Traveling Huntleys

Inspiring travel stories, tips, and guides from a couple exploring the world one destination at a time.

Elk

Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky: Bison, 270 Cemeteries and the Town That Was Erased

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Last Updated: August 3, 2026

Land Between the Lakes is a National Recreation Area in western Kentucky and Tennessee. The area is formed by Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, which run parallel to each other for more than 50 miles. Lake Barkley, 58,000 acres, was formed by Barkley Dam impounding the Cumberland River, completed in 1966 by the Army Corps of Engineers. Kentucky Lake, 160,000 acres, was formed by Kentucky Dam impounding the Tennessee River in 1944, a TVA project and still the largest artificial lake by surface area in the eastern United States. At Grand Rivers the two come within about a mile of each other and are joined by a canal, which means a boat can pass from one river system to the other. The 170,000 acres left standing between them make up the largest inland peninsula in the country. It is very popular for water sports, hunting, fishing, mountain biking and hiking. From Cave City, Kentucky it was about a two-and-a-half hour drive.

Sunset over Lake Barkley, Kentucky
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North Yellowstone & Gardiner, Montana

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Last Updated: May 25, 2026

We spent a full week in Gardiner, Montana, at the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park. It was the perfect base — a short drive to the entrance gate, and each morning we were greeted by elk and pronghorn antelope right along the road. We explored the park on multiple days, covering the Lamar Valley, Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris Geyser Basin, the Madison River corridor, and more thermal features than we could fit into one visit.

The Lamar River flowing through a wide, green valley with snow-capped mountains in the distance, northern Yellowstone National Park
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Buffalo Bill, Cody & Yellowstone, Wyoming

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Last Updated: May 25, 2026

From the Bighorn Mountains, we headed west to Cody, Wyoming — the eastern gateway to Yellowstone and one of the most historically rich small towns in the American West. It rained for much of our stay, but that didn’t slow us down. We spent a half-day at the extraordinary Buffalo Bill Center of the West, made a full day trip into Yellowstone through the dramatic east entrance, and enjoyed every bite of the local homemade food.

Steam rising from the brilliantly colored Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest hot spring in the United States, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
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