Minication

We just returned from a delightful long weekend of hiking and camping in Kentucky.  Scott took Friday off of work, so we headed out of town in the morning and arrived at our camp site at Natural Bridge State Park by early afternoon.  Friday was a blazing 87 degrees, so we were excited to try out the pool and lake that were advertised on the campground website after sweating through the tent setup.  Much to our dismay, we arrived at the pool area only to find it completely deserted.  Apparently, the summer-type activities don't begin until after Memorial Day.  So we drove across the expansive park to find the minigolf as an alternative.  Again, a disappointment.  I guess they don't expect people who camp before Memorial Day to want to do anything other than camp and hike.  We resorted to making our own fun and waded in the stream that passed by our campsite.  Not as nice as swimming, but it worked and Baxter had a blast.

We kept up the Friday night pizza tradition and made pizzas in the pie-maker on the campfire.  It was a bit hot for having a fire, but well worth the sweat.

Saturday, we hiked up to the Natural Bridge and on a few other trails around the park.  The Natural Bridge is a sandstone rock arch that is 65 feet high and 78 feet long.  We were able to walk under and on the bridge, which gave a spectacular view of the surrounding hills.  It was a gorgeous area and a beautiful day for a hike since the rain overnight cooled things off.  There were not many people at the park, so it was really nice to feel like we had the trails to ourselves and could take our time hiking and exploring.  Here are a few pictures from our hike:

Saturday night we enjoyed a big campfire, playing cards, eating smores, throwing the frisbee around, and reading scary books by the fire.

Sunday, we had church on a mountain when we drove to another part of the Red River Gorge and hiked a bit there.  We saw more huge sandstone cliffs and several climbers trying to ascend them.  Baxter was allowed on the trails in that area, so he had a great time exploring and leading the hike.