Exploring the World with Pokémon Go: A Small Taste of Harlan, Kentucky
Its been a long time since I got a chance to explore the world with Pokémon Go. But as I was moving back to Chicago from Orlando, I made a day stop in Harlan, Kentucky. As a person who has never lived in the mountains, but finds the view stunning, I couldn’t afford to miss a chance to write about these natural views. There is a lot to see here and lots of hiking trails to be found. None of that is shown here. This is just a taste of what this place has to offer.
During my visit to Harlan, Kentucky, I decided to go for a walk along the road. No sidewalks here and cars continued to blast past me at dangerously fast speeds. Despite these dangers, I found the experience worthwhile. I had been kept inside by the extreme sun in Florida and the mountains offered a reprieve that made me willing to brave these other dangers.
This part of the United States feels very different from the places I have called home. And I was careful to stay on the road and not wander onto anyone’s property. In this part of the country that can be a fatal mistake. I digress though. Don’t want to make things sound negative. Instead I want to focus back on the mountains.
The Appalachians are among the oldest mountains on earth Some of landforms are older than all land animals. Its crazy to think that the trees growing all around in these pictures didn’t even exist yet when these mountains stood far taller. No wonder there are plenty of supernatural stories written and passed down about them. These peaks are ancient.
Pokémon Go
I would be lying if a large part of why I went on this hike was to play Pokémon Go. Now that we have gotten that out of the way, let’s take a look at what Harlan, Kentucky has to offer. Technically I was far away from the main town and in a neighborhood. So until I got near the church pictured above, there were no Pokestops at all. And while there were spawns, the lack of sidewalks makes this walk dangerous. I would advise against playing Pokémon Go in the mountain neighborhoods. Instead, should you visit Harlan, I would advise trying to play in town and near parks.
Next time I come here, I’ll check out some of the parks and have better recommendations of where to play. The fact that I did not stay in the gym here long indicates that there is an active Pokémon Go community nearby.
I walked about a mile each way and so it should be no surprise that I hatched an egg along the way. My egg turned into a baby Chansey. A shame that the little one doesn’t have comparable health to its older siblings. As it is, Happiny isn’t that valuable on its own except for the candy it provides. But that’s minor in the scheme of things. Its a better hatch than much of the pool right now.
Here I am at the end of my hike. I’m not smiling because I had a rough day. The hike was the highlight of it. When I went on this adventure, I was under a lot of stress and not feeling well. Don’t worry about past me. Present me as of the time of writing is feeling better. Anyway, I’m back in Chicago and I have a large adventure that I intend to continue. Look forward to those adventures soon. Especially since the summer is much less severe in Illinois.