LBJ Photography Blog
This blog features travel notes and photographs.
Stop #1 -- Bardstown, KY
January 2, 2020 Bardstown, KY (revisited)
“Angels' share”, “slurry”, “pigmash”, “rickhouse”! Were we entering a foreign land with a foreign language? Yep, it seemed so! It is bourbon country, and when our guide described the world's largest “steeel”, it took a minute or two before it sunk in that he was describing a still. Barton's 1792 Distillery—the name's history would fill this page, but somewhere along the way, the “1792” was tagged on to it because it was in that year that Kentucky became a state!
From the land of bourbon we traveled to the land of solitude, the Abbey of Gethsemani—serenity plus. One Day, a film in the Visitor Center depicting a day in the life of a Trappist monk, evoked the comment, “They sure do pray a lot” from Lou. Richly active from 3:00 am to evening, the monks' products line the shelves of the gift shop. We left the Abbey with their homemade fruitcake and homemade bourbon pecan fudge.
Throwing hot rolls across the room by a server to hungry guests whose hands are raised waiting for the catch; sashaying servers with soup pots of fried okra, or fried potatoes, or macaroni and tomatoes......etc. These are the additional complements to the hearty menu items served at Lambert's in Sikeston, Mo. Bonnie ordered a light item, a chef salad! Ha! She took home enough for 2 more meals.
Last Stop: Laramie, WY
Wyoming Territorial Prison Historical Site
July 24, 2019
The last 30 years of the 19th century in Wyoming were lawless years. Butch Cassidy, oldest of 13 children and raised in a loving Mormon family, was taught to use a gun by a neighbor for whom he worked. Cowhand work was plentiful at that time on the range until one frigid winter killed off a good percentage of each rancher's herds. Cowhands were jobless and began rustling the large conglomerates which had swooped down to confiscate bankrupt small-time ranchers and force sales of their properties. Butch Cassidy was one of the rustlers, and he was imprisoned for that crime for nearly two years in the Wyoming Territorial Prison. After his release he became a Robin Hood of sorts—robbing from the banks and big bosses but leaving the little guy alone. He organized the Wild Bunch, a group of outlaws he selected to run the Outlaw Trail with him, a trail that reached from Montana south through Wyoming and Utah. Butch Cassidy was never caught for his many crimes of bank robbing and raids on large ranches. He escaped to live in South America until his death.
The prison was always in need of food stuffs, supplies and cash. Therefore, its inmates worked from morning til supper on various endeavors to bring in currency. The most successful industry was broom making.
