If you didn't know, today is the 241st birthday of Lexington, Ky. (Even though Wikipedia says the city was established in 1782, it was actually founded in 1775!) We here at The Bluegrass Outsider just wanted to take a moment to wish the city a happy birthday. Lexington, we love your trees, hills, streams, cliffs, waterfalls, and most of all...your people. We're proud to represent The Bluegrass and hope, dear friends, that you'll get outside, even though it's wet, and do somet

If you are fortunate enough to live in Kentucky, have visited The Bluegrass State, or even watched The Kentucky Derby on television, you will be familiar with My Old Kentucky Home by Stephen Foster. This classic was adopted as the official state song in 1928. Now I either dreamed this or actually recall to memory my late grandmother shedding a tear during the performance of the song during a Kentucky Derby party many, many years ago. At the time, I didn't understand her react

It really goes without saying that, in Kentucky, Red River Gorge is "the" premiere place to hike and climb. I don't care to dispute such claims because I'm a fan of "The Gorge" and would commend it to everyone. Since I live nearly two hours away from the Red, however, it's not always easy or convenient to get there. Moreover, as a waterfall enthusiast, I've not been terribly impressed by some of the seasonal trickles I've encountered there. So, RRG isn't my top place to visit

I love learning about our rich Kentucky history. One of my favorite local hikes, with a rich historic past, is Pilot Knob. This hike is located within the 742 acre Pilot Knob State Nature Preserve in Powell County. The trail is approximately 1.25 miles from the parking area to the top of the knob and is strenuous with a decent elevation gain. As time allows, I will add a more detailed section under the Explore Kentucky tab about this beautiful preserve. This knob gave Daniel

From David Letterman to Facebook fads, Top 10 lists have always had a way of capturing folks' attention. In keeping with this favored practice, I want to offer 10 reasons that you should "take a hike!" Unlike Letterman, my offerings aren't all that comedic but here they are (in a particular order but not necessarily ranked). 10. Free: Across The Bluegrass, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, and trails abound. Fortunately, nearly all of them, especially if they're part of a public

Kentucky is home to the longest mapped cave system in the World (a place you should visit). But along with this wonder, we have a very karst landscape with many caves that often do not get the attention they rightly deserve. The Great Saltpetre Cave Preserve Open House is a "must" for anyone who is interested in the history of caves in Kentucky and how they have influenced our ways of life. My family visited this open house last year and I would highly recommend taking the ti