2008 Kentucky River

Wednesday, September 25, 2008

Bear Branch to Dam 4 in Frankfort at Mile 65

The capital city!  When I started this trip back on July 14 it was an article in the paper about Frankfort that had been a good sign.  Prior to seeing it I'd wondered whether trying to paddle this entire river again was just another crazy dream.  Should I bother trying again?  Last year had really been disappointing!  The article, however, had mentioned how the city was trying to reinvigorate it's riverfront – so I decided to reinvigorate my plans!

As one might expect with Frankfort being Kentucky's capital, this section of the river is quite active, both in terms of both scenery and boat traffic.  Indeed, the combined quantity of boats, houses, buildings and industry here serve notice that you are, in fact, paddling by the largest city on the river.  There’s history aplenty as well.   Heck, I’m not used to writing about so much happening at one time!  I hope the general flow of this journal will be OK!  As I’ve mentioned before, however, I can’t come close to doing justice to the places I write about.  I can only provide an introduction so that the reader might want to experience them for him or herself too.

Anyhow, once at the ramp in downtown Frankfort I'd get an immediate taste of history as it relates to the river.  You see, the library at the top of the ramp is named for Paul Sawyier.  Sawyier is the man I’ve mentioned before who lived for 4 years on a shanty boat in the early 1900’s painting pictures of the river.  Sawyier was from Frankfort, so it’s really awesome that they’ve honored him in this way!  In fact, the bridge you see here is known as the Singing Bridge and it's one that the artist painted a lot, although this is a somewhat newer version.  If you'd like to check out some paintings there’s also an art gallery in town that features his work (website here).  This will, without doubt, be an area I’ll come back to visit this winter as part of an effort to help beat the winter "blah's"!

At any rate, I made my way upriver about 9:30.  I’ve named this trip as I have for the sake of continuity, but today I paddled just a little further upriver to the Little Benson Creek to start.  I wanted to try and get a better picture of the little oasis I'd seen a couple days ago (below is the best I could get).  Upon arriving I got out to stretch and, whilst I was draining some of the water out of my boat I attracted the attention of a bee.  It buzzed around as I quickly got back in.  Legs both awkwardly over one side as a result of my haste, I was fully ready to dive in the water if need be.  Luckily the bee quickly lost interest.

Back at Mulholand Bend where I'd stopped last time, I was able to confirm that the beach here is, in fact, called Mulholand Beach.  It’s actually the "Port of Mulholand Beach" as per a boat here!  :)  Also on this boat was an indication that this is the “Dog Pound”.  Cleveland Browns fans?  Maybe not...  I guess it would be the “Dawg Pound” in that case.  Anyway, it looked like one of the houses was for sale.  Perhaps you'd have a portion of the beach as part of your property if you bought it?  Not sure...

Proceeding downriver from here, you'll notice a few more houses on the left side after the beach, while on the opposite side you’ll see a boat ramp.  In fact, there were 3 of them on the right side in the first downriver mile - this one, an older one in the middle and a third at the end.  They all looked to border on a street called Shore Acres which had a line of houses extending for about a mile.  I saw the first tree house I can recall seeing on the river in here.  There may have been others, but this one stood out and it looked to have an Asian theme.

Meanwhile, you'll find yourself in the midst of a long and straight 2 mile stretch here, and just after the last ramp you may start to notice some bird houses in the trees.  One had a sign underneath it that I couldn’t quite read.  It had me wondering if these bird houses might mark the site of the Buckley Wildlife Sanctuary and Audubon Center that I knew to border the river in here.  Buckley is a great place to visit, and especially if you’ve got kids.  Whilst on a hike there (there is a fee) I was introduced to all kinds of critters living in the old house that serves as the office/wildlife center.  It's well worth a trip!

Anyway, as you enter a right curve at mile 72 a hill crops in and you can just make out a palisade atop it.  Another hill becomes visible in the distance at mile 71 on a curve left - the hills have switched sides on this “S” curve.  Glenn's Creek enters from the right in the middle and I got in a little more than 200 feet, finding some more of the shad minnows that I love.  They scattered in myriad directions as I paddled in trying to avoid me - first out of the stream as I paddled in and then back in as I paddled out.  Appropriately, Glenn's Creek Road runs right up against the river from this Glenn's Creek down to Vaughan Branch at mile 70.

Once having passed the creek, I noticed some old equipment on my right.  The charts indicated that the Jim Beam Distillery intake was here, but there wasn't any sign of life that I could tell.  In fact, when a friend and I visited the distillery a couple years ago it wasn't located anywhere near here.  It was in Shepherdsville!  Maybe this is an old intake for a former branch of the distillery? A mystery…

Then two more…  The charts indicated that there was a "Kentucky Department of Transportation Bridge" near the end of a curve in mile 71, yet the only bridges visible to me were those for Interstate 64 - one span for northbound traffic and one for southbound.  There was, however, a concrete platform with some stone steps and an iron railing leading down to it on the left.  Were these some remnants of an older bridge?  Later, just past the I64 spans, I found something else odd - some old electric equipment at the water’s edge indicating “Danger High Voltage”!  Yikes!!  I wasn't going anywhere near that!

