Pennyrile Forest State Park lies near Dawson Springs, almost to the Kentucky’s border with Missouri. As we were leaving the next day, we learned that Dawson Springs is the hometown of current Kentucky governor Steve Beshear. It is neat to know we drove through there.

Our accommodation at the park was as spacious and well-equipped as a big one bedroom apartment. We especially enjoyed the numerous windows, open kitchen and the gas fireplace. David turned it on early in the morning to read his book in front of the fire. When I woke up later and came out, it was such a cozy scene!

Pennyrile has to be the most scenic state park we have visited to date. Pine Mountain was beautiful and a reinvigorating mountain get-away, but it lacked a large lake/river to create the scenic factor. Pennyrile has got a large and beautiful river and wild enough forest surrounding it to make it magical to behold. When we were walking on the riverside trail, it was completely quiet and peaceful. It was simply divine to walk in the forest right next to a sparkling river as the sun was setting with a ripe golden hue.

The trail turned out to be long, strenuous due to the mud, and full of surprises along the way. We started out great because we were energetic and eager to discover. We found a small waterfall and huge boulders on the trail. Daddy led the way at first and most of the time because he claimed to have a pioneering spirit and wanted to clear the way for us. His Puritan ancestors would be proud!

Jacob started complaining because the trail was quite long and he got tired half way. Mommy was complaining for fear that we would not get back to the cottage in time before dark. Jacob was so whiny that Mommy and Daddy had to use many motivating tactics to spur him along. Then all of a sudden, he stopped whining and started leading the way. That was another surprising discovery!

We were so lucky to get back to our cottage right when it became pitch dark. Sheer luck because we did not do any planning or timing. We started walking and didn’t know the trail would take as long as it did. We always love hiking and were in an adventurous mood.

That was our first long hike ever. It is unforgettable! May we always get back to our accommodations before dark on our many many many more long hikes in Kentucky, the USA and around the world.