"Seek Adventures ~ Find Memories"

We have spent the last week seeking adventures and making memories…a sentiment on a T-shirt I purchased at Natural Bridge Resort State Park in Kentucky. As my dear friend M. and I approached our shared year to reach 60, we decided we wanted to make it noteworthy. M. suggested we plan a couples trip. When our families were young we traveled frequently together, and the anticipation of our approaching 60th birthdays gave us an excuse to resume the tradition of planning adventures and creating new shared memories. We planned a trip blending several interests of ours. We packed so much in one week that I have decided to break the week into two parts, exploring trails is the overarching theme, Kentucky being the destination. This blog entry highlights our visits to State Parks, National Forests and an awesome arboretum.

The week’s adventure began at the Natural Bridge State Resort Park, located in the Red River Gorge Geological Area a section of the Daniel Boone National Forest. This area contains many natural stone arches, tunnels, cliffs, providing for 60 miles of beautiful hiking trails. We explored both scenic high trails and trails that followed along the Red River, which by the way is a misnomer as it is very green. It is a 97.2 mile long tributary of the Kentucky River, and it’s not red.

We hit the trails quickly upon arriving to the lodge, finding our way to the Natural Bridge. We chose the Original Trail, #1, to make our way up the arch. The trail climbs over 500 feet through a forest of impressive trees and flowers. This trail ends beneath the arch. To reach access to the top of the arch we squeezed through a natural fracture in the side of the arch. The view from atop the arch provides a spectacular view of the canyon below. From this vantage point we saw another trail and we continued on to the Laurel Ridge Trail that leads to other high overlook spots that provide beautiful panoramic views. We scouted out an alternate trail to lead us back to the lodge, but discovered that the stairs leading down were not passable. So we retraced our steps.

Our next day of adventures included two hikes in the Daniel Boone National Forest. Our morning hike took us along the Red River on the Suspension Bridge Sheltowee Trail. It was not a loop trail so we hiked in and out along the same path. Before turning and returning we stopped for lunch, sitting on a long downed tree trunk; Best seat in the house! Highlights of this hike were the wild flowers popping out all along our paths. And we were amazed by the number of butterflies everywhere. We enjoyed leaving the trail and exploring the rocks on the river bottom where the water had receded a bit, and spotting a popular swimming area that included a tire swing. And of course this trail included the bouncy suspension bridge it’s named after.

The road for our next hike took us right past an ice cream store so of course we had to make an obligatory stop. We had gotten ourselves all turned around on the narrow windy roads and missed our turn, but instead we were rewarded with a sweet treat. Happily, they were open before May 1. Instead of back tracking we made our way to a different trail, the Rush Ridge Trail located in the Koomer Ridge Camping area. Finding a trail to hike is easy peasy in this area, finding the one you want a little more challenging as the maps are helpful, not always easy to follow. But we were never disappointed.

Our next hiking adventure took us to Mammoth Cave National Park. Before our cave tour we hiked down to the Green River, which included seeing the River Styx Spring that comes right out of Mammoth Cave. Fortuitously, this is the trail area that is over some interesting parts of Mammoth Cave so when the guide explained about landmarks outside the cave above from where we were standing deep underground, we could easily visualize the terrain having just hiked it. Since we had time before our cave tour we inquired about which trail would fit our timing before the tour, the ranger pointed out this one mentioned above and especially noted how beautiful the wildflowers are now. We were treated again to a forest carpeted in yellows, purples and white.

Traversing the passages of the cave is fascinating. There are over 400 miles of surveyed passageways and new discoveries continue. The park was established as a national park on July 1, 1941. On the tour our guide shared information about the early dwellers in the cave, the explorers that bravely discovered the deep caverns and large open “rooms.” The only animal we spotted on this tour was a bat, which are common, but there are stories of other animals living in the caves before it became such a busy destination. Hundreds of people are touring the caves each day. On our tour there were 100 people. And there are many departures a day as well as several different sort of tours available.