At any rate, you'll next reach the community of Big Eddy around the Big Eddy Bend which extends for about a mile.  There are houses all through here and almost every one had a boat.  There was another little beach-like area here too, while a very small Vaughan Branch entered from the opposite side through a little concrete viaduct under Glenn's Creek Road. 

The next bend cuts sharply right for another mile just as the Big Eddy Bend had cut sharply left.  The Frankfort Electric and Water Company intake will be in here on your right and I noticed what looked to have been a nice boat ramp at one time, yet there was a pile of rocks which effectively neutralized it now (that, and the chain link fence at the top). 

Next up came a pair of East-West connector bridges for KY676 followed by a stream - Cedar Run - which enters the river under a midsized concrete viaduct bridge.  I could have paddled under it, but I could tell that the slack water would end at the opposite end.  It wouldn’t have been worth all the spider webs I would have had to go through.  :)  There is a public boat ramp here, by the way, at the Cedar Run Bar and I'd considered using it but, given my bad luck with locating ramps, I decided to stick to the one I was familiar with.  Besides, the days are getting shorter.  I don’t need to be searching for ramps.  I need all the time I can get on the water.

Anyway, it’s at Cedar Run that Frankfort seems to really began.  I could see houses atop a large hill over the river and there was a road right along the bank on the left side too (KY420).  The combination made for an interesting 2 tiered landscape with more and more houses becoming visible the further downriver I got.  That's on the left side.  On the right you'll have a nice park-like setting followed by woods and then a cleared out area.  I couldn’t see much from my vantage point but it looked like most of this area was still farmland.

Then, when you reach mile 68 (where some power lines go over the river) you’ll be able to glimpse the top of the Capitol Building over the trees on the left.  Welcome to Frankfort!  From here it’s one thing to see after another.  Frankfort Electric & Water Company is on the left according to the charts (oddly, its water intake was a full mile and a half down on the opposite side across from Big Eddy).  This is followed by the intake for State Air Conditioning. 

An unnamed creek enters across from all this and it was an oddity in that it was unnamed, yet paddleable – for about 100 feet anyway. 

Pass this stream, and the bank quickly ascends to form another tree-lined hillside/mountainside on the right.  It was at the top of this that I spotted what might be Daniel Boone’s Gravesite.  There was a U.S. flag and a yellow ball visible on top of some kind of stone monument here (see photo below).  This is all on the outside of a left curve.  The inside is all South Frankfort.  NOTE:  It wasn't Daniel Boone's grave that I saw, but the Frankfort Cemetery is up there. 

It’s close to 4PM now and I’m seeing a lot more boats.  Jet-ski’s too.  In fact, they’re moving pretty quickly with one doing circles around the river.  You’ll have to watch out here.  They don’t slow down and I get the feeling that this is something of a party pool.  There’s a lot of fun to be had, but if you’re new to paddling or even a bit unsure of your balance in your boat you might want to perfect your “A” game before coming here.  On my last visit I saw a boat just FLY into Benson Creek even though there was a “No Wake” sign up.  Another had done the same thing earlier today and all the boats docked along Shore Acres Road were really being buffeted around.

Two more bridges become visible as you round the next bend.  The one further down is the aforementioned Singing Bridge and the other is the Capital Avenue Bridge (which effectively serves as a divider for KY60 on the north side and KY420 on the south).  Between the two you'll note a really well made stone wall on your right side that appears to stretch the entire distance between the bridges.  There's also a nice old brick building up there and I’ve seen historical markers on the road beside it. 

Now, about the Singing Bridge at mile 66...  Honestly…  Singing?  Maybe wailing/moaning…  All right, singing!  Every car that goes over it seems to make a different sound.  You see, the bottom of the span is grated and I image that the different kinds of tires account for the different tones - hence the name.  Like the Capital Bridge, this one separates Frankfort from South Frankfort with Bridge Road on the north and St. Clair Street on the south.  Also, and as mentioned in the beginning, the boat ramp I used as well as the Frankfort Boat Club and Marina are right here at the base of the bridge on the right.  As per the web link the marina goes way back to 1865 and it contained about 40 boats today, making it the busiest I'd seen since Boonesborough at mile 175.

As you curve to the right following the bridge the hills will crop back in.  There’s a road which has been cut through them, so you’ll see another rock face here with more houses visible at the top.  That’s on the outside of the bend.  On the inside you'll find an area that the charts indicate as being "The Corner in Celebrities” and, sure enough, there are some really nice looking houses here.  Quite a few people of note lived in the area. 

Then, as the curve begins to straighten, you'll notice three more bridges up ahead as per the photo below.  The first is a CSX Railroad Bridge (which appears to be a double decker) and the second pair in white are for KY127 and KY421.  There’s a park at the base of these on the right - the Riverview Park - that includes a fishing pier and boat dock.

