Fall 2016 Road Trip – Exploring on our way home

We left Florida with plans to go to Winchester, TN and have dinner with a friend but learned she wouldn't be home. No problem, we changed plans and headed north with plans to stop by Carolyn's cousin's just north of Nashville.

We arrived in Goodletsville late afternoon, had a good visit and "driveway boondocked" so mission accomplished. We left early the next morning and made a quick decision to nix the idea of taking the interstate toward Louisville. Instead, we drove eastbound on the two lane road. Generally, we drove NE to Hwy 52 with turned out to be a great drive with mountain views and lead us to the South Fork National River and Recreation Area which turned out to be very similar to a national park with a great campground and several interesting hikes and scenic areas. Check out the photos below.

Our route took us through some beautiful drives.

Mountain views.

Wow, we didn't expect to find a place like this. Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area is a great find. There are miles and miles of hiking trails, unique falls and natural arches. It's similar to the Great Smokey Mountains NP but way less crowded. The Ranger told us many of their visitors come there to escape the big crowds of GSM yet get virtually the same adventure. We took some hikes and drove to some other sites...it's a big area!

The campground is great. Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of our campsite but I was able to capture this image of the super moon. 

Super moon

The next morning, we drove to the Yahoo Falls area. It's pronounced YEA HOO, not Yahoo like the web site. Artifacts, reveal this area was inhabited 9,000 years ago. Rivers eroded the sandstone to form natural arches and caves which provided shelter. 

The trail-head was clearly marked...Yahoo Falls - .25 miles. The arch was 1.5 miles so we headed off  on the well used trail.

Trail head.

It was a great day for a hike in the woods.

Which way to go? We decide to go to the arch.

Time to take the jacket off and catch you breath.

Rock hugging tree.

Sometimes you just have to stop, look up and take in all in!

There was another couple at the arch.

How long does it take to make an arch like this.

So, back to the fork in the road. Should we go to the falls?
Sure but remember we will have to climb back up these stairs.

The trail is dry and in good shape.

9,000 years ago, Native Americans lived in this cave.
Several tribes populated the area and lived in caves along the rivers.

Whew! It's a long climb back to the trail but worth it.

We have one more stop before we resume out trip home. Most of the waterfalls were only a trickle due to the drought but we were assures the Cumberland Falls would be flowing. Sure enough but we couldn't help but imagine the flow if the summer rainfalls had been normal.

Cumberland Falls

The road home.
This area in northern Tennessee and southern Kentucky was a great find. We'll be back!