Day 12 - May 22, 2023. Tell City, IN - Brandenburg, KY

Well that was a nice quick trip to Indiana.  Reversed our route this morning back over the Ohio River and into Kentucky.  




We were riding close to the south shore of the Ohio River and quickly spied the source of the pulp & paper odour that permeated the air pretty much from the get-go this morning.  The Domtar Hawesville Paper Plant.


Close to the paper plant are the Cannelton Locks and Dam.  The locks were completed in 1967.  The dam was completed in 1974.


We took a quiet county road (1406) that took us right by the Domtar plant.  No stink there; it all went west with the wind......





The first 20 miles were very pleasant.  A few historical plaques along the way, some fun hills and very little wind.  A nice blue bridge in Cloverport.  The water around these parts is pretty brown.  Sure miss our cystal-clear mountain rivers!








Thought about a trade-in, but no one seemed to be home.


The Joseph Holt homestead appears to be undergoing refurbishment.  The property backs right onto the Ohio River.  






It was pretty much a straight shot from SAG1 to SAG2.  Lots of wind and lots of hills.  Very few pictures.  While we rode through a lot of flat-ish farmland the last few days, we returned to more hills and forests today.  

At mile 41 we entered the Eastern Time Zone, so turned the clocks ahead and upped our chances of having our rooms ready when we rolled in.

Towards the end of today's ride we started to see the white fences more typical of the horse region of Kentucky (the sightings didn't last....)  Also saw a dairy barn, but I didn't see any cows until near the end.  No horses yet, though........



We haven't seen much obvious evidence of the UGRR.  But - the Ohio River was hugely important in the flight to freedom.  Generally - states north of the river were "free" states and those south were "slave" states.  It was one thing to reach the river, but crossing it would have been extremely difficult.  Tomorrow we head to Louisville, and then I think in subsequent days we'll be in more active UGRR territory.  

On a more sobering note - one of our riders had a crash today.  She was taken by ambulance to a trauma hospital in Louisville where she spent about a week.  She underwent surgeries for a broken jaw and for broken fingers.  She also had broken ribs and teeth.  Her family was able to get there from the west coast quite quickly and drove her home after she was released.  It can happen so quickly.............


Brandenburg, Kentucky

Population 2,894 (2020).  Another town on the Ohio River.  Brandenburg was built on a 3,000 acre tract of land called Falling Springs, purchased in 1804 by Solomon Brandenburg.  He opened a tavern around which the community grew.  It was finally incorporated in 1872.  It was the site of the Battle of Brandenburg Crossing during the Civil War.  In 1974 31 people were killed by an F5 tornado.  128 homes and 30 businesses were destroyed.  In 2000 the median household income was $36,351.  


Stats for the day:

Distance:  88.7 km / 55 miles

Elevation (Garmin):  1094m up / 1051m down.  3590' up / 3449' down.

Elevation (RWGPS):  1173m up / 1128m down.  3848' up / 3700' down.

Weather:  9C - 28C.  Sunny.  Not much wind for the first 20 miles, but a pesky headwind the rest of the day.






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