The scenery leaving Lewisport, KY was similar to what we saw yesterday, corn and soybean fields. Today we added tobacco to our recognizable farm plants. We cycled deserted roads until we got near Owensboro, KY, a large city with colorful sites. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. The first European descendant to settle in Owensboro was frontiersman William Smeathers or Smothers in 1797, for whom the riverfront park is named. The settlement was originally known as "Yellow Banks" from the color of the land beside the Ohio River. The Lewis and Clark Expedition wintered at what is today's Owensboro prior to departing on their famous travels. In 1817, Yellow Banks was formally established under the name Owensboro, named after Col. Abraham Owen. We stopped at a “hippy” café for breakfast and then moved to Smothers Park were we watched children play in the fountains and took pictures of artwork. Next to the park was the International Blue Grass Museum.
Leaving Owensboro put us back into the farm lands and deserted rural roads. Other than short transitions on the highways, we didn’t see any traffic. Henderson, KY, our destination, was only a few hours away. It is also a large city and has a great park system. Henderson has its roots in a small, block-wide strip of land high above the Ohio River, where the village started. It was initially called "Red Banks" because of the reddish clay soil of the bluffs overlooking the Ohio River. The future city was named after Richard Henderson, an eighteenth-century pioneer and land speculator. After getting to our hotel, we unloaded our bikes and cycled into the parks and down to the historic district and the river. Tomorrow is our last day in Kentucky. We will miss the great people but not the rumble strips along it's roads.
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