41 replies to this topic

[roadmaven]

Hi folks....
Thanks to a thread in another forum, an idea has emerged consisting of a weekend cruise on Kentucky's Dixie Highway. We're looking at early-mid April 2007 right now, with the Wigwam Village #2 in Cave City, KY being our overnight stop. The sketch we have so far would be to gather at the Wigwam Friday night and depart on our journey Saturday morning. Possible stops include the Coca-Cola museum in Elizabethtown, the Whiskey Museum in Bardstown, the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, and possibly even heading down into Nashville, TN. Regardless of where we'd go that day, we'd end up back at the Wigwam Saturday night for a (hopefully) evening out in the courtyard discussing anything & everything road-related. The party would head home Sunday morning.
So, with that rough schedule in mind, what weekends are good for those of you who might be interested in doing this? As far as I know, the only weekend I couldn't would be the 3rd weekend in April. So far myself, Denny, and Bliss have shown some interest in this. Let us know your thoughts!

Cheers,

[BabyBoomerBob]

Hi folks....
Thanks to a thread in another forum, an idea has emerged consisting of a weekend cruise on Kentucky's Dixie Highway. We're looking at early-mid April 2007 right now, with the Wigwam Village #2 in Cave City, KY being our overnight stop. The sketch we have so far would be to gather at the Wigwam Friday night and depart on our journey Saturday morning. Possible stops include the Coca-Cola museum in Elizabethtown, the Whiskey Museum in Bardstown, the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, and possibly even heading down into Nashville, TN. Regardless of where we'd go that day, we'd end up back at the Wigwam Saturday night for a (hopefully) evening out in the courtyard discussing anything & everything road-related. The party would head home Sunday morning.
So, with that rough schedule in mind, what weekends are good for those of you who might be interested in doing this? As far as I know, the only weekend I couldn't would be the 3rd weekend in April. So far myself, Denny, and Bliss have shown some interest in this. Let us know your thoughts!

Cheers,

Oh man! Count me in! I've been wanting to meet some of the folks who have been posting here for quite a while. So far, I've only met Denny, and we've had some great time together. And a trip on the Dixie would be great! Either direction from Cave City, I'm not fussy:)

The only thing is it's hard to plan a schedule when I have no idea if or when Susan will be working. That will have to be worked out a little closer to April. She had an interview a week ago and should hear if she gets the job in about another week. I've got my fingers crossed:)

[RoadDog]

Sounds good to me. I'd be up for it.

I haven't done much with the Dixie Highway except US-41 through Indiana to Nashville (if that is a part of it)..

[fran66]

Hi Pat and Denny,
Just talked to my sister, Dolly, and we are interested. Sounds like it would be a great trip for us and a chance to see old friends and also make new ones. Our Missouri Association meeting is being held on April 14 here in Cuba at Bob's Gasoline Alley....so we couldn't make it that weekend, but any other would be fine. Let me know of any plans you've made so far.
Fran in Cuba, MO.

[roadmaven]

Hi Pat and Denny,
Just talked to my sister, Dolly, and we are interested. Sounds like it would be a great trip for us and a chance to see old friends and also make new ones. Our Missouri Association meeting is being held on April 14 here in Cuba at Bob's Gasoline Alley....so we couldn't make it that weekend, but any other would be fine. Let me know of any plans you've made so far.
Fran in Cuba, MO.

Thanks Fran! We'll keep your date in mind when setting up the schedule.

[DennyG]

OK, we're starting to get semi-serious about this so you can do some planning. Picking a date was step one and Saturday April 28 is the winner. We will plan on leaving the Cave City Wigwam Village sometime in the morning and driving a loop that will bring us back to the Wigwams for the evening. There will certainly be roadie chit chat in the center of the circle of wigwams and we may even have a cookout there for Saturday's dinner. That detail (and a lot of others) have yet to be worked out. There are ten wigwams with one double bed and five with a pair of them. We have a group rate of $40.50 for the singles and $49.50 for the doubles. Everyone should make their own reservations by calling (270) 773-3381 and mentioning Gibson.

Current thinking on the Saturday cruise is to follow the Dixie Highway (US-31W) north to Elizabethtown then either US-62 or the Blue Grass Parkway to Bardstown for lunch at Talbott's Tavern. From there, we'll take the Jackson Highway (US-31E) south to near Cave City. There are a number of possible stops along the way and which ones we schedule will depend on your feedback. The same goes for selecting the Elizabethtown->Bardstown route. We are considering the Coca-Cola Museum in Elizabethtown, the Whiskey Museum in Bardstown, and Lincoln's Birthplace near Hodgenville for starters but there is also a car museum in Elizabethtown and a distillery in Bardstown plus we are certainly open to any other suggestions.

