Quick Trip to Ky to Ride our Motorcycle and See Some Leaf Color

We took Silvia the Goldwing motorcycle and Friday proved to be a great day for riding. We wanted to do some riding through the country and my brother told me about Ky Route 32 from just north of Sandy Hook to Morehead. Then my Dad told us about Ky 1167 just south of Morehead Ky. Both roads were perfect for motorcycle riding and the autumn colors had begun to offer a preview of the beauty to come in a few days.

"Back in the day", when going to Ashland to get dozer parts from Whayne Supply company for a Caterpillar D6, I often drove thru Sandy Hook and the Laurel Gorge. Later road improvements have resulted in a modern highway and bridge that completely bypasses the gorge and old iron bridge. I wanted to revisit the old bridge to see if I could remember anything.

We accessed one side of the bridge and met some locals who told us how to access the other end of the bridge which would take us through the gorge.

So we backtracked and headed to the other end of the old steel bridge. Then we saw a mural on one of the supports for the new bridge. My wife is artsy fartsy but I have trouble with many types of art. However I can relate to folk art. And there on the bridge support was some folk art. And it was pretty neat. I could relate to it.

We spent some time teasing out the details in the mural. The raccoon, the girls on a teeter totter, the boys playing marbles. The four seasons captured in one mural (note the snow on the evergreens, the smoke from the chimney, the vegetable garden and the autumn colors in the trees). We thought that was all there was to see.

We turned around at the old steel bridge and headed back out of the gorge. Then we saw more of the mural on the side of the support and on the back side. There was more to enjoy!

The swinging bridge from the first side continued on the side with a boy fishing in the river and on the back side were some people in a canoe and an automobile. We really enjoyed this backroads find. And the thing that amazed me was the mural was more than 8 years old and there was no graffiti or shotgun damage. A pretty neat find.

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Ky Route 1167 south of Morehead was a very nice ride with lots of vistas and farms along with a large rock overhanging the road.

On Saturday we went looking for a cemetery. In the mid 2000's I got deep into my genealogy and wrote a book for my family. Our great grandfather William E. Daniel was one of eight siblings. I have found all their graves except for Augustus Daniel. I have been looking for fifteen years. Then in December 2019 I received an email through my website from a great grandchild of Augustus. After some email exchanges she stated that she, her brother and uncle owned the farm where Augustus and Nevada were buried.

Turns out she and I are 3rd cousins and live about two miles from each other here in NC. We planned to meet but then Covid 19 interfered. I emailed her again recently when I knew we were headed back to Ky and made plans to look for the cemetery.

So on Saturday, in a gentle rain from a gulf coast hurricane, myself, my Dad, my sister Lora and her young daughter Kelsey drove over into Elliot County, Ky to look for the cemetery. We found the old homeplace in a bad state of decay. We think the house belonged to the son in law of Augustus and Nevada Daniel. It had 5 bedrooms and indoor plumbing. It was probably a very nice home in its day.

We backtracked to an oil well road before the homeplace as my directions stated the path to the cemetery was before the house. We doubted the road led to the cemetery as it was too recent but we were committed to finding the cemetery. We walked a couple of hundred yards up a very steep road and considered giving up. But Kelsey rushed ahead and stated she had found a trail leading off to the right.

We decided to walk a little further and the trail was actually a short track from the oil field road to the cemetery. We had found Augustus and Nevada after fifteen years of looking.

The cemetery was typical of eastern Ky cemeteries. Straight up a very steep hill and on a point. The old timers thought a grave on a point would not hold water and they did not want to use up precious bottom land which was needed for corn and vegetable gardens.

My sister Lora and her daughter Kelsey enjoyed the outing and have a renewed interest in our genealogy.

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