KENTUCKY HORSE PARK EXPEDITION!

I have driven by the sign indicating the entrance to the Kentucky Horse Park (www.KyHorsePark.com) on previous cross-country trips, but was only able to actually enter the park, and see its many attractions, on a recent 2025 visit in the area.  

 

As soon as I entered the park, my attention was drawn to an area near the entrance, where a young person was doing some training with a beautiful black horse.  

The Visitor Center was easy to find, and well marked with large signs.  

It is appropriate that there are iron gates at the entrance to the Visitor Center, because their address is 4089 IRON Works Pike, in Lexington, Kentucky.  

The gift shop inside the Visitor Center has everything a horse lover might want to purchase, to remember their visit to this remarkable place.  

While at the Visitor Center Gift shop, I learned that framing a portion of your horse's mane, along with its bit and bridal, is apparently a common thing to do.  The shadow box display brought to mind one of my First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) memory verses from James 3:3 that says, "When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal".  Just  as a bit guides a horse, the way one uses their tongue, can direct one's life and actions.

People my age may remember when the famous Barbie Doll went beyond simply looking pretty in her specialty clothes, to dressing in all manner of professional attire to promote women as more than just "a pretty face".  So I was not surprised to see a doll in the gift shop, designed to be a female veterinarian, complete with a top horse to medicate.  

In the Visitor Center lobby, there was a gigantic, gold  picture frame, with a life size horse photo inside it, so that visitors can have their photo made with this (pretend) prize-winning horse!

Also in the lobby was this model, based on the famous "Trojan Horse" story, where an invading army hid inside a colossal model of a horse.  Notice in this exhibit, there is a door on the side of the horse, where a soldier, who is ascending the ladder, could be hidden.  Although I did not have time on this visit to go through the International Museum of the Horse, that is located within the Visitor Center, I know from what I read on their website, there are numerous other art pieces and historical artifacts at the museum, that will fascinate the viewer.

Numerous locations I have visited across the USA have chosen an iconic symbol of their area, and then assigned talented artisans to paint messages on the icon.  I have seen bears, airplanes, pelicans, and shoes.  Therefore, it is not surprising that Kentucky, which is famous for its bourbon production, would have a wooden bourbon barrel, artistically decorated with scenes from the state.  

Another item in the Visitor Center lobby, was this horse sculpture with the autographs of people significant in  equestrian history.   Even though I received my "Horsemanship" badge in Girl Scouts, and made the round trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back via sitting in the saddle of a four-legged creature, I did not feel worthy to ask for a Sharpie pen to add my name.  

Since this area is known for its historic "dry stack" stone fences, there is a display of one just outside the Visitor Center.  The park sits on 1,200 acres of Kentucky bluegrass farmland, so there were doubtless some of the stone fences of the acreage from hundreds of years of past farming, before the area was converted to public usage in 1978.  The house in the background is a significant landmark of the property.  It was built in 1866.  The property has been through numerous owners, but in 1972, Mary Edwards sold her property to the Commonwealth of Kentucky for $2.7 million, and in 1978, the Kentucky Horse Park, opened to the public, and  became the world's only park dedicated to man's relationship with the horse.  

I was fascinated with the information on the length of thoroughbred strides, that was explained and illustrated, in a public area outside the Visitor Center.  The placard suggested the visitor count the number of steps it takes them to walk a designated distance, then compare their numbers, to the stride length of some famous horses.  Since I am an avid step counter, aiming for at least 10,000 steps per day, I learned that 10,000 strides by a thoroughbred would go miles farther than 10,000 of my steps!

It is not surprising that the horse statue in front of the Visitor Center, is painted a bright blue (as in Kentucky being the BLUEgrass state), and showed the number of jobs that the equestrian industry provides in the state.  Remember that the Kentucky Horse Park is owned by the state government, so job numbers is a statistic they track.  Recent estimates indicate there are over 60,000 jobs in Kentucky that are related to the equestrian field.  The data also shows that the annual economic impact of the equestrian industry in Kentucky is about $6.5 billion. 

