Falls of the Ohio

On those warm, yet humid days that natives of Kentuckiana are accustomed to, trying to find a location that can replenish you mind, body, and soul can be exhausting. As water is to my body, soothing and refreshing on those unbearable days, my mind and soul thirst for replenishment from factors unseen to the eye. A replenishment of this kind can only be fulfilled from a creation of God. That creation for this soul is the Falls of the Ohio.

The 387-million year old site was the starting point for one of the most influential expeditions in the history of the United States, the Lewis and Clark expedition. Enjoying my youth a short bicycle ride from the Falls, this location shares unprecedented history to the area. Thoughts of the 1803 wilderness flourish through my imagination of the epic journey down the Ohio River in search of the Pacific Northwest.

As a product of the Reagan Administration, my youthful summers were wondering historic Clarksville for many activities. One activity that was consistently enjoyed was walking through the Falls. My mother, as lively and spiritually outdoorsy as she is, would lead the voyage through the Falls on the way to the floodgates. During times when the floodgates were sealed, the mighty Ohio would spew through drainage holes as if it were an Alabama firehose during the Civil Rights movement. The rage from the floodgates provided enough force that would send any man down the concrete embankment quick enough to tear from his the shorts he was wearing. O, can I remember it like it was yesterday.

Decades later, I have put to rest my short-shredding ventures down the floodgate and enjoy the vast scenery of the Falls provides to our community. The thunderous rushing waters under a Louisville skyline and a Mother Nature provided soundtrack replenishes my soul with the strength to carry on another day. Just as it did for two journeymen on that warm day in 1803.