Well. I've taken a bunch and I'm rather proud of more than just two! I've decided, since I'm not out wandering the state, just Lexington, I'm going to post them here!
Well, after having to slow down on some of my adventures over the last couple of months and dealing with some superficial blood clots in my legs, I've taken on a Coursera course entitled Cameras, Exposure, and Photography. As part of the course, I'm supposed to take a bunch of pictures and only turn in two. Well. I've taken a bunch and I'm rather proud of more than just two! I've decided, since I'm not out wandering the state, just Lexington, I'm going to post them here!
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I'm going to have to say, I'm not impressed. It's a house, owned a built by the cousin to the guy who wrote "My Old Kentucky Home", the Kentucky state song. Stephen Foster didn't live there. They are "pretty sure" he visited there at least once. But inspired the song. So... why are we keeping the house? Well, the Rowan family built it. Who's that? Well, the head was a US Senator, but we'll learn more about the ladies of the house. Ok, again, why are we interested in the house? Well, it inspired My Old Kentucky Home. Ok, circular logic. I don't get it. On top of that, there's no signs saying no photography, but there's apparently no photography and our tour guide forgot to tell us. So, yeah, I'm not impressed. It also probably doesn't help that I don't like the song either. The house was nicely decorated in many original pieces. The rooms were nicely laid out so there was plenty of room to look around, but not touch. The house itself used to be three-stories, but we could only see two. Additionally, for being a colonial style front, the building itself was an L shape, with the kitchen off to the side. To add to it, and apparently I'm grumpy, we went to Rough River Dam in Falls of Rough. It's not impressive. The dam is small and not overly interesting. It's outside of Falls of Rough. Yea, didn't see any like those either. The lake was ok. Pretty blue sky, pretty calm, empty lake. Just nothing to really write home about. The area also had a campground, mini-golf, and camping. No hiking today, though I did eventually see a sign for it. we didn't get a chance to go in the gift shop and see if there was more information about the trail, but seeing how it wasn't in a very rural or secluded area, I wasn't interested.
I'm beginning to think I really am a grumpy pants today. This may seem way off my recent modus operandi for hiking around Kentucky and leaving Lexington to find adventure. Today's found it's way to my doorstep. Or at least, super close to my doorstep! My morning news brief of the TV being on the morning news while I let the dogs outside lead to me learning about former President Bill Clinton speaking at William T. Young Library on UK's campus during my lunch hour. How close is that for an adventure! Bonus, one un-suspecting bucket-list item of seeing a President/Former President in person. Ok, yes, it was a rally for Hillary Clinton. That's ok in my book. Sure, got to listen to him put forth ideas for her campaign. That means I went to a Presidential Pep Rally, right? Bucketlist item? Yup, why not! Did I plan in advance just enough to grab my awesome digital camera with a super-long zoom in case I couldn't get close? You betcha! I'll admit, Allison Lundergan Grimes, Kentucky's Secretary of State, isn't one of my more favorite Kentucky political persons, however she is fairly entertaining. I'm not a fan of her "hell ya's" for public discourse, but whatever gets people excited. I still admire her personality and strength to plunge into things. And cool none-the-less to see in person as well. He had a number of things to say that I liked, particularly in regards to supporting higher education for all and trying to make it more affordable and that the Kentucky Governor is being shortsighted in cutting the Health Exchange in Kentucky. Oh, and that no matter what kind of wall you build, you'll never stop social media from spreading ideas you disagree with, you just have to spread more positive ideas with brighter alternatives. After a few weeks of being sick and recovering from our month-long hiking streak, I decided to go out solo. I'd had enough of being sick and sitting around. But I was also succumbing to the naysayers who said that I shouldn't go out hiking by myself. I decided on a compromise. I'd do 5 short, out-and-back trails that were on the "popular" side. I hadn't done them and they did need to be crossed off my hiking list. On tap for the day:
