Amish Farms, Land Between the Rivers, and Shaker Museum:  Day 5 of Kentucky 2012

Acres and acres of corn and soybeans whizzed past as we saw neat farms and old barns, many with quilt squares displayed on them.  Leaving Henderson, our first goal was to find the area where the largest settlement of Amish people live and farm and in particular Yoder's Bakery.  We followed our navigational device off the highway into the country where each successive turn ended up on a more narrow and more dusty road.  Klep, of course, was in his element.  We passed some of the most beautiful big tomatoes and peppers that we had ever seen.  There were also little hand painted signs for cabinet makers, harness makers, produce, plants, furniture, and baked items.  After asking directions, we found Yoder's Bakery and were rewarded for our efforts.  We each got a fried cherry pie as well as some cherry jam to take home.

Munching the fried pies, we made our way back to our journey toward a huge national recreational site that runs between the Cumberland and the Tennessee Rivers.  Unfortunately it was so heavily wooded along the road that we could see neither one from the road.

Our next treat of the day was the Shaker Museum near Auburn, Kentucky.  The Shaker Settlement called South Union founded in the early 1800's, encompassed a 4,000 acre farm during the time that it existed.  The Shakers were known for their simple style of furniture, dress, and life.  Their style of furniture is still copied and is very much in demand. Their goal was to "shake" themselves free of evil.  South Union offered a simple quiet life to the converts.  The followers of the leader led a celibate life, so they had to get converts from the general population to keep themselves going.  It was quite attractive to people on the frontier because the Shakers lived so much better than most of the other people. 
When the Civil War came to Kentucky, things became more difficult for the settlement because they were caught between the two sides.  Each side mistrusted them because they would not take sides.

In 1869, still optimistic about their community, they build a Shaker Tavern to serve "the people of the world."  There were, however, not able to get enough converts to keep the community going.  Finally in 1922 the farm and all the holdings were auctioned off.

Klep and I traipsed up and down four flights of stairs, amazed at the simplicity and beauty of the handcrafted furniture and the attention to details in the design of the buildings.  We also enjoyed watching one of the guides in the visitor's center making yarn from Alpaca wool.  He gave me a sample of the finished product that his wife will use knitting or he will use to weave items.

By the time we finished checking out the buildings, the dairy, the barn, and the old foundations, we were ready to call it a day and head toward our motel and dinner.  Our first choice for dinner, The Cat Fish House, went out of business on April 29th.  Our second choice, Anna's Greek Food was closed for a family vacation to Greece.  I am sure this will be good for the economy of Greece, but we were disappointed!

So, we broke rule 3 of the Klepper Road Trip Rules:  Never eat at a chain restaurant.  At least Olive Garden was open!