Arriving on Friday or staying through Sunday may make sense to some and the group rate applies to those nights, too. Pat is thinking of possibly having a Friday cruise down from Indianapolis and I'm guessing sub-groups from other directions are also a possibility. All that's required is to be at the Wigwam Village by whatever time we decide on. (Yeah, that's up for discussion, too.) There is talk of a visit to the Corvette Museum on Sunday, Mammoth Caves is real close, (It is called Cave City;-), and Nashville isn't all that far away. All we're really coordinating is a Saturday drive and evening chit chat, er, I mean pow wow as a focal point but we'll gladly help with any questions on pre- or post- cruise activities.

The date is over two months away so there is time to work out details but sooner is better than later in reserving wigwams and voicing interests. Getting a preliminary head count is also a good thing. Let us know your plans by posting here or dropping Pat (roadmaven@aol.com) or me (denny@dennygibson.com) a note.

For you Dixie Highway experts, any guidance you can offer will be appreciated even if you can't join us and even more if you can.

[brownwho63]

Count us in! Making wigwam reservation today for Friday and Saturday nights. Will drive down from STL on Friday and leave for parts unknown on Sunday...Bliss

OK, we're starting to get semi-serious about this so you can do some planning. Picking a date was step one and Saturday April 28 is the winner. We will plan on leaving the Cave City Wigwam Village sometime in the morning and driving a loop that will bring us back to the Wigwams for the evening. There will certainly be roadie chit chat in the center of the circle of wigwams and we may even have a cookout there for Saturday's dinner. That detail (and a lot of others) have yet to be worked out. There are ten wigwams with one double bed and five with a pair of them. We have a group rate of $40.50 for the singles and $49.50 for the doubles. Everyone should make their own reservations by calling (270) 773-3381 and mentioning Gibson.

Current thinking on the Saturday cruise is to follow the Dixie Highway (US-31W) north to Elizabethtown then either US-62 or the Blue Grass Parkway to Bardstown for lunch at Talbott's Tavern. From there, we'll take the Jackson Highway (US-31E) south to near Cave City. There are a number of possible stops along the way and which ones we schedule will depend on your feedback. The same goes for selecting the Elizabethtown->Bardstown route. We are considering the Coca-Cola Museum in Elizabethtown, the Whiskey Museum in Bardstown, and Lincoln's Birthplace near Hodgenville for starters but there is also a car museum in Elizabethtown and a distillery in Bardstown plus we are certainly open to any other suggestions.

Arriving on Friday or staying through Sunday may make sense to some and the group rate applies to those nights, too. Pat is thinking of possibly having a Friday cruise down from Indianapolis and I'm guessing sub-groups from other directions are also a possibility. All that's required is to be at the Wigwam Village by whatever time we decide on. (Yeah, that's up for discussion, too.) There is talk of a visit to the Corvette Museum on Sunday, Mammoth Caves is real close, (It is called Cave City;-), and Nashville isn't all that far away. All we're really coordinating is a Saturday drive and evening chit chat, er, I mean pow wow as a focal point but we'll gladly help with any questions on pre- or post- cruise activities.

The date is over two months away so there is time to work out details but sooner is better than later in reserving wigwams and voicing interests. Getting a preliminary head count is also a good thing. Let us know your plans by posting here or dropping Pat (roadmaven@aol.com) or me (denny@dennygibson.com) a note.

For you Dixie Highway experts, any guidance you can offer will be appreciated even if you can't join us and even more if you can.

[fran66]

Count my sister Dolly and I in also. Just made reservations for Friday and Saturday, and will also leave St. Louis on Friday. Looking forward to seeing all of you and having a great weekend!

Fran in Cuba, MO.

[roadmaven]

Count my sister Dolly and I in also. Just made reservations for Friday and Saturday, and will also leave St. Louis on Friday. Looking forward to seeing all of you and having a great weekend!

Fran in Cuba, MO.

Fran, I fully expect a full cooler of hops & barley from you to keep our "spirits" high as you used to for everyone traveling Route 66 through Cuba.

As a side note for everyone attending the cruise, as Denny mentioned, I'll be following the west alignment of the DH out of Indy on that Friday. Prior to the start of it, we'll be kicking off the drive at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis where we'll pay homage to the creator of the DH, Carl Fisher. What better way to start a DH journey than to remember the gent who got the whole thing started?

[DennyG]

Here (Dave Trippin: Cave City, Ky) is a newspaper article apparently published today (How does Google do it?) about a Cave City visit. The writer stayed at Wigwam Village but doesn't give a lot of details. He does talk about Mammoth Cave & Dinosaur World which won't be part of Saturday's cruise but would be great places for visits on Friday or Sunday or beyond. Kip & kin really enjoyed Dinosaur World on their trip last fall. Read about that here .