Horse racing aficionados are quite familiar with the name Secretariat, but for those who cannot remember, a plaque on the way to the Secretariat memorial will refresh their memory.   

Another plaque tells who the sculptor is, of the legendary thoroughbred champion, Secretariat.

The landscaping of the sidewalk leading to the Man O War statue, magnifies the importance of this steed in equestrian history.  

For those who many have forgotten, Man O War was a dominant competitor in the early 20th century, who won most of his races, including setting a record at the Belmont Stakes  

Another plaque in this area honors Isaac Burns Murphy, who was born into slavery in Clark County, Kentucky, in  1861.  He went on to become one of the greatest riders in American Thoroughbred horse racing history.  He won three runnings of the Kentucky Derby, and was the first jockey to be inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, at its creation in 1955.

Memorial plaque at burial site of famous horse.  

Very close to the Visitor Center, one will see this building for the U.S. Equestrian Association.

Since the building is open to the public, I took the opportunity to see what was inside:

Glass-covered trophy cases line the entire side of one wall in the spacious lobby.

I found out I am not the only one that has a horse harness hanging on the wall!  The difference in mine and those behind glass at this location, is that mine was just worn by a favorite farm horse, whereas these were worn by famous competition horses! 

 

My husband and I attended some equestrian events at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.  Our event was called "dressage", which is a French word, with the emphasis on the second syllable.  The word evolved from the French verb dresseur, meaning "to train".  Dressage is a discipline that showcases the horse's flexibility and balance, by executing a series of intricate, precise movements.  Upon our return, my husband had a special art piece made, containing a 1996 Equestrian Olympic poster, along with our two Olympic tickets, dated  8 am, July 26, 1996,  Because of that early 8 am start time, we had left our motel about 4 am, because it was an hour away from where we would catch the shuttle at a location in Atlanta, that would take us to the actual venue, at the Georgia International Horse Park, in Conyers, Georgia.  After being on the Interstate towards Atlanta for about 45 minutes, we turned on the radio to find out the weather forecast.  The radio was warning people to STAY AWAY from Atlanta, because there had been a bombing at an Olympic event the night before, and the perpetrator of the bomb was still on the loose.  Since we were almost to our shuttle stop, we continued on, and found out that the events scheduled for that day were still going to be held, but their starting times had been pushed back by several hours, because of greatly increased security screening.  Keep in mind, this was before we were using cell phones, texting, or Internet communication of any kind.  So we stood in line at the only pay telephone booth available, for a very long time, so we could call our family members back in Arkansas, to let them know we were okay, and had not been at the location where the bomb went off.  It was a most memorable experience!

Having actually attended the 1996 Olympic equestrian event, I was delighted to see that one of the items on display behind glass, was the clothing worn by one of the winning participants, as well as medals from the event.

According to wikipedia, the tradition of wearing white trousers in the dressage competition, dates back to a time when only aristocrats could participate in the sport, and they did not have to be concerned about doing any kind of manual labor that would get their trousers soiled.  

This facility also had a gift shop, and I enjoyed perusing the items available for purchase there.

Seeing these medals in their shadowbox display cases, reminded me of a church youth retreat I attended in the 1960's in Bentonville, Arkansas.  Walmart founders, Sam and Helen Walton, opened up their expansive home for the girls in the group, to spend the night in their home.  I remember Mrs. Walton showing us the room of their daughter, Alice Walton, and the room being full of ribbons and medals that Alice Walton had won at equestrian events.  

Look at this lovely souvenir available in the gift shop:

If one wanted sweet dreams of being horseback riding, perhaps this souvenir pillow, painted with all the symbols of the sport, would cause one to "gallop off" into dream land!

One of the sales staff at the gift shop offered to take my photo with one of the little black hats, like the competitors wear.  What do you think?

USEF (www.usef.org) is the abbreviation for the United States Equestrian Federation, which serves as the National Governing Body for Equestrian Sport.  The federation trains, selects, and funds the US Equestrian Team, which includes the team at the Olympic Games.  When I was visiting the Kentucky Horse Park, the USEF Pony Finals were being held, and I had the opportunity to observe young people who had their sights set on Olympic glory.

