Josh Kuberski is not a good tour guide.

Well, this weekend I (Ponce) was supposed to go with Josh Kuberski to Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky. The plan was to meet in Mrs. Stearns office on Wednesday right after class, and then we would go back to his house until Saturday. I went to Mrs. Stearns office after class like I was supposed to do, and he never showed up! He completely forgot about our plans, leaving me alone all night. He finally had me picked up by one of his kind friends, but I knew I was going to have a hard time forgiving him for this.

When Saturday finally came, we left at 6:00 am. I was ready to go, but Josh was looking a little tired. When we got on the interstate, he let me ride on the dash board, which was pretty cool. Maybe this trip would turn out to be fun after all.

We finally arrived at Land Between the Lakes at 9:00 am, and Josh met his girlfriend Desiree at the park entrance. They seemed very happy to see each other, and she was very nice to me.

While we were there, I learned a ton of facts! Did you know that this park has a buffalo and elk preserve, and you can drive through it as many times as you want?? This area used to have a lot of buffalo and elk, but when the early settlers arrived here, they were hunted very heavily. These animals finally left this area, and this park is a sanctuary for them. These animals were very lucky. I learned that there was a bird, known as the Carolina Parakeet, that was hunted to extinction. This was the only native parakeet known to the eastern United States, and because it was considered a nuisance, it was hunted to extinction.

I also learned that many people did not want these lakes to be there. In Roosevelt’s New Deal, he provided the means to dam up this area. Many people were not happy. Some farmers protested because this would mean that their land would be flooded and they would have to leave. The dam was constructed in 1940 and many farmer’s land was condemned. Some people were happy about this, however. It gave them a chance to sell their land and move to a different area, which is always exciting!

After we visited the visiting center, Josh, Desiree and I went Geocaching! I have never done this before, and it was very exciting! Desiree drove while Josh was in charge of the maps, and I got to ride on the dash board. Whenever we got close to a spot, Desiree would pull over and we would all try to find the treasure first! I tried my best to sniff out the spot for Josh first, but Desiree still found more than we did. We had tons of fun, and this was a great way to explore the area by trails and rock roads!

When the day was over, we had to say our goodbyes. Apparently Desiree couldn’t come home with us because she goes to school in Murray. I didn’t want to tell Desiree bye, but I had to come home to Carbondale!

Latitude=36.779

Longitude=-88.066

Miles Traveled=356 miles

Miles Traveled by Ponce=1099.5 Miles