Some readers of the newspaper article may notice that the Cave City stop was on the way to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis and are wondering just how that went. Quite well, thank you. The top band was the Sean Carney Band from Columbus, OH, and the second place solo/duo was Sonny Moorman from Cincinnati, OH. Yep, Buckeyes can boogie.

[BabyBoomerBob]

[quote name='DennyG' date='Feb 5 2007, 03:08 PM' post='6385']
OK, we're starting to get semi-serious about this so you can do some planning. Picking a date was step one and Saturday April 28 is the winner. We will plan on leaving the Cave City Wigwam Village sometime in the morning and driving a loop that will bring us back to the Wigwams for the evening. There will certainly be roadie chit chat in the center of the circle of wigwams and we may even have a cookout there for Saturday's dinner. That detail (and a lot of others) have yet to be worked out. There are ten wigwams with one double bed and five with a pair of them. We have a group rate of $40.50 for the singles and $49.50 for the doubles. Everyone should make their own reservations by calling (270) 773-3381 and mentioning Gibson.

Current thinking on the Saturday cruise is to follow the Dixie Highway (US-31W) north to Elizabethtown then either US-62 or the Blue Grass Parkway to Bardstown for lunch at Talbott's Tavern. From there, we'll take the Jackson Highway (US-31E) south to near Cave City. There are a number of possible stops along the way and which ones we schedule will depend on your feedback. The same goes for selecting the Elizabethtown->Bardstown route. We are considering the Coca-Cola Museum in Elizabethtown, the Whiskey Museum in Bardstown, and Lincoln's Birthplace near Hodgenville for starters but there is also a car museum in Elizabethtown and a distillery in Bardstown plus we are certainly open to any other suggestions.

Arriving on Friday or staying through Sunday may make sense to some and the group rate applies to those nights, too. Pat is thinking of possibly having a Friday cruise down from Indianapolis and I'm guessing sub-groups from other directions are also a possibility. All that's required is to be at the Wigwam Village by whatever time we decide on. (Yeah, that's up for discussion, too.) There is talk of a visit to the Corvette Museum on Sunday, Mammoth Caves is real close, (It is called Cave City;-), and Nashville isn't all that far away. All we're really coordinating is a Saturday drive and evening chit chat, er, I mean pow wow as a focal point but we'll gladly help with any questions on pre- or post- cruise activities.

The date is over two months away so there is time to work out details but sooner is better than later in reserving wigwams and voicing interests. Getting a preliminary head count is also a good thing. Let us know your plans by posting here or dropping Pat (roadmaven@aol.com) or me (denny@dennygibson.com) a note.

For you Dixie Highway experts, any guidance you can offer will be appreciated even if you can't join us and even more if you can.



Oh brother! After reading how many folks already had reservations at the Wigwam Village, I thought I'd better hustle before all the rooms were gone. mission accomplished:) Right now, I don't know how many will be making the trip. susan will be coming if her work schedule permits. And we're trying to get Kevin Redden to come down and make the trip with us.

This will fit nicely with a new project I'm planning...driving US 37, the highway that never was. It was planned to run from Chattanooga to just above Louisville, but was never approved, though it was listed on some old maps. Hopefully, I'll make the run from Chattanooga to Crossville sometime in March, the from Crossville to Glasgow, KY on the way up to Cave City. The remaining part? I'll figure that out later:)

[DennyG]

Glad you're coming Bob and hope Susan & Kevin can make it, too. I've heard no complaints so assume that making reservations has gone smoothly. We're not yet at risk of Wigwam overflow but I believe we have reached critical mass. I count five teepees full so far and plenty of time (and teepees) remain.

[roadmaven]

For those of you interested in going, here is the URL for the Wigwam Village. Definitely worth a look:

www.wigwamvillage.com

So far it looks like we've got five confirmed vehicles for the weekend. Hope to see YOU there too.

[DennyG]

Saturday April 28th Itinerary

We've finally trimmed our long list of possibilities down to something comfortable and figure to have a good time before returning to the wigwams for grilling and gabbing. In between a Coca-Cola museum and a bourbon distillery we'll have lunch at an eighteenth century tavern then stop by Abe Lincoln's birthplace on the way "home". In order to make this fairly leisurely, we are planning on a 9:00 start. But that is the only item with even a suggested time and we're softies so it's not all that absolute. Here's the "itinerary":

• 9:00 AM depart Wigwam Village #2
• Dixie Highway (US-31W) to Elizabethtown
• Schmidt's Museum of Coca-cola Memorabilia
• US-62 to Bardstown
• Lunch at Talbott's Tavern
• Heaven Hill Distillery
• Jackson Highway (US-31E) through Hodgenville
• Lincoln Birthplace
• more Jackson Highway (US-31E)
• cookout at wigwams

So far it seems like folks are also spending Friday night at the wigwams although arrival times are unpredictable. As the date gets closer, Pat will have thoughts on the cook out and there may be a "burger fund" contribution or he may ask for folks to supply an item or two. Everybody buys their own lunch, admission to the Coke museum is $5, and the distillery is free. Wigwams remain available at $40.50 & $49.50. I'm tired of winter and I'm ready to roll.