Folks are familiar with "crossing guards" near elementary schools to protect children, and here at Kentucky Horse Park, there are dozens of "crossing guards" to protect horses that are crossing roads in front of cars and/or golf carts.

Rolex is a major sponsor at the USEF Pony Finals, and the Rolex stadium was buzzing with activity, in preparation for the day's events.  

Now you know one reason that Rolex watches are so expensive---they have to help pay for this fancy equestrian stadium!  When one considers the cost of having a horse, boarding a horse, and traveling to equestrian events around the country, it is easy to understand why this is such an elite sport!  The year I got to visit the Olympic village in Calgary, Canada, I remember my guide pointing out some members of the royal family of a European country, who were also in the Olympic village, because they had competed in Olympic Equestrian events.  

If you are a person who enjoys seeing, riding, or learning about horses, you will enjoy a visit to the Kentucky Horse Park.  My visit there gave me "MILES OF SMILES!" Tricia

 

HEADWATERS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER EXPEDITION!

In order to reach Dubuque, Iowa, for a tourism event there, before registration closed, I had to leave my home in northern Arkansas several hours before daylight.  A few hours earlier, the highway I needed to use to make this northern route, had been closed due to flooding.  The app on my phone was confusing, making it unclear if the highway was closed, or merely water-covered.  So it was with my mind full of prayers to God for His will regarding passage, I started out on the highway.  By the grace of God, the portion of the highway in question was covered with mud and gravel, but it was OPEN, and I could proceed the next 530 miles, as hoped.  As the sun came up over the Ozark mountains, my mind remembered that another intrepid explorer (Henry Schoolcraft) had also traveled through these Ozarks, in his expedition to chart unknown areas of the new frontier, including the Upper Mississippi River, which was also, my ultimate goal.  The miles ticked away like clicks on a wagon wheel, and I finally made it to Dubuque at the right time, following my GPS to the convention center, where the meeting started.  I joined a line of several cars, stopped at a railroad crossing, that was blocked by a freight train, which had come to a complete standstill.  I waited in the traffic line for fifteen minutes, and reluctantly joined the string of cars that were backing out, making a u-turn, and giving up, on the train ever moving.  It was very frustrating to realize I had made every effort to arrive on time, but then was denied entrance, just one block from the convention center!  I tried following what my GPS gave as a detour route, but it had me going through private property and over numerous railroad tracks and down unpaved alleyways, that looked very unsightly to a stranger in the area.  So I decided to give up on getting to the convention center, and go check into my hotel on the other side of town.  At my hotel, I phoned the convention center and the meeting sponsor to tell them about my predicament, but it was a Sunday, and all I got was an answering machine, to whom I explained how the entrance was blocked.  Finally, with new resolve, and entering the city from a different direction, my GPS took me, via a lovely bridge that went OVER the railroad tracks, and delivered  me to the convention center parking lot.  (If only, it would have done that earlier!!)  Another clue I was finally in the right location was seeing this gigantic paddle wheel setting beside the bridge over the railroad tracks!

Once I parked near the convention center, I got out to walk and explore the riverfront.  I came across a lovely piece of outdoor sculpture, and had to get a photo of me rejoicing on the banks of the river:

The Great River Road Interpretive Center, along with the Mississippi River Museum, is located in this same area.    This same sign design is used for Great River Road (GRR) Interpretive Centers all the way from Canada to the Gulf.  When you see the familiar Captain's Wheel on a highway sign, the state you are in will be shown at the bottom.  Since this sign is actually on the river, it references the entire length of the Great River Road, not just the state.  I gave a detailed account of a different Interpretive Center in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in a blog available in the archives, published September 28, 2014.  It is entitled "Lower Mississippi River Museum".

