April blooms in Frankfort

Spring has finally arrived and the capitol city of Kentucky is blooming. This is the most beautiful time of year to spend an afternoon in Frankfort. I walked around the Old Capitol grounds and enjoyed the flowers and fresh growth on the trees.


Girls play in front of the Old Capitol.


Frankfort is host to numerous flowering trees, including the native red bud and dogwood. A walk around the area promises to reveal magnolia, cherry and crab apple blossoms. While the modern Kentucky State Capitol building always hosts a fine display of tulips this time of year, the Old Capitol was dressed with the showy blooms of a pink dogwood.


Flowering dogwood



The Capitol Annex, home to the Cabinet for Economic Development


I drove around some of the downtown Frankfort streets looking for blooms, circling out to Buffalo Trace Bourbon Distillery. Buffalo Trace is always a solid bet for beautiful seasonal landscaping. Even from the distribution entrance, the flowers didn't disappoint. The tulips caught the light just as the sun began to set.


Spring blooms at Buffalo Trace



Orange tulip



Warehouses filled with bourbon barrels

Devils Market House Arch

Having spent many weeks in the field with the guys, I decided to try my own hand at arch hunting in Daniel Boone National Forest. I headed to Menifee County in Eastern Kentucky for my first solo run. I began by walking along old county roads which have long been decommissioned, and are now simply dirt trails. Using GPS, I was able to locate two large arches in close proximity to each other but not without getting turned around once or twice.


Devil's Market House Arch


Devil's Market House Arch is certainly unique, as it stands isolated from any cliff or ridge. It appears to have dropped from the sky, arising seemingly from no where in the middle of the forest. Perhaps that unexplained element is how the arch was given its name. Each angle of the Devil's Market House presents a new view and myriad smaller arches and windows, making it very fun to explore.

Posing from the other side of Devil's Market


Although spring flowers were still scant, many butterflies were enjoying the warm temperatures and gentle breeze. I was thrilled to see several enormous butterflies, about the size of my hand, floating around the rocky outcropping. For a while, they followed me along the trail.

Yellow Tiger Striped Swallowtail

View of the Cumberland Mountains, from above the arch.


A rookie day in the field is not without mistakes, of course. Initially, I walked far beyond where I should have turned off trail believing that the Devil's Market Place would be visible from the old road. GPS cleared that up quickly. Harder to find was Sprat's Arch. I nearly gave up, deciding that the the view of the mountains from the peak was as good as it was going to get on this trip. Then I realized I was standing on top of the arch!

Sprat's Arch

Posing for scale

National Forest Boundary


Although I found two large arches, there were several others nearby. I had the coordinates roughly translated, but couldn't get my topographic maps to line up. Had I been more patient with myself, I'm certain I could have found them. As it is, I have another challenge for a return trip.

Colby Cumberland surveying Devil's Market Place