August 23 and 24

On the Road Again

Wednesday, August 23, was another travel day. We stayed on back roads as much as we could. Just northeast of Lexington, KY, we decided to make the move to an interstate--I-75. We were heading south to Corbin, KY. We hadn't been on the interstate for long when we remembered why we don't like interstate travel. A semi was passing us and as the truck pulled ahead by about 20 feet, a back tire 'exploded' on the truck. Bob very ably avoided all the debris and we continued on our way. We had gone about 30 mile further when a pick-up passed us. It was about 50 feet ahead of us when the front left tire blew out on that vehicle. Once again, Bob got us through the debris.

We exited the interstate at Corbin, KY. Our destination was Cumberland Falls Resort Park about 15 miles west. The road was fine until we turned onto Kentucky 90 which leads to the fall. It was not nearly as bad as KY 1427, but we did hold our breath a few times.

Once we got to the campground, it was too hot for an outdoor picture. The temperature for the day was 101 and that was in the mountains!

August 24--Cumberland Falls

Today we hiked to the falls from our campsite. It was 1.5 miles to the falls. The scenery was gorgeous along the way. The trail was also downhill for most of the way, with steps and stairs built into the side of the mountain. There was a stone bridge spanning the Cumberland River.

The falls have been a travel destination since their discovery. It is one of 2 falls in the world where scheduled moonbow's occur. The other is Victoria Falls in Africa.

We viewed the falls from all the overlooks and we will return on Sunday night for the moonbow.

After viewing the falls we made the trek up the mountain trail to DuPont Lodge. About halfway up the trail, we looked back and saw the stone bridge we had been near earlier in our hike.

Once we got to the DuPont Lodge, we rested on the terrace which overlooks the Cumberland River. Then made our way back to our campsite along the CCC trail. We hiked about 5 miles today.

Bob cooked a steak on the grill for my birthday and we had an enjoyable lunch. It is still hot here and we hope for a cold front to move through tomorrow.