East, west, home is best. And so the saying goes. I have traveled over three thousand miles in the last month and I have seen a lot of places.
The first one I want to share with you is this amazing place called Cumberland Falls. It is located on the Cumberland River in southeastern Kentucky.
We camped here for two nights. The Falls themselves are breathtaking. The water falls for hundreds of feet down to the river and the spray makes a constant rainbow over the river. Where ever you look, there is the rainbow. On nights when there is a full moon, the light causes what they call a "moonbow"...an other-worldly effect caused by spray and the rays of the full moon. We weren't there to witness this but the brochure we picked up gave the dates when you could.
We took a rubber raft trip up to and close to the falls. We could feel the wind and mist as we neared the place where cascading water and river met. It was exhilarating and exciting to be this close.
Cumberland Falls has always been an attraction to any visitor. Native Americans tell stories about the Falls. And early settlers wrote about it in their journals. Travelers in the last century were able to stay at the Moonbow Inn that sat perched on the bluff above the river.
After our river trip we took a hike to see Eagle Falls located on the western side of the river. It was a hard climb up and down the rocky trail. It took us over two hours to get to the spot where we could hear the water gushing out. In our way was a huge blockade of flood debris which we carefully climbed over. We were rewarded by a beautiful smaller falls that cascaded down into a pool.
After resting we started our trip back. Of course, we decided to take the alternate route. After quite a climb we found ourselves in a dim and dark wood. I just knew we were lost. But then we came upon a sign that said, simply, 'Parking lot'. Parking lot? What did that mean? As we clambered on we saw more signs that had the same message and realized that park employees had put them there to encourage us and show hikers that, indeed, they were on the right trail...back to the parking lot.
We rewarded ourselves with a refreshing swim in the beautiful pool at the campground when we finally made it back. And that night we slept in our little tent, under the star- studded Kentucky sky...lulled to sleep by the sounds of the distant Falls.
I have more stories to share. So stay tuned for Part 2.
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