It was kayaking on the Mississippi River at Floatzilla (see blog in archives, dated September 2, 2024, called "Floatzilla Expedition",  for info on that experience) that planted the seed for this particular expedition.  And now, I was at the kayak launch spot farther north on the river, in Dubuque! Hurrah!  At Floatzilla, I saw this waterfront monument that indicated Quad Cities area was at River Mile #490, so my mind began to want to see River Mile #0, which I assumed would be the beginning of America's Longest River.   My uneducated mind also assumed that Dubuque would have a smaller river mile number than Quad Cities.   However, when Google said  the Dubuque location put me at River Mile #583, I was confused.!  Here is what I later learned:  Mile markers on the Mississippi River are determined using a scheme where river miles are measured from a specific point, usually the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers established these markers in the 1930s, and they are based on the channel centerline at that time.  River miles on the Upper Mississippi River (URM) begin at URM 1,342 at Lake Itasca, the river's source in Minnesota, and decrease to URM 0 at the confluence with the Ohio River in Cairo, Illinois.  At Cairo, the river switches to Lower River Miles (LRM) which start at LRM 954 and decrease to LRM 0 at Head of Passes, near Venice, Louisiana.   So now you know "the rest of the story"!

A map inside the museum showed my plan---to reach the beginning of that squiggly blue line in northern Minnesota.  Having already traveled the Great River Road south of Mark Twain's hometown of Hannibal, Missouri, I was now on a quest for the upper Mississippi River.  The night-time tourism event at the Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque, (in addition to having a delicious supper meal and a live band), was also a time to explore and learn about the various wildlife one encounters along the river.  as there are massive aquariums and a large turtle habitat.

  The Dubuque convention center has outstanding architecture which included this v-shaped protrusion, out over the sidewalk, pointing to the waters beyond it.

On the inside of the room, one could imagine being on the bow of a steamboat, chugging down the river, that happens to be the longest river in North America!

From Dubuque, I proceeded up the Great River Road (GRR), and through lush, green farmland, with both rolling hills and towering buffs,  The familiar sign of the GRR  navigation ships wheel, with the state indicated at the bottom, shows I am in Wisconsin, for this photo.   

 I called my always-calm companion for this trip, "Missy", since we were traveling along the Mississippi River.  Missy was concerned I might be giving her germs, so she wore her face mask the entire trip, and didn't let out a peep, no matter how many wrong turns I took.   A more verbal passenger would have told me that I was supposed to have a Vehicle Permit tag to use this Wyalusing Recreation Area, but instead, I drove in unaware, and had to offer apologies for my error!

After Dubuque, I spent my first night on the northward leg of the trip in Red Wing, Minnesota.  At the tourism conference I had just attended, the Red Wing representative explained a "must-see" in that city was the "World's Largest Boot".   When I checked into my hotel, the desk clerk told me the boot  was inside the Red Wing Shoe Company flagship store, which was currently closed, and did not open until nine am the next day.  So, the next day, I spent the early morning hours in Red Wing, admiring the renovated downtown main street, which was funded by the shoe company, and whose windows now serve as very distinctive "display windows" for their products. 

The Red Wing Shoe Company also renovated, and own, the town's historic hotel.  It not only has lodging for guests, its second floor has been converted into a wonderful museum, containing the artifacts of USA Olympic ski jumping, which had a significant early history/beginning near Red Wing.

 

When the actual retail store opened, I walked in and saw a selfie machine mounted on the wall, so that the hundreds of visitors they have, could get the mandatory photo, and not have to be constantly "bothering" the sales staff, asking for their photo to be taken.  So I stood very close to the camera, the flash went off, and then I filled out my email address on the screen keyboard, and voila!,  the postcard below appeared in my inbox.  Actually, this was the second or third photo, because on the first one, I was standing so close to the camera, the boot was not even visible. 

There were no other customers in the store at that time, so one of their staff members could see that "the elderly lady up by the big boot, does not know how to use a selfie machine", so he offered to take a photo of me beside the boot, using my iPhone camera.  He told me to stand in the white square beside the boot, with two footprints on it, (which I had completely overlooked), when I was trying to use their selfie machine!  Talk about embarrassing!

