Big Sandy Backroads: One man’s attempt to reveal E Ky.’s beauty and economic future
Gary Cox spends seven days a week manning the Big Sandy Regional Airport, but in May, on a whim, he bought a side-by-side to drive around in a nearby abandoned mine land with friends.
In September, the airport manager became an unofficial tour guide, leading pilots and their families through the winding rocky roads and creek beds off KY-3 in Debord, in Martin County. He’s calling the idea “Big Sandy Backroads”: off-road tours to boost the economy in Eastern Kentucky.
Side-by-sides are an off-road, four-wheel drive vehicle that can navigate rugged terrain. It can climb up short waterfalls, drive through inches of water and reach 30 miles per hour on paved roads.
As a native of Martin County, Cox has watched the region give and give its resources. First coal, then natural gas. Its beauty is something Eastern Kentucky can keep, he says.
“The most important thing we can do is tourism, because all of our wealth has left this county to be used other places,” Cox said. “People have made more and more wealth out of our resources. These resources are still here. We need to develop them intelligently and then start bringing the wealth back into this county.”
Cox is a former coal miner at Martin County Coal Corporation, which tourists pass by as they go deeper into the holler on his tour. Cox has always enjoyed traveling through the mines. Even as a worker, he would walk through the mine area on winter nights to set up a chair and enjoy the outdoors.
“I love being in tune with nature and I get that same feeling when I’m riding a side-by-side (tour) out there,” he said.
Mike and Kelly Schaffer of Columbus, Ohio, went on one of Cox’s tours on a warm, sunny fall Saturday. The couple had been looking for something to do safely during COVID-19. They stumbled upon Cox’s tour, which was promoted in a pilots’ group. They had never been to Eastern Kentucky.
The couple flew down for “a perfect pilot’s day trip,” Schaffer said.
They rode with Cox and another couple in their own side-by-side. Schaffer said he learned about the region, its people and the importance of coal.
He said his expectation was that Eastern Kentucky would be more rustic and primitive, but the tour was eye-opening and picturesque, a description he says doesn’t do it justice.
“We left with an education and not a memory,” Schaffer said.
He learned about the family cemeteries and the bonds many Eastern Kentuckians feel with the land.
Cox stops at a family cemetery, Goble Cemetery, which is back in the mountain and equip with a shed used for family reunions.
“The rest of the world looks down on us, but the people who live here, they have a strong connection to the land,” he said.
Cox took the Schaffers to the Top of the World, one of his favorite spots. It is a mountain top that has been removed, but grass is growing and the 360 degree views are endless.
Along the tour, the Schaffers passed by wild horses, herds of elk, free-roaming cattle and wild turkeys. He was stunned to see elk in Eastern Kentucky.
Schaffer said he and his wife are sometimes hard to please.
“We’re not easy to be blown away, but we were blown away,” he said.
He has already reached out to some of his pilot friends to recommend Big Sandy Backroads and has plans for a visit in the spring.
Cox isn’t trying to start his next venture with Big Sandy Backroads. He just wants to demonstrate that it is possible for Eastern Kentucky to bounce back from the decline of the coal industry, he said.
“I do enjoy taking people and showing off my county,” Cox said. “I enjoy that, but I’m not doing something to make myself a business. I want to see it prosperous, but I don’t want to do that for a living.”
His goal is to show public officials that Eastern Kentucky has unique assets that leaders need to work together to develop.
“The only thing I’m trying to do with this is just prove a point,” Cox said.
If you go
To schedule a Big Sandy Backroads tour, call 606-298-5930.
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 1:44 PM.