Benson Creek enters just past the CSX bridge on the left and yet a couple more bridges pass over it at the beginning.  One is for KY1211/Taylor Avenue while the other might be another, older railroad bridge.  Also of interest here and to the right side of the creek mouth you'll find another of those old, round stone structures with “windows”.  I’ve mentioned in previous entries that I’m not exactly sure what these were.  I’ve been guessing that they’re remnants of old water intakes, but this one has been incorporated into what looks like a house.

Then, if you continue up the creek you'll find a boat ramp on the first right curve...

This is followed by another bridge before you come to an incoming stream on the left.  I’ll check this out…

Wait...

Avast ye matey! (Always wanted to say or write that!)  Lurking back in here is what could be a veritable pirate’s cove; something that I had not unexpected.  It’s kind of hidden back here.  This is the Benson Creek Marina and it looks like a cul-de-sac of boats.  I’d seen it on the charts but I'd assumed it was the little marina immediately downriver from Benson Creek.  Surprise!  There’s a store here, a bar and (total guess) about 30-40 boats today.

As for the Benson Creek itself, it seems to get larger after this.  In fact, I began to wonder if I'd be able to get it all in today and still reach dam 4.  To my mind, Benson at this point looked to be the size of any of the forks above Beattyville, yet do you know that it ended not too much later at a large shoal?  Still, I was able to get in about a mile and a quarter – roughly the longest distance of any side stream yet (keeping in mind that I passed over the Red River in favor of exploring it separately later).  Below are some photos from the back of this stream...

As I paddled out I got just about my clearest view of what must be the tallest building in Frankfort along Wilkinson Avenue.  I wondered if this was where the Kentucky River Authority was housed.  The charts indicate that this is about where it would be.

As I paddled the short remaining distance down to the dam I passed by the aforementioned dock at Riverview Park.  It's really nice and some people were taking advantage of it today.  There's an old boat hulk next to it and I found it interesting because I hadn’t seen any of these in a while.  This one looks like it was probably a barge since the Central Kentucky Sand Barge Facility used to be just downriver from this spot.  The barge is now about 2/3 submerged and it’s angled downward, so that when boats power by it they spray a wave of water that cascades up and over.  If you were behind it you’d get soaked!

Meanwhile, you can still see remnants of the old barge facility itself and it looks like it might have been quite an operation when it was going.  It’s got, as part of its construction, some of those large metal canisters filled with concrete that I’ve seen before at some of the dams.  I believe they call these mooring cells, and while they may be commonplace on the lower sections of the river, I didn’t notice any above dam 5 (besides the ones they put in at dam 9 as part of a reconstruction).

As for lock and dam 4, it's unique in its view because you'll find houses atop a hill just beyond.  All the upriver dams had been in rural areas.  The lock side of this one is right in the community of Bellepoint which lies just across the river from Frankfort.  I didn’t climb up the bank at the lock corner but it would have been fairly easy to do so.  I saw what I think was one of the old lock houses right in the center of a neighborhood.

From here it was time to make my return to the ramp, yet oftentimes I get to these dams and I feel like I haven't stayed long enough to fully enjoy them.   This time I wanted to savor the experience a little longer.  Paddling backwards so as to keep an eye on the scene while still moving, I found myself fighting against a little wind.  Then, at one point, a gust caught me and my boat came fully around with a fair deal of force, as if insistent that I turn around.  Well, wouldn’t you know that as this happened I was staring at a jet-skier coming right at me? 

"Oh, great!"  I thought...  "I should have been paying more attention!  Now I’m going to be chastised for not watching where I’m going and for being right in the middle of the river whilst doing so!”  I braced myself as the man slowed... 

“You’re doing a good job!”    

?!?

The guy told me he'd seen me further up and just wanted to tell me that I was doing a good job.  I figured this could have been the guy that I mentioned earlier doing the circles.  Well, I’m not sure how good of a job I was doing, but I thought it was very kind of him to take away from his fun in order to greet me.  He did confirm that this area was the most utilized of any on the river - and that held for any other river in the state as well!  We also talked about Paddlepalooza and he said that they’d had what seemed like 100 paddlers out here for it.

As the conversation ended, he departed in style.  He was directly in front of me and pointing away so that I was looking right at the back of his jet-ski.  Then as he departed he did so at an extremely rapid pace directly in my line of vision, getting smaller and smaller the farther he got.  It thought it was pretty cool.  I knew jet-ski’s could be fast (and he said his went 60 miles per hour) but I didn’t know that they could go 0-60 that fast!

I got back to the ramp and out without a problem.  You’ll definitely want to bring a map with you though.  Some of the downtown streets are one-way.  The system of roads around the city can be quite confusing as well, so the directions you used coming in may not be the same directions you can use going out.  Therefore, I’ll have to be a little vague when describing…

DIRECTIONS:

The ramp is behind the Paul Sawyier Library at 319 Wapping Street in Frankfort.  This is between the Singing Bridge and the Good Shephard Church.  If you travel northwest from the intersection of Wapping Street and Washington Street you’ll drive right back into the library parking lot.  Take a left at the end (this borders the river) and if you go straight after taking this left, you’ll drive right down the ramp.