1. Post office at Windsor, Kentucky.
1. Post office at Windsor, Kentucky.
2. Kentucky highway 192.
3. Customer at store in Bald Rock, Kentucky.
4. Daughter of store owner in Bald Rock, Kentucky
Last Modified on 9/24/97 at 5:29:03
Day's Narrative: After breakfast, Steve and I left Russell Springs about 7:15 with clouds threatening rain above us. Before leaving I went back into the room and exchanged my dark red shirt for a bright yellow one because of the darkness. However, by 9 am the sun had come out and we rode the rest of the day in beautiful, if humid, weather. Just a few miles outside of Russell Springs we passed through the rural community of Windsor whose post office, although small, appears to meet all federal guidelines for a government building. They have disabled parking -- it's the only parking place, there's easy disabled access into the building, and smoking is not allowed in the interior. The car beside the building belongs to the Postmaster. KY 80 from Russell Springs to Somerset was gently rolling and we made good time with light traffic. After Somerset we took KY 192 towards Corbin (see photo 2). This is a beautiful road, but it's hilly. We stopped at a convenience store and talked with a local resident there, and he advised against taking KY 312 the rest of the way into Corbin because of the terrible hills. He said some of the curves were so bad, they call them "ass-kissing" curves, because they come back around on themselves. We followed his advice and took an alternate route, even though is was about 8 miles (12 km) farther. At the Bald Rock grocery we stopped and had ham sandwiches made for us by the woman running the store (photo 4). A customer came in while she was preparing the sandwiches (photo 3). She and her husband had moved to the area from Chicago after her husband had retired. She had grown up in the area and had come back to help her Mother in the store after her Father died last year. She said her husband spent a lot of time fishing. Tomorrow we go over Cumberland Gap and on to Pennington Gap, VA to spend the night. We have asked two different people about the 40 miles (60 km) of four lane road between Corbin and Cumberland Gap this afternoon. The first one told us it had paved shoulders and was a great road. The second told us that the shoulders were not paved. If, in fact, the shoulders are not paved it may be the 40 miles from hell, because I suspect it is a high traffic road. On the other hand, they may both be right. There may be sections of paved and unpaved shoulders. I've been looking at the maps in detail, and it looks like it will take us three days to completely cross the Appalachians and get to the rolling country of North Carolina. It will be a tough, hilly, three days. [Connie] Thank God the people around here are religious and have many denominations, therefore, many churches. The reason for this thankfulness is that all these churches have large parking lots which bewildered people can pull into to consult maps. I can't see well or fast enough to always pick out the highway number or directions I need until I am on top of the sign. At that point, I have to make an instant decision to turn or not, usually pushed by the vehicle behind me. More than half the time, my decision is the wrong one, necessitating the great pull-in, check it out, turn around and try again. I took the toll, freeway and Interstate to get here, arriving at 15:45 EDT, (we entered the Eastern time zone ) thinking I was so late that the guys were probably here already and I could come in and say, "OK, now you take care of me." Not so, I was here first, checked in and started unloading. They pulled up as I was about half-done and finished the unloading. Then shower and nap time and dinner. Over and out, I'm pooped. © Ray & Connie Poore, 1997
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