 

At some of their store displays, I was fascinated to read about the history of the Red Wing Shoe Company, especially the part that said a man whose last name was "FOOT" played a part in that history! Also, it was amusing to see the labels they were giving away, that you could put inside your shoe, indicating who you would leave them to, when you die!  

 

Besides the World's Largest Boot on display, there was another boot "sculpture" on the second floor, with a mural painted on the side.  (see left side of collage below).  I have been in other cities, where a prominent icon of that city is "adopted" by various artists/businesses,  and painted, then placed at strategic locations around the city.  For example, In Wichita, Kansas, it was airplanes,  In Louisville, Kentucky, it was horses.  In Grants Pass, Oregon, it was bears.  In Klamath Falls, Oregon, it was pelicans.  Of course in Red Wing it is a big boot!  (Right side of collage shows a painted boot sculpture beside a mailbox, on a downtown street).

Before leaving the town of Red Wing, I stopped at the pottery museum, which I had also heard about at the tourism conference.  This area was famous for its distinctive pottery, that was in heavy use, especially before the advent of plastic containers.  My parents used to be in the school supply business, and one item they used to sell to schools was a ceramic water cooler.  I currently have one of those coolers at my house, and use it to store table games.  I also currently have a butter churn from my paternal grandmother's farm, similar to the one shown in the photo collage below.  She made delicious (what we called "cow butter"), and would give us a fresh dish of it, every Sunday, on our weekly drive to Locust, Arkansas, after church, to have lunch with them.  Those Sunday visits were also when I saw how she nonchalantly twisted the neck off one of her chickens, plucked off the feathers, cut it up, and fried it, to feed us delicious Southern fried chicken.  I remember as a little girl, standing beside her at the cook stove, and asking her how she knew when the lard was hot enough to put the chicken in.  She (jokingly, I was told later), that she spit in it, and if the spit sizzled, the lard was hot enough.  So immediately, before she could stop me, I had spit into the frying pan with the lard in it, and sure enough---it sizzled!  I was later disciplined for this unsanitary gesture.  Telling this story reminded me of another disciplinary measure after a visit to their farm.  On the drive home, I was making fun of the way my grandma talked, with sayings such as "them thar 'maters", or "you ins".  My father stopped the car, pulled me out of the back seat, spanked my bottom, and told me to never-ever make fun of the way my grandparents talked.  Decades later, when I was at a Road Scholar study course on Appalachian culture (see September 29, 2015 blog in archives), being taught by a college English professor, he said he was a stickler for his Appalachian students WRITING English correctly and used his red "corrections" pen extensively for that.  But, he said he never-ever corrected the way the Appalachian students SPOKE!  It took me many decades, but I could finally see the wisdom of my father's disciplinary measure!

Proceeding northward from Red Wing, there are various pullouts along the GRR,  where significant features or historical aspects can be seen, and explained.  One of these talked about the way river rafts fulls of timber logs, floated down the Mississippi River, to markets worldwide.  

There are various federal facilities along the GRR, with interpretive and educational exhibits, like the one shown in this photo.  By the time, I arrived, it was closed, but some of the materials they provided were available in their porch area.

 

At one point along the way, at what they call a recreation area, I was able to actually drive my car to the very edge of the river, and get the tires slightly wet in the waters of the Missisippi River.   Since my little Ford car is called an Escape, I was glad that it could also lead me to to "escape" the flooded highways in the Arkansas area where my trip originated, which is also part of the Mississippi River Watershed drainage basin!

Finally, I made it to the Itaska State Park entrance, while it was still daylight.  And thankfully, most of the snow had melted, and presented no problem driving the roads within the state park. 

 

Even though there were not many minutes till dark, I felt like I should proceed the five miles from the entrance sign to the headwaters immediately, because there was still enough light for some photos, and there was no guarantee that the weather the following day would cooperate.  However, I stopped long enough before I got to the headwaters, to snap this photo, through the windshield, of the sign that indicates THE BEGINNING of the GRR!   HALLELUJAH!!

