where those hard workers and their families can come and relax, and enjoy a day well deserved. So this Labor Day, take time to visit your state parks, relax and allow us to be part of your recreation and amusement! Check out this weekend's SCHEDULE to see how we can help you out!

Red Hatter's Unite!!

When Red Hatter's Attack!

Fun after fifty. I like this whole thought process. Now I'm not quite there yet but none-the-less I can really embrace this concept. Having grown up in the park system I had the great fortune of interacting with many, many senior groups over the years. Some of the most interesting, amusing and just plain fun people I have ever met have been part of my senior groups I've worked with over the years. As a child, I would accompany my father to his programs and watch him tell stories and socialize with his seniors.

Serious gaming

For anyone who runs around with this sort of crowd you will know what I'm talking about when I say "penny in the pot." A simple card game that I decided to participate in one time. I couldn't have been more than 8 or 9 years old at the time, but this group encouraged me to bring down my hard earned piggy bank and join in. So I brought down my giant green Crayola piggy bank that I had put every spare coin in that I could find during those early years of my childhood. It was full to the brim with penny's. I can remember sitting down at the table. Almost like some greenhorn cowpoke sitting down to his first real hand of poker as I slide my bank in to view. Now don't get me wrong, the group I began playing with were the kindest, most patient people one could hope for. However, after about an hour or so my filled to the brim Crayola piggy bank began to take quite a hit. So much so that I decided that if I wanted to keep what little silver I had in there, I should probably retreat while I had the chance. So retreat I did, along with the $1.37 that was left in my bank. They had cleaned me out. I still tell that story to what groups I work with now days. I don't think they believe me when I tell it but it's no matter.  I'll never forget the great penny-in-the-pot incident of 1984, that and the 1984 Summer Olympics. Mary Lou Retton stole my heart that year.

Anyway, I digress. The past several years we've had the privilege to host a Red Hat Day celebration for many of the Red Hat groups in our region. you want to see people have a good time, stick your head in the Arlington room during this event and you will see some fun loving ladies. We've had scavenger hunts, homemade hat competitions, and I think most enjoyably, a live band last year. It's a chance for these ladies to meet others in the area who like to get together and have some fun, as well as get dressed up and maybe even cut a rug. (Seeing a mamba line of 30 red hatter's all decked out is a sight to behold.) But at the heart of it is the most important thing....having fun, and more importantly for everyone, having fun at a Kentucky state park.

For more information on this years Red Hat Day April 25th, check out this LINK. or can email me HERE.

March 30th Blue Licks Easter Egg Hunt

Traditions. Whether it be something as simple as spending a little extra time in bed every Saturday morning or gathering for a huge family reunion, we all have them. My dad has a tradition that he's started over the past 10 years or so of collecting refrigerator magnets from the places he visits. He's gathered quite the collection that has not only filled the refrigerator but has spilled over into their entry way. He has magnets from nearly every state in the nation and even some from across the Atlantic. Another tradition that is one of my favorites is during Christmas. It lets me know how much my father and I are alike. It doesn't matter how old my brother and I get, but every year at Christmas my father gives us.....a toy....I know. It seems childish, but for me, its a way for my brother, my father and I to keep from having to be a grown-up for just a minute. Whether it's a nerf gun, radio controlled helicopter, or rubberband gun, (Just a few from the past few years,) It's a chance for my brother and I to bond with my father and just for a second, make it feel like we're all still "home."

A tradition for many families is the tried and true Easter egg hunt. I'm sure we all have memories of these as a kid. Mine involves, you guess it, a state park. When I was young, my father would have a huge Easter egg hunt at the park he worked at. I can remember the kitchen hard boiling hundreds upon hundreds of eggs, dyeing them, and hiding them around the lodge. I never actually hunted the eggs, but I would always help hide them. Children from all over would come to the park each year to hunt the eggs. Now for the rest of the story......In the following weeks after the annual hunt, it became obvious how many eggs never got found, there would be the slight smell of rotting eggs in the air for about a month. Now I don't think he planned it that way, but I'm thinking maybe my sense of humor is similar to my fathers because I still get a chuckle just thinking about that now.

