Scenic Adair Co.: An Ed Waggener Shortcut
2026-04-28 - Adair Co., KY - Photo by Pen
I have fond memories of riding around Southern Kentucky with Dad, exploring random gravel roads like this one, fording rain-swollen creeks in minivans and Volkswagen Beetles to mixed results. Sometimes the goal was to save a few miles over a better-paved option, and other times he'd heard that some farmer had grown a pumpkin of unusual size, or purchased some exotic livestock that needed to be documented.
On Saturday, I went to check the last known location of the American Bittern in northern Adair County, and this gravel road beckoned. The scene above turned out to be the most civilized stretch. The "going" got progressively slower as I meandered through fields and washes. A flurry of goldfinches erupted from a very small creek before I crossed it, and the road eventually climbed back out onto Highway 76 near Spout Springs.
I probably wouldn't even have been late for lunch if I hadn't had to back up a ways to let a pickup pass the other way on a particularly narrow stretch. Comments | Permalink
2026-04-28 - Adair Co., KY - Photo by Pen
I have fond memories of riding around Southern Kentucky with Dad, exploring random gravel roads like this one, fording rain-swollen creeks in minivans and Volkswagen Beetles to mixed results. Sometimes the goal was to save a few miles over a better-paved option, and other times he'd heard that some farmer had grown a pumpkin of unusual size, or purchased some exotic livestock that needed to be documented.
On Saturday, I went to check the last known location of the American Bittern in northern Adair County, and this gravel road beckoned. The scene above turned out to be the most civilized stretch. The "going" got progressively slower as I meandered through fields and washes. A flurry of goldfinches erupted from a very small creek before I crossed it, and the road eventually climbed back out onto Highway 76 near Spout Springs.
I probably wouldn't even have been late for lunch if I hadn't had to back up a ways to let a pickup pass the other way on a particularly narrow stretch. Comments | Permalink