After our busy week in Louisville, we were in for quite the change of pace during our stay “in” Jamestown (I say “in” because although the address said our campground was in Jamestown, in reality, the “town” was basically just a gas station and an antiques store). This may have been the most laid back of any week throughout all of our travels.
That being said, getting here was a bit of an adventure as most of the drive was along tight back country roads and winding rural highways through the beautiful Kentucky hills. Although we were a bit oxygen-deprived after holding our breath so much, we made it there in one piece and could finally exhale once we laid eyes on the lovely Lake Cumberland. At this point, it was only a quick little trip to our home for the week, the Kendall Campground, an Army Corp of Engineers campground located just below the dam. We had long heard about COE campgrounds and how great they were, but this was our first time staying at one – and let’s just say that we were instantly impressed!
This place was great – huge sites, lush greenery everywhere, strong cell signal, friendly camp hosts, the list goes on. Hell, they even had free laundry machines! We had never seen that before, and have never seen anything like it since. Perhaps the one downside of this campground was a lack of sewer hookups (which is the norm at COE campgrounds). However, we have decided this isn’t the worst thing in the world, as it keeps out much of the riff raff from squatting in these cheap public campgrounds for an extended period. I guess everything has it’s pluses and minuses.
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our time at Kendall Campground. Not only was it quiet and laid back, but it also provided plenty of opportunities to do some exploring – from checking out the nearby hatchery to probing the mysterious river bottom below the dam, which seemed to always be draped with a layer of fog.
But, I don’t want you to think that we didn’t do anything while we were here. Arguably our best day in all of our travels came on the final full day of our stay in the Lake Cumberland area when we opted to get up early and drive to the nearest marina so that we could rent a pontoon boat for the day!
This turned out to be such a good decision! We just had the best day just putz’n around on our redneck yacht and exploring the seemingly infinite coves of Lake Cumberland. Whenever we got bored of one spot we would migrate over the the next bay and we even managed to find one cove which terminated in a gorgeous waterfall!
And, oh yeah – did I mention that we had it all to ourselves! It made for a downright idyllic afternoon.
I think it’s safe to say that this area is near the top of our list of favorite places that we have been during our time in the camper. If you ever find yourself in this part of the country, do yourself a favor and check out Lake Cumberland. It’s a bit out of the way, but that’s part of its charm. We could all use a little disconnect from the hustle and bustle of modern society from time to time!