Is there any better time than October down here on the wrong side of the county? Before you think about it, I'll make it easy for you. Of course there isn't.
The green, green hills of summer are slowly starting to dull. The Pine ridge is already showing some of the brighter reds and oranges that will dominate the mountainside in just a couple of weeks.
As fall overtakes us, we get ready to welcome visitors from all over the world looking for a crashing, splashing river and the warm embrace of autumn leaves and smokey campfires. It's a ritual we've repeated every year since the mid 1980s. An entire generation of Elkhorn Citians know nothing different about our relationship with the season and the river. It's October and it's time to be outside soaking up our natural blessings with our visitors. Just ask Trent and Omar and Quiz and Amy and all the other twenty somethings that call our place home. This is what we do.
This year we kick the month off with something completely new, but something that fits our place as Kentucky's true adventure tourism mecca. The Cloudsplitter 100 will be the first one hundred mile trail race in Kentucky. Starting and ending at the old Elkhorn City ballpark, over 160 racers (current registration) will run from town up the Pine Mountain Trail to near Mayking Peak in Letcher county and back. With sanctioning from the US Track and Field Federation, the event will draw elite ultra-marathoners from all over the country.
For those of you keeping score, that makes 3 different events here in October that attract the elites from their sports: The Russell Fork Baddlun, the extreme biking/kayaking/running triathlon; the Lord of the Fork race, the extreme kayak race through the Breaks canyon, and now the Cloudsplitter 100. Not too shabby for a little wide place in the road, now is it?
There will be a festival at the ballpark on Saturday featuring stuff for kids of all ages, from games to dunking booths, to music, food and crafts. You can watch a traditional chair maker or you can watch whitewater videos from the National Paddling Film Festival. There should be something for everyone and it's free. Just like the water that tumbles down the Russell Fork through town.
There's more to do and to be a part of here in Elkhorn City during October. Starting with great performances at Artists Collaborative Theatre every Thursday through Sunday, or participating in Breast Cancer Awareness walk and rally through downtown. The Cruizers will be having a car show one weekend and, of course, god's own art show of the spectacular colors and scenery in the Breaks.
So there you have it. City Hall has been busy sprucing up, weeding, mowing and polishing all the public spaces in town, so I think we're ready. The sun is shining and the river's running!
There's a lot of pride down here and why not? Name another place around here that draws folk from all over the country every weekend for an entire month. Before you think about it, I'll make it easy for you. There isn't. Why don't you come on down and check it out for yourself.