Have you been to the Cascade mountains? If not do you plan on going? It looks like an amazing area.
Hate to admit this, but I've never been in the Cascades. Having said that, I'd love to check them out someday, I agree that they look awesome on film and in books.

Asked on Friday August 27, 2010 - 1:41pm

Hello, I believe I saw you at the Rossie O'Donnel pancake and bluegrass benefit festival out at Ashland a couple of weeks back. Are you doing any more gigs soon?
Hate to break this to you, but I wasn't at this world-famous event. I've spent most of my summer working as a sound engineer for the Friends of Nolin Lake. I do have one more scheduled event for the season, the 2010 Edmonson County Homecoming, September 4th on the square in Brownsville, Kentucky. As of right now, we have seven bands scheduled to perform, should be a fun day for all.

Asked on Tuesday August 24, 2010 - 8:51pm

Is that building in your latest picture the old Jack Daniels house?
Not as far as I know. I'm not much of a whiskey historian.

Asked on Friday August 13, 2010 - 11:15am

Referring to your latest picture, when the water level is that high, does it effect the cave in any way?
This is a great question, and the answer is absolutely "YES". The water table in Mammoth Cave is exactly the same as the Green River outside. As such, when the river rises, the underground streams within the cave system mirror the changes. During this last flooding event some of the tours had to be re-routed because the lower levels of the cave were totally flooded. In one of the lower-level rooms (River Hall) the benches were floating up against the ceiling. Also, there was so much debris washed down the hillsides a couple of entrances were heavily impacted and had to be cleared for tours to resume.

Asked on Friday May 14, 2010 - 2:29pm

Hello Chet, Bobby Clearfield here to possibly correct you on your bird photo. Are you sure that is not a Cedar Waxwing? Where is the shot taken? It is a nice picture regardless. Chat with you latter and Barb says hi too.
Hey Bobby. Welcome back to Western-Traveler, good to see that you're still visiting the site. In response to your assertion that the bird in the most recent photo may in fact be a Cedar Waxwing, sorry but you're wrong on this one. There are three types of Thrush that are really similar, but the reddish tail feathers, what the bird in question was eating and the pattern on its chest all point to a Hermit. This has been verified by several "birders" who were approached with your allegation of mis-identification. I don't know where this image was taken as it was contributed by Mr. Chad Wilson of Bowling Green, Kentucky, who will be gracing the pages of WT with more of his photography over the months to come.

Asked on Friday May 7, 2010 - 4:59pm

Have you ever climbed on top of Old Smokey? Is that a mountain in Kentucky?
I have never been on top of Old Smokey. Most folks think that this mountain, made famous in a bluegrass/folk song is in Tennessee. However, Old Smokey Mountain is a mountain summit in Yuma County, Arizona, topping out at 4,288 feet above sea level.

Asked on Tuesday April 13, 2010 - 5:37pm

What kind of rock is your close up picture of on your banner photo? It looks to me like either a quartz or gypsum.
I think you're talking about a close-up of Glass Mountain, a gypsum dome my buddy Jeff and I came across in Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. This oddity rises about 15 feet above the valley floor in the lower Cathedral Valley. Lucky for all of us this is currently a desert region, because gypsum is a soluable mineral and will eventually dissolve away with sufficient rainfall, could take a while (HOPEFULLY).

Asked on Friday April 2, 2010 - 10:31am

Hi Chet. Marlin Kepechi here. We met at the park a few days back. I just wanted to give you a shout out and also ask if you know of any good hiking areas around Mammoth Cave where I can hike where horses are not around? They really muck up the trails and such.
Hey Marlin, nice hearing from you. In answer to your trails question, keep in mind that all the trails on the south side of the Green River at Mammoth Cave are in very good condition. Also, the Sal Hollow Trail on the north side is good as well (horse aren't allowed on them until next year). The park is hoping to build a brand new trail in the near future (Big Hollow Trail) just for hikers and mountain bikers. As for as other hiking areas, not much in central Kentucky. The best hiking in the state can be found (in my opinion) at the Big South Fork and Cumberland Gap areas. Also, many state parks have great trails as well.

Asked on Monday March 29, 2010 - 10:32am

What do you use for your blogs? Wordpress? FanUpdate? Habari? Just curious. :]
Bottom line, I don't blog. I know a lot of folks love it, but I simply don't have time, too many irons in the fire.

Asked on Sunday March 28, 2010 - 9:05pm

Quick question for you. I notice when I sign your guestbook, my message does not seem to appear all the time. Is there something with your site that is blocking my entries, or could the problem some how be on my end?
I'm not sure why all entries don't arrive, could be something to do with the filters I've put in place, mostly to prevent unwanted spamming. Early on I had to set up a fairly extensive blocked words list to keep unsavory characters from bombarding my site.

Asked on Thursday March 11, 2010 - 11:20am