“Is it really blue?”

People who have never traveled within Kentucky sometimes ask me that question, and I instantly know the context. Kentucky’s nickname is The Bluegrass State, so they want to know if the state’s lawn turf is, well, blue.

It’s a great question, so I wish I had a more appealing answer than no. Kentucky bluegrass (the grass, not the music ) is green. It may have a bluish-green cast, sometimes, if a sunbeam hits it at just the right angle. But most Kentuckians, myself included, see it as green — you know, like you expect grass to be.

So I start backtracking. I talk about the bluish cast, or launch into a more scientific explanation that jibes more with what that visitor had hoped for and believed. What’s important to them, at that moment, is important to me.

That’s mainstream tourism in a nutshell: creating an image that resonates with travelers (many call it marketing or branding) and then welcoming them in to experience it. Visitors to Kentucky who know nothing else about this state typically expect to see at least three images: a) horses, b) bourbon whiskey, and c) Kentucky bluegrass (not necessarily in that order). All three — worthy as they are — are gigantic tourist draws because they are part of the well-marketed, expected Kentucky experience. If you go to Kentucky, you find these three things and check them off your list. Fin.

And I get it. Finding the expected feels like winning. Everyone likes to check things off their list.

Traveling through South Dakota? There’s a corn field. Check.

Driving through Nebraska’s Platte River valley in the spring? There are some migrating sandhill cranes. Check.

Walking through Times Square? There’s the half-naked (at least) dancing cowboy. Check.

Checking off a list is satisfying. We all like to check things off our list. But, who says we can’t add to it, too?

So many possibilities

What if we could go to a horse farm or a horse race, sip the occasional bourbon cocktail, wake up one morning when the bluegrass is high and at its supposed bluest, and still slip off down the highway to find the less-obvious places and history that Kentucky has to offer?

Some call those kinds of experiences local flavor. I call them unexpected. And Kentucky has a lot of the unexpected, both available and affordable to out-of-state visitors and Kentuckians alike.

Welcome to un-Tucked

… a place where we will explore the unexpected, those very-Kentucky experiences that don’t usually come to mind when we think about Kentucky. It is a place to be surprised, amused, and maybe a little enchanted by the Kentucky we all thought we knew but could always get to know a little better.

There should be plenty of surprises on our journey. After all, Kentucky is one of the oldest states in the U.S. (it entered the Union as the 15th state in 1792). We also have a whopping 120 counties — each with a keen sense of place and pride — all fitting together in an area covering over 40,000 square miles. Kentucky’s expansiveness is pretty unexpected in itself.

So, where do we go from here?

Wherever we want. The beauty of the unexpected is there’s no right way or wrong way to arrive there, or it wouldn’t be unexpected!

To get us brainstorming, here’s a random short list of unexpected yet very-Kentucky experiences I have enjoyed more than once that I’d suggest making your own:

Old Talbott Tavern

You’ll find a dozen or so bullet holes in an upstairs wall of an 18th-century central Kentucky tavern and inn that were supposedly left behind by American outlaw Jesse James. Legend has it that James fired his gun into the wall after one too many drinks. If that doesn’t trigger your curiosity, perhaps the paranormal might: sightings of the ghost of Jesse James have also been reported at the inn. (James wasn’t killed at this location, but spotting an array of 19th-century bullet holes and hunting an outlaw ghost sure could make for an unusual afternoon!)

Big Bone Lick State Historic Site

A 1,000-pound mastodon skull is bound to impress visitors to this historic site in Northern Kentucky. The aforementioned prehistoric skull is found at the historic site’s museum alongside cast fossil fragments and this
beauty: a skeletal reconstruction of the giant Harlan’s Ground Sloth, a relative of the much smaller (& arguably cuter) modern sloth.

The National Quilt Museum

Some quilts are made to snuggle in on your sofa. Others are curated works of art destined for a museum. And some of the finest quilts in the world are in far west Kentucky at the The National Quilt Museum, which has over 600 quilts and fiber art works in its collection. A new exhibit, “OURstory: Human Rights Stories in Fabric,” is described by the museum as a “poignant and timely” collection that features artists from six nations. (If you want to see the exhibit in person, or any of other current exhibits, the museum is open to visitors — masks required.)

Did someone say “science”?

Distilleries, tobacco crops, and coal all have a definite element of science to them. But what about the less obvious strides that Kentuckians have made in STEM fields including medicine, even space exploration? There are quantifiable ways to satisfy your curiosity about these topics on your trip.

McDowell House

Visitors to Danville, Ky. can learn about Dr. Ephraim McDowell, a Kentucky physician who was the first physician worldwide to successfully remove an ovarian tumor.

Hunt-Morgan House

A hour’s drive from Danville, in Lexington, is the Hunt-Morgan House, home to the family of Nobel Prize-winning zoologist and geneticist Thomas Hunt Morgan whose work was the basis for the field of genetics.

MSU Space Science Center (SSC)

If space exploration is more to your liking, just drive an hour or so east of Lexington via I-64 to Morehead State University, home of the Ronald G. Eaglin Space Science Center and some of the latest in nanosatellite research. The center also has a
digital planetarium which offers public shows throughout much of the year.

Back to nature

Kentucky was culled out of Virginia’s wilderness by pioneers, many of whose descendants (like me) still live here today. We enjoy a walk among the trees like anyone else (who enjoys a walk among the trees). Many of us are partial to lake life, too. Trekkers who want to explore Kentucky outdoors have no shortage of places to wander on land or on water, with several locales tucked away from heavy traffic.

Bullock Pen Lake

If you want to spend a day on a quiet lake devoid of noisy motorboats and their rocky wake, Bullock Pen Lake (about an hour’s drive from Louisville and Lexington) is your kind of place. There’s a 10-horsepower motor limit, making it a great location to drop your kayak or canoe.

Cove Spring Park

Natural and paved trails, a waterfall, natural springs, an archery range — this lovely city park in the capital city of Frankfort has all this and more. Be sure while there to check out remnants of the 19th-century limestone dam and reservoir overflow tower that were built to supply early locals with water.

Ready, set …

Our first adventure will be a go next week when we travel to Grant County in Northern Kentucky. Where we go from there remains to be seen. Mysterious? Maybe. Did you expect anything else? : )

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Featured photo: "Autumn Landscape" by Isaak Ilyich Levitan (1895)