Rock Bridge TrailA gentle descent into the forest lulled me into a sense of an easy path through the forest. The trail was partly paved in places, remember? It led down to a wonderful rock shelter with caves scatters long the sides. While I wasn't up for some rock climbing, I did capture a few pictures. None captured how large and beautiful the area is. The trail followed along a drainage area until it met up with Rock Bridge Fork. There were cute little waterfalls, ok, more of water falling off some rocks. Maybe a foot or less. Somehow along the line, a bridge was necessary to cross this drainage. Once down to Rock Bridge Fork, I came quickly to Creation Falls. It's a cute little waterfall. Youl can walk right down to it. In fact, there was a couple sitting on the rocks next to the fall having lunch, who asked me to take their picture. Would have been a better picture if they'd thought enough to hide their Subway behind them! The trail continued on, past a number of well used illegal camping spots right next to the creek. Bleh! Around a few bends and some small climbs, comes into view Rock Bridge, spanning the entirety of Rock Bridge Fork. It's pretty low to the water, but the climb onto the top if it looked a bit questionable for me, when I wasn't feeling my hiking best. Oh, and covered with plant-life! Which is what makes it so hard to see in the photo! Much of the ground cover surrounding the trail near the arch is gone, a tribute to its popularity as a lunch spot. Sad really. For the Forest Service to fix the area, they'd pretty much have to end access to this arch. I thought this was going to be an easy out-and-back, but the climb back up to the top of the ridge was not easy. Or more likely, I haven't fully recovered from being sick and allergy filled from the prior weeks. Add in that it was pushing 80 degrees out and I'm not ready for a hot summer to be upon us! Chimney Top, Princess Arch and Half-Moon Arch TrailsOh the out and backs. Paved. Flat.-ish. Quick. At least these two can be viewed from the same parking space. No need to fight the crowds and don't worry, there's crowds. On my walk out to Chimney Top, I followed a group of senior citizens discussing how far out they'd go and who was afraid of heights. When we came upon one of the view of Pinch-Em Tight, they remarked how thin of ledge the people were out on. I was thinking, that's not that thin! Just a steep drop off! There's some spectacular views from Chimney Rock of the Gorge, at least I imagine more so in the spring and fall when the trees haven't leafed out yet. We could see across too Pinch-em Tight and over to 715 looping toward the Suspension Bridge. Pretty cool to think that I'd hiked that area the month before. Princess Arch is a cute little arch, reached from the other end of the parking area. It's also fairly wide and easy to travel. Did I mention it was cute and little? Following the trail out, you find yourself on top of the arch before you realize it. Don't worry, continue following the trail and it will curve back around so you don't have to do much of any rock scrambling to get down there. If your paying more attention than may, you may even notice there's a turn off before you even make it down to the arch. I was not. Half-moon Arch Trail is not an official trail, so transversing it is more of an adventure than I am used. It was an easy enough trail to follow, as it appeared to be heavily traveled. A quick assent away from the pull-off (watch for the toilets and bear-boxes on the left side of the road, as you leave the parking area for Chimney Top and Princess Arch) and you're on the trail. The area has been heavily camped, so one of the first things you'll notice is the lack of grass and trees in the area. It's sad, really. Whistling Arch TrailI'd been out to Whistling Arch before, but I've also decided to participate in REI's website, HikingProject which is to chart really cool local hikes and describe them for people. I'd started on this one back in January, but wasn't able to come up with a lot of detail for the site. That's because, there's not a lot of detail to give about the trail. It's pretty popular and worn. Easy to walk, people bring along their families. The arch is small and you come up on the side of it, so it feels like you need to look for it. There's some really cool rock shelters to climb around if your feeling adventurous, but there is a nice drop off. Keep going past the arch on the left and you can find even better views. While I was there, there were some people using ropes to climb around the area. It's pretty, just not exciting or hardcore. It is with heavy heart that I find myself without my travel buddy. He was pushing 12 to 13 years old and is now chasing squirrels and rabbits and fishing doggie treats out of his great-grandmother's purse in the sky. It has taken me a long time to be able to write this post, nearly two years. In that time, I have allowed myself to go it alone, find other friends to bring along, but have yet to look for another to replace his company. His memory will never be replaced in my heart.
I have not yet adopted another dog yet, I know I will someday. In the meantime, I've spent the last year fostering two wonderful dogs while their parents lived in Germany temporarily. We are having a blast. Or at least, that's what I tell myself and the wagging tails seem to agree. |
AuthorI'm a chemist turned Academic Coordinator at the University of Kentucky. I love to traveling, gardening, and photography. With my dog Jake, we try to enjoy life however its thrown at us. Archives
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