Notes In The Margin

Yesterday I went out to Talon Winery, which is out on Tates Creek Road, at 37d54.438,-84d27.139

This is the first winery in Fayette County. They've been there for 4 years, but are just now announcing their presence to the public, and should have some releases available in retail outlets soon, although I'm not sure where.

They've got 5 wines so far, and they are about 50% from Kentucky-grown grapes, with the eventual goal of being 100% Kentucky-grown, mostly estate-grown. They have enormous tracts of land, and although only a little of it is planted right now, they hope to expand over time. They've got *very* cool equipment, including the automatic bottle filler/corker/labeller machine, which appears to be the only one of its kind in the state.

The wine-maker there is, to a small extent, a student of Chris Nelson, of Chrisman Mill, but he has intentionally avoided learning about Chris' actual wine-making style, so that he can develop his own. Which is very good, I must say.

They have a Cabernet, Chacellor, and a Chardonnay, a blush and a sweet-ish niagra-based wine. The niagra, which I was sure I'd hate, was actually pretty good, I must grudgingly admit. And the blush might just grow on me, with lovely peach overtones. The Cab is big, jammy, and yummy, with a wonderful caramel/smoke/earthy backbone and enough tannin to squirrel away for a year or five. And the Chardonnay is ... well, it's a Chardonnay, but it's not over-oaked. And they make a point of aging only in Kentucky White Oak, which is probably unique in the world, outside of a Bourbon distillery.

The winemaker there (Bah, I didn't get his name) is very knowledgeable, and knows exactly what he likes. He's clearly willing to experiment to accomplish it, and based on some of the stories he told, he also knows how to deal with the unexpected things that fate and the harvest throw his way.

I encourage you to go out there (see map linked above) and see their spread. Even if you are completely uninterested in the product, the place is beautiful, and a great place to go for a summer picnic.

Oh, and their grand opening will be on the 14th of August, with live music and food.

I went camping again last night, with much better results.

I started out at the "trailhead" at the Asbury College challenge course. I had pitched my tent, and was settling in and reading, when the manager for the property arrived. Although, of course, I suspected, I never knew for sure what the policy was about random strangers (or even Alumni) camping on this property. I can now tell you without any doubts that the policy is "No, don't do that."

*sigh*

Due in part, I think, to my RailTrail bumper sticker (he had one too), rather than just chasing me off in shame, he suggested a couple of other places, with the caveat that it would take a little doing to get there. I picked one of these places, and I'll probably post the corrdinates, as soon as my GPSr finishes syncing.

Since I didn't have a decent pack yet, I had rather counted on driving to the camp site, and didn't really have stuff in a format that was easy to carry. But it was only about a half mile, so it wasn't a big deal. I left some of the stuff behind, and carried my tent, sleeping bag, and a satchel of other stuff, up to the spot.

Turns out that getting chased away from my chosen spot was the best thing that could have happened. It was absolutely gorgeous up there. There was a little firepit, a stone wall, and a view down into the Kentucky River. I didn't take any pictures of the place, as it was getting rather dark. I'm not certain I even had my camera with me. Sunset was at 9:04 yesterday, and I had about 30 minutes to get set up.

On the way up to the campsite, I came out into a clearing, and there was a large doe perhaps 150 feet away. We stood and watched each other for about 3 minutes. Then, when I started moving again, she bounded off into the bushes.

After it started getting dark, the frogs started. There were two different songs - two species, I presume - and they were *LOUD*. There were crickets, too, but they were much quieter.

I went for a little walk in the dark. I have a head lamp, which is 2 white LEDs and is very bright. I saw, down the hill from where I was camping, a pair of eyes reflecting the light. They were close to the ground, and fairly close together. I don't know what it was, but later in the night - maybe 3 or 4 in the morning - I heard a coyote, and a bunch of dogs barking at it. The coyote sang for quite some time.

The other big advantage of being a fair hike from the Jeep is that there's less incentive to pack up and wimp out. You kinda have to stick it out until the sun comes up, since lugging all that stuff in the dark would be less than safe.

Although it was a new moon last night, it was still very bright, which was a bit of a disappointment. I'm not sure where the light was coming from, but I HATE LIGHT POLLUTION.

Anyways, I've wanted a decent pack for some time, and the hike up the hill with my tent and my sleeping bag in my arms, along with the fact that a nice check arrived from Big Nerd Ranch, persuaded me to go ahead and get one. I got the North Face MG55, which is probably more pack than I need, but I think that it's a worthwhile investment. North Face makes the best camping equipment you can buy, and it should last at least as long as I'm capable of carrying it. The only problem I see so far is that I have a cheap Walmart sleeping bag which doesn't compress very well, and so I have to hang it below. Perhaps this isn't a big deal, but could get cumbersome for longer hikes. We'll see, the first time I actually use it. Perhaps I'll go back up to this spot next weekend, and see how it works out.

