Spring comes suddenly to the Bluegrass State. One March day everything is brown and bare. The next there's a haze of green-so pale you're not really sure it's there-covering the land. The day after that, grass pops up, trees bud, and the world renews.
A weekend drive this time of year self-renews as well. As you watch the world green up, you feel rejuvenated and the winter blahs melt away like the morning frost.
For early spring drives, we like to incorporate as much of the wild world as possible, while still ferreting out indoor points of interest. Periodically we'll get out and walk a hiking trail or nature path, and spend a lot of time on overlooks. But a little of this goes a long way for many, so indoor pursuits are appreciated. Most museums, unfortunately, are still closed for the season, making those offbeat ones that are open so much more pleasurable. We also try to include at least one state park-preferably a state resort park-along the route, because we're assured of access to the emerging plant and animal life. Plus, with the resort parks, there are lodges and restaurants always handy. Even if we don't stay there, the lodges are always a good place to take a break. Most of them have common rooms with fireplaces, for instance, providing warmth and cheer when we're ready for a break.
If there are no state parks along the route, we look for bed and breakfast inns rather than chain motels, because the ambience is so much better. Bed and breakfast operators usually know their areas thoroughly, and serve as great guides to area restaurants and points of interest. Often, bed and breakfast operators send you to great stopping places that you'd otherwise miss because they're not found in any of the tourist guides. Checking with local chambers of commerce and tourism centers is another good way to find these little-known and out-of-the-way points of interest.
Such tours can be constructed anywhere in the state. In fact, if you just point the car in any direction, you won't go far astray. But it's too easy to just drive aimlessly that way. So, more often, we look for a way to create a unifying whole out of the trip.
You could, for instance, use The Trace, through Land Between the Lakes, poking down the side roads and byways. You might discover some of the old town sites and homesteads that made up the area before LBL was formed. Some of them, such as Hematite and the Center Furnace iron smelter, are actually preserved for your enjoyment.
If you're not up to planning your own route there are many established tours. You might, for instance, follow the Duncan Hines Trail, out of Bowling Green. Details are available from the Bowling Green-Warren County Tourist Convention Commission, 352 Three Springs Rd., Bowling Green, KY 42104, 1-800-326-7465.
Another plan is to follow any of the river corridors: the Cumberland, perhaps, or the Green, or the Licking, or the Kentucky itself. None of these routes will be disappointing, as each flows through wild country as well as past picturesque small towns and even into major cities. The Green River is especially appealing for such a run, because it's the longest Kentucky river that flows completely inside the state. Obviously, you can't follow it all in one weekend. But a section-say from Green River Lake State Park to Mammoth Cave National Park-makes a wonderful two- to three-day tour.
Most of our major rivers have dams on them, which back up huge impoundments. Circumnavigating any of these large lakes is another way of experiencing spring. Lake Cumberland is a natural for this, and is probably the one most people would think of. But give thought to some of the smaller impoundments, such as Rough River Lake or Grayson Lake.
You may find with these smaller lakes you'll have to plan your circle farther out from the lake to find interesting sites. For instance, if you're circling Grayson Lake, you might want to include Carter Caves State Resort Park, or even stretch farther to include Greenbo Lake and W-Hollow State Nature Preserve.
For us, spring means mountains. And the best hill-country drive in Kentucky is found in the southeast, following the 125-mile swath of the Cumberland Mountains and the Poor Fork of the Cumberland River. Starting at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, we jump north to Pineville, then follow US 119 eastward to Breaks Interstate Park.

Day Trips & Short Stops
Where the giant buffalo roamed

One of the pre-eminent paleontology sites in the south can be found in northern Kentucky. In fact, scientists were coming to study the exposed bones and other fossils found here as early as the beginning of the 19th century. But you don't have to be an archeologist to appreciate Big Bone Lick, where great herds of prehistoric mammals-including giant bison, mammoths, mastodons, and ground sloths-came to lick the salt and got trapped in the boggy marsh about 20,000 years ago.
The human history of the area is also important. Mary Ingles, captured in West Virginia by Shawnee in the 1700s, escaped from Big Bone Lick and made her way home on foot, traveling more than 700 miles.
Both the natural and human history is celebrated at Big Bone Lick State Park. Several interpretive trails explain the area history, with displays that include an Ice Age diorama showing exactly how the animals came to be here. There's also one of Kentucky's buffalo herds maintained here, where wild bison once roamed.
A small museum helps interpret the region. This time of year it operates on a limited schedule, however, so it's best to check with the park before visiting.
For information, contact: Big Bone Lick State Park, 3380 Beaver Road, Union, KY 41091, (859) 384-3522.

Outdoor Log
Wilderness trout

"I wish there were some real trout streams in Kentucky," our neighbor complained. "You know, far from the crowds."
He was shocked to find we have several such streams. Ron had lived here for 12 years, and was unaware of our wilderness trout waters. They're out there, streams such as Parched Corn Creek, Dog Fork, Beaver Creek, and War Fork.
Take Dog Fork, a tributary to Swift Camp Creek, in the Clifty Wilderness. To reach it, you have to hike down Wildcat Trail almost two miles. At one point there's a change of elevation of 200 feet in only a quarter of a mile. Wildcat intersects Swift Camp Creek Trail, which parallels that stream. Turning upstream, you have a rough three-mile hike to the mouth of Dog Fork. Once there, you'll find a small stream only 1.7 miles long. But it's filled with wild brook trout.
Or consider Beaver Creek. To get there you have to descend 400 feet on any of several trails, the easiest of which (Bowman Ridge) is nearly a mile long. You then have to hike upstream to the junction of the three streams that form Beaver Creek. Obviously, it won't be crowded when you get there.
Of all the wilderness trout streams, War Fork is the most accessible, because you can drive to it. You'll find it at the Turkey Foot Recreation Area, in Jackson County. But once you're there, it's as much as two miles of walking to the better fishing holes. War Fork is unique in that it disappears underground, then re-emerges farther downstream, during the warm months. Right now, depending on weather conditions, it's likely to hold water-and rainbow trout-its whole length. Even so, the better fishing is downstream, near its juncture with Station Camp Creek.
Parched Corn Creek is another naturally reproducing brook trout stream in Daniel Boone National Forest. It holds some of the larger brookies found in the state. But getting there isn't for the faint of heart, as there is a 400-foot change in elevation from the ridgelines to the creek. To reach it, you follow the aptly named Rough Trail from either Chimney Top Road or KY 715.
Wilderness trout fishing isn't something you do on the spur of the moment. Because of the sometimes-difficult trails you have to use, you mostly combine fishing with hiking and even backpacking. And you go as light as possible. This means a short, breakdown fly rod and a small box of assorted flies, or an ultralight spinning outfit and only a handful of lures.
Our preference is for the fly rod, for several reasons. Most of these streams lack the deep pools and flats suitable for running hard lures. Even in-line spinners are hard to use, because the water isn't all that deep in most places. For instance, Parched Corn, other than the occasional undercut bank or plunge pool, averages only about calf-deep.
These streams tend to be overgrown as well. So a short rod makes sense. We like #3 or #4 weight, 7- or 7-1/2-foot rods for these creeks. And we overload them by one line size, because there is a lot of lob casting in these tight quarters, using only 10 to 15 feet of line.
It's not easy finding these streams. But the wilderness experience is worth all the effort.

Brook and Barbara Elliott are freelance writers and public relations consultants. They write primarily about travel and outdoor recreation, and help publicize businesses in those industries.