While having lunch one day with my friend Alonna, she asked if I had ever heard of the forest giants in Kentucky. I had not, but I said let’s go see them and make a little road trip out of it!
So we started our road trip from Nashville early on a Sunday morning and made our first stop at Mammoth Cave National Park.
We opted for the 9:30 Domes and Dripstones Tour (click here for tour reservations). We loaded the bus at the park and we were taken to a sinkhole where a door led into the cave. The tour took us down a set a staircases with some tight passageways, then to some huge dome rooms and ended in the dripstone section known as Frozen Niagara. We even had a couple of bat encounters along the way! 🦇
After our tour was over we hit the road for our next stop at The Original Impellizzeri’s Pizza in Elizabethtown, KY for lunch. The pretzels with beer cheese dip and the margarita pizza were delicious.
Then it was onto the main attraction of our day trip, the forest giants at the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Clermont, KY. (Seeing the forest giants is free; however, a $10 donation is suggested per car.)
For their 90th anniversary, Bernheim had artist Thomas Dambo construct three giant sculptures throughout the arboretum using recycled wood from the region (which includes staves from bourbon barrels). The giants are Mama Loumari with her children, Little Nis and Little Elina, and her third baby Giant, who is currently living in Mama Loumari’s belly. They are just incredible to see up close!
The fairy tale story of these three giants is included in this blog below my pictures.
Thomas Dambo has constructed several more giants/trolls throughout the US and many other countries. The troll map of all creations can be found by clicking here.
While The Weather Got Better
By Thomas Dambo
It was a cold winter, but the snow felt warm.
He woke up with eyes closed and heard himself yawn.
His name was Isak Hearthstone, on a mountain top of them all.
A name they gave him as small, now he was 36 eels tall.
Still a young giant, only 700,051 years.
Already a father to two, full of eyes, full of tears.
full of love he was but felt alone on the mountain.
So he walked down to the forest, in the forest he found them.
His 2 beautiful children, little Elina, Nis.
And their mama Loumari, a big hug, and a kiss.
They spent the winter together, while the weather got better.
Elina looked at the sky, from the sky fell a feather.
It was a sign of good luck, and a fertile forest
Where every being had a place from the smallest to tallest.
They made a circle of life, they would soon have a brother.
Its good luck for a baby, when it sleeps in the mother.
Some of the wood, some of stone, some of the sun, some of the seeds.
Some of the quarts, some of the leaves and what fell from the trees.
A dragon skull he found 200.000 years ago.
It was a symbol of strength, so the baby would grow.
But now the ice was melted, and Isak looked to the mountain.
He knew he had to go back, and put his big arms around them.
A hug and a kiss, Nis, Elina, Loumari.
“I will be back again soon” he yelled walking the prairie.
Our last stop before heading back to Nashville was for ice cream at The Dreamery in Elizabethtown 😋
So Many Places So Little Time 