[roadmaven]

Glad you're coming Bob and hope Susan & Kevin can make it, too. I've heard no complaints so assume that making reservations has gone smoothly. We're not yet at risk of Wigwam overflow but I believe we have reached critical mass. I count five teepees full so far and plenty of time (and teepees) remain.

It appears the folks at the Wigwam haven't paid their domain fee, as the site is currently parked. I wonder if they even know they have a website, as this is the one previous owner Ivan John created.

[Alex Burr - hester_nec]

Hi folks....
Thanks to a thread in another forum, an idea has emerged consisting of a weekend cruise on Kentucky's Dixie Highway. We're looking at early-mid April 2007 right now, with the Wigwam Village #2 in Cave City, KY being our overnight stop. The sketch we have so far would be to gather at the Wigwam Friday night and depart on our journey Saturday morning. Possible stops include the Coca-Cola museum in Elizabethtown, the Whiskey Museum in Bardstown, the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, and possibly even heading down into Nashville, TN. Regardless of where we'd go that day, we'd end up back at the Wigwam Saturday night for a (hopefully) evening out in the courtyard discussing anything & everything road-related. The party would head home Sunday morning.
So, with that rough schedule in mind, what weekends are good for those of you who might be interested in doing this? As far as I know, the only weekend I couldn't would be the 3rd weekend in April. So far myself, Denny, and Bliss have shown some interest in this. Let us know your thoughts!

Cheers,

Sounds good to me - I couldn't make it in April, but if there are future plans in the area I probably could and would love to get together.
Oh, by the way, (pay attention Denny G), I'll be moving to Memphis sometime in the next few weeks - hopefully. We have a buyer for our house, if it goes thru - herself is moving back to the old house here in town, and I'm moving to Memphis. Sometimes things don't work out.
Happy traveling folks.

Hudsonly,
Alex Burr

[DennyG]

It appears the folks at the Wigwam haven't paid their domain fee, as the site is currently parked. I wonder if they even know they have a website, as this is the one previous owner Ivan John created.

I saw that last night hence the substitute link to RoadsideAmerica in the itinerary post. I didn't feel up to a phone call last night so put it on my mental to do list where it still sits. Hopefully sometime today.

13-mar-07 17:30 EDT
I called the Wigwams and verified that all is well with the motel and that management is working to get the website back on line. I got the impression that there is a third party (designer/host/???) involved that they have to deal with so things aren't as streamlined as they could be. Anyway, teepees & telephone are safe and the website will return ASAP.

17-mar-07 06:30 EDT
The website is back and I've corrected the link in the itinerary post. The content hasn't changed and still contains the out of date information that Wigwam Village #7 is "in very poor condition" when it is actually now in the best shape of them all. I've mentioned that before but we'll all have to work on it.

[roadmaven]

Just to give everyone an update, Denny made a scouting trip to Cave City this past weekend. As of then, there were still some teepees still available, but CALL NOW if you even think you might go. Also, due to Denny's field work, he discovered what we're 99.3% sure is an old alightment of the DH. Mapquest satellite images somewhat confirm these findings. So, hats off to DG for the find we would've likely bypassed. Just a mere 5 weeks til the cruise!

[RoadDog]

There was an article in this past Sunday's Chicago Tribune travel section about touring the seven bourbon makers places all located near Bardstown. It got me mighty thirsty for some good sippin'.

Phil Vettel, the author, visited Heaven Hill and was very impressed with it.

Others nearby are Jim Bean, Maker's Mark, Buffalo Trace, Four Roses, Wild Turkey, and Woodward.

[DennyG]

Didn't that article make you want to join us and visit Heaven Hill yourself?

I've toured Maker's Mark, Buffalo Trace, and Woodford (I'm pretty sure that's what you meant) and, even though they're all making bourbon, they are each unique in some way. We kind of settled on Heaven Hill because it was the least out of the way but I also think it might be the most visitor oriented of the bunch. I haven't mentioned it since we all have fireside chatting in mind, but the same group that does the fall Bourbon Festival (Bardstown is known as the "Bourbon Capital of the World") is holding a Bourbon Sampler on the Saturday night we're staying at the Wigwams.