Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The Trip To Red River Gorge (part one)

My wife, my friend, Steve and I took a two and a half hour trip to Red River Gorge a couple weeks ago. It's located in east-central Kentucky and boasts a bounty of beautiful, unique flora, sandstone arches, limestone cliffs, ridges, waterfalls and natural rock bridges.

There's tons of things you can do there like kayaking in the Red River through the canyon, rock climbing, hiking, camping, fishing and so much more. You can also get eaten by a bear if you're not careful. Check out one of the signs posted below.


My friend, Steve and I have camped down there about half a dozen times. No matter what season it is, the Gorge is always a fantastic site to experience. The first time I went down there with Steve, more than twenty years ago, we camped out on the edge of a cliff after hiking up mountains all day with another friend's pet German Shepherd. It was tough going, carrying the German Shepherd half the time because of the steep terrain we climbed, but it was worth it in end. We drank ourselves silly with some of the moonshine the natives gave to us.*

*Hic

Here, you can see we enjoyed a little picnic. No moonshine this time around. :)



Beautiful, isn't it?


This is the trail leading to Sky Bridge. Sky Bridge is just one of many natural rock bridges at Red River Gorge. When you walk across it, you have to be careful or you can fall off either side and possibly die. The scenery is beautiful from there.


I have pictures of Sky Bridge, plus a whole lot more coming up in part 2 of our trip.

8 comments:

klahanie said...

Hi Kelly,
Wow, what a beautiful location. It's really great to see you out there in the great outdoors and sharing all these wonderful photos. Thanks buddy.
By the way, your blog layout looks very nice. Look forward to part two.
Take care, friend.
Gary :-)

Kelly said...

Thanks, Gary, for both the compliments on the pics and the blog layout look. You should see the pics coming up in part 2. They're exciting in the fact that they take place in an area that has taken quite a few lives in the past, mostly due to the carelessness of others. But that fact doesn't take away from the sheer beauty of the place.

It does seem I've been spending a lot of my time outdoors. I've always been an outdoorsy type guy but nowadays, especially, I've been finding a lot of peace within nature. I think I'm also making up for all those years lost in the drudgery of working in windowless factories almost half of my life. Being on disability has allowed me a certain amount of freedom to explore, even if I do have to stop every ten minutes to sit down from foot pain.

Take care, my friend and stay well. I wish I could take you to some of these places, man. :) You'd love 'em.

Yarnlady said...

those are some really great pics! It's cool how you can zoom in on them too. I don't think my pictures are like that. I think I'll check...
The rocks are really cool. I would like to hike around there.

bazza said...

Looks great. This is definitely the best time of year in the country.
I have a cousin who lives in Lexington, Kentucky. Is that anywhere near there?

Kelly said...

MarytrMom- It's great hiking around down there. There are a lot of spots to stop at and take in the scenic views.

Kelly said...

bazza- According to a map I looked at, I think Red River Gorge is about 30-40 miles from Lexington, southwest to it. That's kinda cool that you have a cousin that lives not far from there. I'd love to live that close to the Gorge.

THE SNEE said...

Hi Kelly,
As you know I grew up in Cincy, so I was soooooo excited to see that you posted about one of my most favorite spots. I LOVE RED RIVER GORGE! The autumn is particularly beautiful. And don't forget.., you can eat Kentucky Fried Ham and Grits for breakfast. I can't wait for part two!

Kelly said...

THE SNEE- That's cool that you love it, too. I wonder if you've hiked and/or climbed to the same places I have, too. Yeah, the Kentucky fried ham and grits are mighty tasty!

I just posted part two. Have a look!