Or perhaps I'll take Phydeaux up on his offer.

Last night I pitched my tent at 37° 54.196N, 84° 36.485W, a spot that, at the moment, is a small clearing in a wooded patch at the back of a large tract of land on Harrodsburg road, and which a few months from now will be some rich family's back yard, or perhaps their breakfast nook.

(Yeah, I know, I was trespassing. I don't expect it did anyone any harm.)

Unfortunately, I could not sleep, due to the constant noise that went on all night. Trains, cars, airplanes, trucks idling, and some other noises that I could not identify, but which were of some human origin.

I figured that out in the middle of nowhere, it would be quiet and free from light pollution, but as the sun went down it was clear that civilization is encroaching on this spot from all directions. I'm pretty sure that the spot *used* to be in the middle of nowhere, but it's not anymore.

Until about 9, there was the driving beat of some not-terribly-talented youth practicing drums in his garage, as well as very loud lawn maintenance equipment - perhaps a weedeater or hedge trimmer.

Finally, about 2am, I struck camp and just came home. And, just in time too. I missed the heavy rain by about 5 minutes. Almost as soon as I was on the road, the downpour let loose.

Oh well, perhaps I have to wait until later in the summer, and go a little father out into the country, in order to get a pleasant camping experience.

Finally getting a moment two write down some of my impressions about the Big Nerd Ranch. Assuming that the folks on #apache will leave me along long enough ...

I arrived at Big Nerd Ranch late Sunday evening. I navigated all the way there by GPS, and when I was about .25mi from the place, I couldn't find the road to turn on. So I called Emily, who gave me the last instruction I needed. The place is about an hour south of Atlanta, and far enough into the boonies to be outside of the city-glow. It was nearly 11 when I arrived, and by then it was completely dark.

The Ranch is located on the site of the historic Banning Mill and the lodge thereof. It is quiet, out of cell phone range, far from the city lights, far from traffic sounds, clean, and amazingly beautiful.

I woke in the morning to the sound of the river and the birds. I walked out onto the balcony/porch, and saw the river and the falls. It was quite breathtaking. The cabins are high above the river/stream, with balconies hanging precariously out the back.

Apparently the land was originally owned by the Bowens, and the name of the township was later changed to Banning because the mail for Bowentown was getting confused with the mail for nearby Bowersville.

I seem to remember that when the Bowens came to the New World in about 1640, that some of them stayed in the north, and another bunch moved to Atlanta. Apparently this is that bunch.

There is a dam on the river. It's been broken down now, but much of it remains, made of HUGE rocks. Then there are spillways down each side of the river, each going to a water mill wheel far down stream. On one side of the river is the old paper mill, now just the stone foundation, made of equally HUGE stones. It burned in 1905 and was never rebuilt. You can see some pictures of it here (1045, 1046 and 1047) They made paper there out of pine and rags.

On the other side, there's a textile mill, which was in operation prior to the Civil War. They had electric turbines back then, and people used to come from Atlanta to watch the lights come on. They claim that they had electric power before the invention of the lightbulb, and were using it for the textile process. They claim that it's the first hydroelectric generation plant in the southern US, and possibly in the world. That building is still there - it's the large brick building in the photos referenced above.

The training facility is at the back of the lodge, and overlooks the river. The Internet connection was satelite based, and went out during the heavy rains. And there was negligible cell phone reception unless one climbed up on the roof. These turned out to be small detriment to what we wanted to do. If anything, the absence of cell phones was a HUGE bonus.

Each day started with a wonderful southern breakfast. When we were done eating, we started class, and went until lunch, which was equally wonderful. After lunch, about the time that people started getting sleepy, we went for a hike down along the river, or around the Mill property, for an hour or so. After that, we resumed training until 6, when dinner was served. In all, a very full day.

Evenings were freeform, with nothing much planned. On some of the evenings, I showed DVDs on the big screen in the training room. We watched Finding Nemo, Office Space, and Hackers. Need to take more geek movies next time. :-)

So that's the long and short of it. The city folks found it too quiet, and had a hard time sleeping at nights. (!!) The rooms were equipped with fans for the purpose of making noise for the city folks. I should have taken a picture of them, labeled as "noise fan." And if you didn't have a flashlight, it was pretty hard to find your room after dark. I loved it, and I'm looking forward to going back.