 

I arrived at the giant parking lot for the headwaters visitor center, and it was empty except for one car.  Remembering that a football field is three hundred feet long, I quickly calculated that the walk to the headwaters (even though not visible from the visitor center) was only about the length of three football fields, so it should be a quick walk.  I don't make a practice of walking into the wilderness by myself, but sometimes the circumstances make it worth the risk!

 

I quickly got out, and started following the muddy trail that supposedly led to the headwaters (Snow still remained on each side of the trail, which is why it was muddy).  As I was entering, a young woman by herself, was leaving the area, so I asked her if she would take my photo, assuming there were no other visitors down at the headwaters, since there were no cars in the parking lot, but hers.

  As she finished snapping the photo, she alerted me to the fact there is a live web cam focused on the area, that people anywhere can watch.  So I phoned my son in California, and asked him to google it, to see if he could spot me on the live cam.  He did, and even got a screen shot of me, with arms up rejoicing!  I was SO THANKFUL the young woman had told me about the live cam, because I never would have seen it otherwise, as it was very high up, and well camouflaged by foliage. 

In researching for this trip, I had seen several photos on the Internet, showing this very sign, but this is one I took myself!!  One thing that makes it different from the rest, is that in the distant lake, there are several white swans, peacefully echoing the "honking" sound they are famous for!

 There was not another person in the vicinity, so I carefully sat my iPhone on a rock beside the stream, put it on video, and had it take a three minute video of me crossing (very carefully) from rock to rock, to the OTHER side of the Mississippi River!  Hallelujah!  And I managed to return to my starting point without falling in!  I will spare you the boredom of replaying the balancing act of a 77 year old, vertigo-challenged person trying to keep her balance on slippery rocks, but please trust me when I tell you, that I actually did it and have a video to prove it!  I sent the video to my First Place for Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) teacher, because she had been leading our class in balance exercises for the last several months, and I wanted her to know her efforts were not in vain!  Below is a single frame from that video, when I had reached the far shore, and uplifted my arms in thanksgiving.  My phone lanyard had fallen in front of the lens as I crossed, causing a black diagonal line across the upper right corner.  Hence, I covered it with a smiley face, because I was definitely smiling to achieve this milestone!

 

After crossing the headwaters, I took the time to read some of the interpretive placards at the site.  I was especially intrigued by the part that connected Henry Schoolcraft to the headwaters.  In fact, it was Schoolcraft, who coined the word "Itasca". It is a combination of the Latin phrase veritas caput ("true head", that is, of the Mississippi River).  It is the last four letters of veritas, and the first two letters of caput---forming "itasca".  

 

 I doubt the writings about my expeditions will ever be as impactful as those of Mr. Schoolcraft, because the USA government was needing Mr. Schoolcraft  to find the headwaters, in order to establish a boundary line for the Northwest Territory.  I only explore and write, to try to expand my brain boundaries!

 This trip served as a "boundary" of sorts for a verse of Scripture from Isaiah 58:11 that I would like to use to define the experience:  "The LORD will guide you always; He will satisfy our needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.  You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."   It resonates with this trip because traveling a long distance, especially through unfamiliar territory and potential challenges, requires a sense of trust and guidance.  The verse speaks to my reliance on the Lord for direction and safety, knowing that He will provide and give me the strength I need for the demanding journey.  Even when things are difficult, I have an assurance of sustenance and inner fortitude to keep going.  Reaching the headwaters of the Mississippi, the source of a great river, symbolizes finding a place of origin and renewal.  That part of the verse connects to the idea that the Lord is a constant, life-giving source.  This journey to the headwaters was a personal quest to connect with a source of inspiration,, and the vastness of creation.  It encapsulates the underlying themes of faith, perseverance, and the rewarding feeling of achieving a goal, mirroring the spirit of the Mississippi River.  I had taken a wooden paddle from home, along with me on the trip, so I could capture the photo below of me "paddling the headwaters of the Mississippi River"!  These were very rewarding "MILES OF SMILES!"   Tricia