The Easter Egg Hunt here at Blue Licks has become a local tradition for many families in the area. It's been really great for me to watch many of the same children coming back year after year and how much they've grown during my time here, even watching former employees bring their own children to participate. I'd like to take this opportunity to invite you and your family to visit us on March 30th at 11a.m. to start a family tradition of your own. Several of us here at Blue Licks including employees and volunteers will be hiding 2,000 Easter Eggs. Don't worry, they're plastic candy filled, not hard boiled. We'll have 4 different age categories including 0-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12 with a chance for a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place egg in each category. Each prize egg found will receive a prize basket filled with goodies from the Worthington Lodge gift shop.

Just remember though, we will start the hunt at exactly 11am, so you'll want to be sure to be there early so you can find your age category. For additional information on the Easter Egg hunt here at Blue Licks, or maybe even share a Kentucky State Park tradition of your own, contact me HERE.

Paddling Season is Near!

Four inches of snow one day, nearly 70 degrees the next.....Welcome to Kentucky. I don't know whether to have my adventures in the snow or break out the boat in preparation for Spring. I will say I am thankful not to be up in the northeast right now as they get bombarded by several feet of snow. While sitting out on my deck last night, there was definitely a feeling in the air of Spring. We'll see how long that last though.

It does shift my thinking towards the upcoming paddling season here at Blue Licks. While we've had a canoeing program here at the park for over 10 years now, we've become an increasingly popular destination for paddling over the past two seasons. Blue Licks was even named one of the top 25 canoeing destination in Kentucky according to Reserve America. Last season, aside from 2 trips, every scheduled trip went out. We're in the process right now of expanding upon our program here the park. We're hoping that by May we'll have in place not only our standard 2 1/2 hour trip available to the public, but also 2 or 3 other trips to offer to our visitors.

Wintertime

Snowfall at Blue Licks

I'm just going to be honest....I enjoy winter. Now that's not saying I don't prefer a nice warm sunny day on the lake, but I guess what I'm saying is I've never been bothered by winter weather. Some of my fondest memories are of heavy snows, sleigh riding and getting out and enjoying a good snowfall. I get it honest though. If anyone's seen my first post, Christmas in the Parks, then you may know what I'm talking about. The first chance my mother would get to venture outside after a good snow, she would take it. I can remember her getting just as excited about a nighttime snowfall as me. For me it meant no school the next day, for her it meant bundling up and going out for an adventure. We'd journey outside and walk up the street out to the main road of the park we lived on. I can remember how the street lamps would cause the snow to glow so brightly on the ground, and let us see all the flakes as they came down. I can also remember how quiet it was. Neither one of us would say much of anything. We'd hear the crunch of the snow beneath our feet, but no traffic, no animals. Nothing. Just complete total silence as the flakes fell down on the landscape. There were several times when we'd venture up to the golf course. You could look out over the course and it would look like a winter wonderland. That golf course provided the perfect sleigh riding for me and my friends on that next snow day, but the night before was just about me and mom.

River Road at Blue Licks

I had a lot of great memories over the weekend at the Winter Adventure Weekend. As the snow came down Friday morning, several of the long standing volunteers and I remembered a huge snowfall for one of the events the park hosted. I couldn't have been more than 7 or 8 I guess, but I remember so much snow that the whole park nearly shut down for a few hours. During that time, the volunteers, not to be discouraged by the snow, turned it into a great memory that people still talk about to this day. I don't remember whose idea it was, but someone came across the idea to use one of the rescue stokes as a sled. A rescue stokes is a large basket used for cave rescue, but on that morning it was discovered it made for a perfect toboggan able to accommodate about 3 to 4 people. We must have made 15 or 20 passes down the road leading to the park lodge that morning before heading back into the lodge to get warmed back up by the fireplace.

Eagles Among Us

It’s no secret that Kentucky plays host to a variety of animals. At night time you can hear the howl of coyotes off in the distance here at Blue Licks, and almost each and every morning you can spot dozens of turkey scratching for food in the valleys all around. Believe it or not though, I can remember a time when even seeing deer was rare. The first time I ever saw a turkey was at a Kentucky State Park. I couldn’t have been more than 4 or 5 years old, but it had quite an impact on me. I was riding in the car with my father, I don’t recall as to where we were going at the time, but as we came around a corner my father stopped the car. What I saw in the middle of the road still to this day is very vivid to me. It was the largest bird I had ever seen; I thought it was an ostrich. The turkey was in full strut, with its beautiful tail feathers fanning out proudly. Its head was the brightest shade of red and purple I had ever seen. My father and I looked at it in awe for several moments before it strutted off the road and into the woods. Now I’m certain that if asked, my father would never remember that experience, but for me, I can’t recall ever having seen a more amazing turkey since.