Hahah. That one-day vacation to the Red River Gorge was long day, and I did not get to go swimming because I am naturally late. Even though I was up at 7:30 a.m. (early enough for me that my next door neighbor exclaimed on how early I was up. early enough that I got bitten to death by mosquitoes while trying to water plants and harvest produce), somehow we did not leave until a bit after ten. We stopped at the farmer's market on the way out of town, too. Stocked up on produce, and bought a quart of mini-plums as well. I think they are called
damsons - just a bite or two in each one. Most are tart, some are sweet, but they are a fun little snack.
We had a bit of a drive to get to the National Forest. Before we got there we stopped at this local museum, operated (apparently) by the county historical society, visited only by locals, and staffed by - er, several retired gentleman. The exhibits were haphazard and dusty, and crammed with a great assortment of artifacts donated by people all over the count: soda bottles and old tin signs, family bibles and geodes. Stuffed possums and bobcats ("That one isn't local, it's from Texas. But we try to go for local stuff mostly.") and spinning wheels, a half-dozen stools from an old drug store lunch counter, the wooden mail sorters from not one but three different rural post offices, various handstitched geneaology quilts and samplers, pictures of the graduating class of 1923, the organ from an old church, and on and on.
At least three old moonshine stills in varying stages of repair. That was just inside. Outside, the largest collection of millstones you could ever imagine, each identified by a handlettered sign and a huge assortment of old tools. An interesting 10-15 minutes stop, a bemusing assortment of (dusty! dust guys! dust that stuff sometime!) artifacts.
The drive through the forest starts with the Nada Tunnel - 900 feet long, through solid rock, blasted by a timber company a century ago. The whole area, like most of the east coast, was clear-cut in the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the rangers told me that there was old growth forest in some places, but only because it was so remote and inaccessible that after they started cutting the timber down there was literally no way to get it out.
We visited a restored frontier cabin that was a family home (with improvements, such as drywall and extensions) until the 1980s, and then did some hiking to see some of the natural arches in the area. Wow: so, the trails often took you to the top of the arch, where you could walk across them. Alas, this triggered my fear of heights. I am okay if there are railings, and okay if there is something solid behind me, but I could not walk far out onto the arches since it was sky in both directions.
(Also: the guide to the byway told me that I could enjoy shopping in the charming hamlet of Pine Ridge. The charming hamlet of Pine Ridge consisted of three or twelve houses and a closed gas station, as far as I could tell. Ahem.)
Natural Bridge State Park, followed. The eponymous arch is quite high up, and there are a number of pretty strenuous hiking trails up and down. I wasn't quite up for that (and it was getting late), but they also have a chairlift that takes you up to the ridge, then a fair little trail to either the bridge itself or a scenic overlook. So high up! Natural Bridge was wider than any of the arches in the national forest, so I was able to go about half-way, but I didn't make it all the way across. Had a bit of a hard time with the chairlift, too, but having gone all the way I didn't want to chicken out. And on the way down, I made myself look at the horizon rather than down, and that worked pretty well.
Had a hard time finding a place to eat on the way home - it was a long drive on very rural, two lane roads for much of the way and I refused to eat at any chain stores. I can tell you that any mountain town with enough population to support a Family Dollar
and a Dollar General also can support a Mexican restaurant. Throw in enough population for an IGA or something and they'll have a Chinese buffet too.
As it was getting dark, found a local drive-in (a genuine drive-in, with car-hops and a menu on painted boards mounted on the side of the building) advertising their signature
deep fried twinkies on the marquee. I skipped the deep fried twinkies and put together a fairly healthy dinner of salad, and beans and cornbread. Yum.
Made this soup:
http://beckyandthebeanstock.com/?p=28 with some farmer's market beans yesterday, for dinner this week.
I had a good food weekend. Some wine with dinner yesterday, and dessert - a couple of cookies, a half-cup or so of vanilla ice cream - not "diet," per se, but nothing I regret.
Chubbygirl, I think it's smart to treat yourself to ice cream or a few fries on vacation, especially if you are making smart choices at other meals. It keeps you from going off reservation because you are feeling deprived.
How much longer are you on vacation?
dgramie - wow. That is alot of bikers! I cannot quite imagine such a gathering. I'm sure it is good for the local economy, but tough on the ears. Motorcycles are so loud!
If you do get a hula hoop I want to know how it goes. I am sure I would sprain something trying that.
Rosebud - I bought a hiking pole this weekend! aluminum, and adjustable, and pretty cheap. They had them in the gift shop at the state park. They also had wooden ones, but none of the wood ones really spoke to me. Mind, I bought it after we were done with all the hiking. But I will have it for next time. And until then I can use it to keep the indoor cats from getting out when I open the front door, so - bonus?
Nancy - I cannot clean house the same day I've done any substantial yard work. Weeding and stuff - okay, but the big stuff requires a day to itself as far as I am concerned. I hope you recovered your energy and got done what you needed to get done! I saw an ad for an Egyptian belly dancing class and thought of you. I was considering it, but - next time, maybe. How did you get into belly dancing, anyway?
