Kentucky Sucks.

Only 66 miles today. Still took from 9am to 5pm because of rain, hills, and dog chases. Got off to a late start because my wonderful host, David, from Hindman made a delicious breakfast and we chatted for a bit. The place I stayed last night was amazing. I think it will be a highlight of the trip. He had kittens roaming around all over, wrestling eachother at my feet, climbing around and doing cool stuff everywere I looked. He did my laundry, made me a CRAZY baked potato, ordered pizza, had delicious home made iced tea, made breakfast, played classical music on the radio, and had great stories. He describes himself as a "Mountain William", or an educated hill-Billy. He is involved in theater and is most likely the smartest resident of Kentucky. Now, that doesn't say much, but he really was a smart and intellectual guy.



They all said, "there are going to be bad days..."

This has proved to be very true. My second day of Kentucky has been full of dog attacks, hills, and rain. Lots of rain. It was kind of like being submerged in water up to the neck, where you couldn't possibly be any wetter.

I don't want to dwell on the negative, but there was a lot today. Lots of scary locals and aggressive drivers, and of course the rain.

Anyway, I'm ready to be out of these hills and out of these sketchy areas. I've had enough of the surprise hills waiting around the corner and the roads that just fall off the side into an abyss of foliage and rocks. I'm also a little tired of these sewage rivers they have here.

Since every resident of Eastern Kentucky dwells in a trailer home, they are all responsible for their own sewage. There is no infrastructure or pipe system in these parts, so running parallel with all of the roads are these ditches/waterways. Each house has a little bridge, usually just a bunch of planks, connecting the road to the yard. Underneath those bridges runs the water and sewage runoff from each trailer. It flows like a stream passing each property along the way, for miles and miles. I've even seen kids playing in there.

These streams are full of brown water, garbage, tires, old appliances, and scrap metal. They are on every street and it's really gross. I thought I knew what poverty looked like from being in Philly, but the poorest areas of Philly look like Beverly Hills next to these pitiful dwellings.

I've learned though, that the reason all of these houses have the "keep out, no trespassing, beware of dog, private property, etc." signs is because there is a lot of meth and pot production in these hills. The scariest looking houses are either places where the drugs are made, or they are places where the users hide out. Either way, this part of the country seems to be totally overlooked by mainstream culture. These people are not even on the grid. They just lurk out here in the hills and live totally isolated and sheltered lives. Also, there are only three or four surnames per town. For miles at a time I will see only three last names on the mailboxes, and then when I hit a new town, it's three different ones. Based on what I've gathered from talking to some locals, the family all stay together and don't ever mix with the others. I'm not saying they are all inbred, but it is a reality down here. No one denies it.

Anyway, time for bed. Camping behind a church in Booneville, KY. Met a couple other bikers, just graduated high school. They are going a lot slower, so I doubt I'll see much of them after today, but it was cool to chat for a while. Very nice guys. John is here, too. Can't seem to get rid of this guy! (just kidding, John!)

92 miles tomorrow, headed to Harrodsburg, KY. I'll be out of Appalachia soon!!!!!!!!!

Location:Booneville, Ky