Year In Review

    I thought I would end the year with a post reviewing some of the highlights of this past year regarding this blog site and some things associated with the release of my book entitled Swift. It has been an exciting year with lots of stories of places and information about the legend.

    Back in January Mike and Ross Steely produced the most recent and up-to-date video regarding the John Swift legend. I was honored to be interviewed on that video and met the boys at the beautiful Cumberland Falls Dupont Lodge for the taping. It was a chance to see my good friend Mike again. I believe the last time I saw Mike was at the Silver Mine Weekend he had arranged in Jellico, Tennessee back in 1992, twenty years ago!

Brochure from 1992 Swift weekend

    Mike invited me to speak at the event a couple of years during the course of the time the event was held.  It was probably the biggest gathering of truly Swift researchers to ever come together in one place. The video is a very nice collection of information and fully explains the Swift legend and the historical background.



    The most viewed two articles this year were "About the Quartz" and "Search for a Peculiar Rock."

Kentucky Agate

 The quartz article was an attempt to explain the many variations of the mineral in Kentucky. The peculiar rock piece focused on some of the many strange rock formations and landmarks found in the Red River Gorge area that are linked to the Swift legend.  The photo on the left is of Kentucky Agate, the official rock of Kentucky and one of the most prized agates in the world. They are only found in about four counties of Kentucky in all the world.

Haystack Rock in Red River Gorge

 The later post was written by Kiowa Scott Muncie that has been featured as my only guest blogger so far. Kiowa is an avid outdoors man and has spent countless hours searching for the hidden Swift treasure.









    In May we made the special offer of the "Aqua clips for online purchases of the book and posted about the strange Red Bird Carvings located in Manchester, Kentucky. The clips are not common in our area but are a great way to carry water or favorite beverage in plastic bottles on your belt on any hike. Once you try them, you'll always take one on your day hike for sure.

In May we featured the Red Bird Rock Carving. The ancient stone carvings or petroglphs are among the most unusual in the state and though some believe them to be forms of different ancient alphabets the question of their origin and time are still an unsolved mystery.




    We promoted our honey in July. We raise honeybees and have several working hives in our apiary. Our honey is noted for its mild, light flavor resulting from the bountiful locust blooms in our area during the spring. We have sold out this year but check with us in the early summer of 2013.  We also have a blog site about our bees located here.

    I have been running this blog for three years and all during that time every single article has been Kentucky related with one exception. In September I published short article called "Walking Thunder." Actually, it was more of a promotion of Ed Whiting and some of the Native Lakota traditional items that Ed makes.

 



    I had a few book signings this year around the state. I had the pleasure to meet some very interesting and nice people. Some had tremendous knowledge of the Swift legend and pioneer Kentucky history.

    So this really has been a good year. I want to thank each of you for visiting my blog throughout the year and especially thank you to all those who purchased a copy of my book. I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and happy holiday season!