William & Charis

Don’t ever accuse us of not being spontaneous! While we were sitting around Sunday night contemplating our 2 days off, Charis and I decided we needed something to do. So, we brainstormed a little bit. Head to G-town? No. Shopping? Ha! Movie? Maybe, but not enough. Red River Gorge?! Yes!

In case you haven’t heard (…and don’t feel bad if you haven’t. Charis hadn’t either ’til I brought it up), the Red River Gorge Geological Area is part of the massive Daniel Boone National Forrest protected by our beloved government. According to one website, “Within the [Red River Gorge] area there are over 80 natural arches, historical sites, and miles and miles of trails made for cross-country backpacking or just day hikes.” We went for the first and last on the list: the arches and the day hikes.

We packed up (Jake and all) and left Monday about 9am to drive just over 2 hours to Slade, Kentucky. We arrived about 11:30, decided to check things out, and then to eat lunch. We had no idea what trails to take (that were beginner friendly) nor even where to look for for the trail-heads, but we decided it wouldn’t be too difficult to figure out. We were right. We picked up a trail map at the visitors center and then ran into some backpackers at Subway who told us where we should go.

By 1 we were on the trail and having a blast. Jake could hardly contain himself. About a mile in, we saw Gray’s Arch. The arch itself was worth the hike. There weren’t nearly as many people after we got past the arch, so before long we let Jake off the leash. As you can imagine, he had a blast! After finishing the second mile, we turned onto Rush Ridge Trail. The backpackers had said that the views coming down the ridge were beautiful, and they were right. It was awesome!

Our plan from the beginning had been to make a day trip out of this: drive there, hike all day, and then drive back. However, we had such a good time that we decided to stay the night. We found a room at the Red River Inn and rung in the New Year out in the middle of nowhere. We loved it.

As an added bonus, we had satellite TV in the room, and the single best car show in the world was on…Top Gear. I love this show, and Charis was gracious enough to watch 2 episodes back to back with me. Besides, where are you going to find better entertainment that a Lamborghini convertible and a torched RV trailer! Good stuff.