kentucky – Midlife Creative

On day 5 of our road trip across the U.S., we arrived in Kentucky. This state boasts of impressive rock walls, waterfalls, caves, and the Appalachian mountains. We heard that Cumberland Falls was beautiful and found a campsite nearby after a quick search on Hipcamp.com.

Since we haven’t had much experience with camping and weren’t sure what to expect, we chose to stay in a cabin with a bathroom and electricity. The property was owned by a Kentucky native, Patrick. When we arrived, we were greeted enthusiastically by the neighbors, Alan and Linda, staying in the cabin next to us. Their granddaughter, Reagan, instantly grabbed onto Malia and Ivy, taking them down to the river to skip rocks. We learned that Patrick’s Point has 3 cabins as well as tent and hammock sites. In the summer, kayakers start their 14 mile paddle from there, through the Daniel Boone forest, to Cumberland Falls.

This video shows the view of the Cumberland river from our cabin.

We grilled burgers on Patrick’s grill, played ping pong, and visited with our neighbors until it got dark. We were fed sweet potatoes over the fire, introduced to rattler snake green beans, and asked to try fresh milk in a glass jar that was purchased from the Mennonite farmers down the road.

Malia was especially curious about the Mennonite children in their long dresses and head coverings, so we went and bought some strawberry jam and apple butter from their roadside stand.

Our sleep was on and off again in the cabin, since the air mattresses were horribly uncomfortable, and every time someone rolled over, the rubber made a loud squeaking sound. Mark finally decided sleeping in the van might be more comfortable. You’ll have to ask him to expound upon the lack of sleep situation in his own words.
The next morning, Patrick explained to Mark that there was a short cut to Cumberland Falls. The directions were obviously misunderstood because we ended up on a narrow, gravel road on the top of a mountain leading to nowhere.
When I started to panic, Mark finally agreed to turn around and backtrack to where we could get cell reception and follow google maps along a paved and well marked highway.

The Cumberland Falls are located in the Daniel Boone National Forest. The falls’ claim to fame is its moon bow which can be seen on a night of a full moon, when the light is falling just right onto the water.

Here is some video from Cumberland Falls.

And a few more photos of the area around the falls.

Here’s a rough run down of our first 4 days of traveling for those who have shown interest in “following along”.

DAY ONE – Wisconsin

We stayed in Madison, Wisconsin at Ben and Ellen’s apartment. Hannah came over for dinner and brought corn bread to go with the delicious chili. We know these friends from their years as students at Macalester College in St Paul. Mark also DJed their wedding.
I loved how these friends took an interest in Malia and Ivy and asked them lots of questions. Hannah played banana-grams with the kids. Ben showed us his bagpipe and we admired Ellen’s needlepoint. It was a pleasant evening of conversation and a great first night.

DAY 2 – Illinois

On our way to our home stay tonight, we stopped in Mendota, Illinois at the farm of Ben and Esther Hagenbuch. This was a fun stop where we saw chickens, rode a go cart, and had some delicious coffee in pretty tea cups. Esther was someone I could see myself being really good friends with, so our time there passed way too quickly. Maybe we will return another time.

We carried on to Normal, Illinois, where my Uncle Larry and Aunt Marianne live. My cousin McLean and his wife Sandra joined us for dinner. We had chicken nachos and berry pie with whipped cream. Larry told some great stories about his childhood that I had never heard before, and we played a classic board game called Uncle Wiggily.

DAY 3 – Indiana

We took our time getting going today. It’s been an experiment of learning a balance between driving time, visiting time, and quiet alone time. We also don’t want to completely neglect the homeschool while we are on the road. Today we did some school work at a Starbucks before driving to Indianapolis where we stayed with my cousin Delci, her husband Chris, and their 3 kids.
We also made a quick stop to have what Mark calls “life changing tacos” with friends and DJ clients, Ryan and Tori.

It was the perfect fall day at Delci’s house and the kids had fun making a huge leaf pile. Chris is a toy and game collector who has invented several board games. We oohed and ahhed over the arcade games and He-Man action figures housed in glass cases. We had fun playing one of Chris’ original board games called “Trick or Treat”.

DAY 4 – Cincinatti

We woke up early and headed out to meet a friend of a friend, Kells, who offered to show us around Cincinatti. We had brunch at a delicious place called Yuka and did some window shopping. The girls wanted to find stickers for their water bottles. Our main destination for the day was a walk across the John Roebling suspension bridge. This beautiful structure crosses over the Ohio River (the Mason-Dixon Line) between Kentucky and Ohio. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and we were able to walk around downtown Cincinatti and see some historical markers and make some wishes in an impressive fountain.

After our walk in Cincinatti, the girls were ready for a long rest. They were hot, tired, sick of traveling and there was no hiding it anymore. It was melt down time! I figured it was bound to happen after 4 straight days of being polite and kind to new people in constantly changing surroundings and strange sleeping arrangements.
We drove to our next home stay, hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. We didn’t know the family we were staying with and had no idea what we were walking into. Russell and Jenna were friends of friends who formerly lived in South Minneapolis, but are now pastoring a small Lutheran church in Greensdale, Illinois. I have to say, this stay was such a lovely surprise. I don’t know if I have ever felt so welcomed or cared for in someone else’s home. Jenna attended to so many details to make us feel comfortable and when we left the next morning we felt refreshed and ready to carry on to our next few days of camping in Kentucky.

I can’t believe how many lovely people we’ve been able to meet and spend time with in just 4 days. Do you have someone we should meet? Are you following along because you are interested in traveling in a similar way yourself someday? Or maybe you are just curious as to how long we will keep living the traveling life and what might come of it? Whatever the reason, we are happy to share our journey with you.

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Midlife Creative

Camping and Waterfalls in Appalachia

Just Getting Started