Red River Gorge Hiking Trip

It was the kids' last weekend before school starts, so we went on a hiking trip to Red River Gorge.  We took a lovely picnic of sandwiches, carrot sticks, fruit AND a delicious vegan Triple Berry Lemon Bundt Cake (it was sooooooo good!).  Then we set off on the trail to Gray's Arch.

First of all, let me just say that I am convinced that the distance to Gray's Arch is longer than 1.2 miles, as indicated on the sign at the trail head.  Holy moly.  It's been a long time since I've been to Gray's Arch (20+ years?), but I really don't remember the HUGE wooden staircases descending from the ridge to the base of the arch.  And then it was a pretty difficult climb up the rocks and roots to the arch itself.  Ah well, it was gorgeous day (sunny and not too hot!) and we had a lot of fun.  However, the kids were really whooped by the time we got back to the car.  My thighs were feeling the burn, too.  I kept telling the kids it was character building and that they would look back and remember this experience with fond memories someday, but they weren't buying it.  They just wanted air conditioning and electronics!

To treat everyone after the hike, we headed over to Miguel's Pizza (on the road to Natural Bridge).  We'd never been there before, seeing as we usually just go the Red River Gorge side of Slade, but it was REALLY GOOD.  And super crowded!  I felt so trendy sitting there with all those athletic young hikers. 

Anyhow, it was a really wonderful day and we hope to get our family hiking more often.  Go Kolasas!