A short distance from the caves is a natural “altar” that my wife and I stumbled upon. When you’re walking along the trail below the cliff and look up, it can be a bit of a shock to see this formation and wonder who built it (too many viewings of The Blair Witch, I suppose). After a few moments, you realize that it is just how the trees fell onto one another.
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Here are the caves that I mentioned. My wife and I climbed down the cliff (it’s not too hard, there’s a trail off to the side) and were surprised to discover that the cliff was looking at us! You can see, in the lower left corner, my wife is looking right back! 😀
It didn’t take us long to use that home-made ladder to get up into the cave to explore. They don’t go very far back… It’s as if some giant with an ice-cream scooper scooped out some of the stone. Interesting, no?
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There’s no feeling that quite compares to standing on top of the world! No, not Everest, a cliff in the Red River Gorge (hey, the air is quite breathable and it’s above freezing… what can we say?) There are grooves in the stone where rappeller’s ropes have worn it away. Below us are some ice-cream scoop caves. For now, though, we are standing here on the edge, enjoying the view down down in the valley. We timed the changing of the leaves just right. A week earlier, and they were dull and dusty. A week later and they had started to fall.
We camped beside this field on our first-ever trip to the Red River Gorge. Of course, by the time we quit exploring and actually picked somewhere to camp, it was nearly dark and we were rushing to set everything up. The next morning, imagine our delight when we discovered the view!
Tucked underneath the trees on the right side of the field (as you’re looking at it) is enough flat space for a number of tents. This spot is only a short distance from parking at the trail-head. There is a pond near-by as an easy water source for those with filters. When the season is right, there are even some blackberries in the field, just off the trail. If we ever return with a group, this is one of the places we will head to first. We love this view and often swing by just to see how it looks.
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We’ve broken camp and are heading down a new trail to see where it goes. With a view like this, how can we resist exploring further? Oh, and just so you don’t get too concerned, this isn’t actually a photo of the trail, but down the hill from it. There really is a clearly visible trail that you can’t miss. 😉
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Did you like the campsite from Thursday? Today’s photos come from that same trip.
If you were inside the tent and looked out the window, here is what you would see:
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And here is the same view in its full glory:
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You might not be able to tell it at first glance. But you are looking at the trail leading away from the site. 😀 Head down the break in the trees and you will quickly be swallowed up by the forest, losing site of the site after about 15 feet. Isn’t it wonderful? We love it and can’t wait to go back!
Here is my wife and I’s favorite campsite in the Red River Gorge. It’s not always available, but this is frequently our goal when we head out to go camping. This is also the spot we normally picture when we think of camping. It is located out along a ridge, not far from the main trail. When the leaves are on the trees, it is invisible from the trail and can only be seen from the neighboring cliffs across the valley. As you can see, when the leaves are in full fall glory, it is an amazing place to camp!
Not only does this site hold our little dome tent perfectly, but there are some perfectly-spaced trees to hang our hammocks! We first tried a hammock in addition to our tent, and then returned with just our hammocks. With our bugnets in place and a slight breeze to rock us, we had a wonderful night’s sleep here!
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There are many different things to see when one approaches the Natural Bridge. One can easily be over-whelmed by the sheer size and magnificence of the bridge itself, or be captivated by the views out across the valleys (especially when the fall leaves are in their full explosions of color). If you take the time to look even closer, though, you can see that there are even more, less-obvious beauties ready for viewing.
This pattern is a part of the bridge itself. Located on the base of the bridge (it’s foot?) this pattern in the stone caught my attention when I first approached. The multitude of colors surprised me, and the pattern was interesting to try and follow. Even though many people walked by, only my wife and I stopped to look at the less “spectacular” of the views.
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The Red River Gorge in Daniel Boone National Forest is full of amazing features and views. My wife and I have spent more than one weekend exploring around the Natural Bridge there. Here are a couple of views from the top of the bridge.
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