On Saturday, in addition to the other adventures we enjoyed and memories created that I will revisit in my next blog, we enjoyed two local tourist attractions in the Bardstown area: My Old Kentucky Home State Park & Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest. Historically speaking the park is rich of stories dating back to 1700s. It was a former plantation home owned by US Senator John Rowan, and it’s the farm that inspired the imagery in Stephen Collins Foster’s famous song, “My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night.” We “strolled” around the grounds enjoying the scenery and especially enjoyed the preparations and decorations in the park awaiting the arrival of the Prom guests later in the evening. It looked so perfect for the youth to create a memorial evening. “Light Up The Night” was their theme. We posed for a photo.

Our last hike of the day was at Bernheim Arboretum. We hiked around the lake. The sun was getting low and the shadows long as we had had a very full day. A train passed in the distance as we hiked, making its presence known when it blew its whistle. A distant train is one of my favorite sounds. G. and I reflected on our childhood train stories. It made for an interesting conversation as we walked. Placed along the trail that circles the lake are large pieces of art made with items found in nature. The park supports an Artist in Residence Program that was established in 1980 that keeps Bernheim’s mission “to connect people with nature” alive. This park property was purchased in 1929 by German immigrant Isaac W. Bernheim who eventually dedicated it as a gift to the people of his new homeland. The park includes over 16,000 acres of land and 40 miles of hiking trails, which we only enjoyed about 1½ miles of so there’s lots more for us to do the next time we visit.

Our last destination on this birthday hiking tour brought us all closer to home at Clifty Falls in Madison, IN. Clifty Falls is located on the Ohio River and is perched high on a hill overlooking the barge traffic moving up and down the river. The park was established in 1920 to preserve the falls on Clifty Creek. In 1965 the park doubled in size and now covers 1,519 acres, and includes over 12 miles of hiking trails, most rated rugged, either moderately rugged or very rugged. The park lives up to its name; there are several falls and lots of cliffs that make the rocky trails slow going. Again, once settled into our rooms at the lodge we took off for a hike. We chose trail #5 that leads down the steep ravine to Little Clifty Creek. It was a beautiful hike albeit strenuous for me. I suspect after hiking for a week my body just was telling me enough is enough. On the trip back up the ravine I ditched early back to the road because my knees just didn’t want to do another stair step and I knew there were a few more sets ahead. It’s disappointing when you lose trust in your knees. I have become aware of an area of weakness to strengthen, so that’s a good thing.

An interesting tidbit about our Clifty Falls hike; when we were descending to the creek a group of firefighter/rescue crew were setting up for a practice cliff rescue. They were being taught knots, anchors, positioning etc. On our way down they were all up on the higher switch back trail setting up. But on our return trip up we arrived just in time to watch them for quite awhile as they were blocking the trail. They had one of the crew strapped in the rescue sled prepared to be raised up the side of the very steep rocky hill side and 2 crew (one male and one female) were bracing the sled so that it was not resting on the ground. To do that they were tethered to the sled, that was attached to a rope stretching probably 100 feet up the steep hill. To keep the sled elevated above ground they were being coached to lean ALL their weight backwards, and what as behind them was more steep rocky ravine. It was pretty unnerving watching this play out before us. Eventually when one of the crew members needed a break and another member stepped in for him they allowed us to pass. When we arrived to the level on which the pulley and anchoring was taking place we paused again once passed the ropes and equipment. We were hoping to watch the lift take place. They began the assent of the crew and the sled when unexpectedly something gave way and the lower crew were given a jolt as they lost about a foot. We could overhear a leader say that thanks to an anchor they had placed, the training exercise didn’t turn into a tragedy requiring a real rescue event. It was startling watching this all play out. Perhaps that played into me losing confidence in myself to finish the steep trail back to the car.

This is a long blog already so I will stop here and share about the rest of our adventure in my next blog.