Carter Caves State Resort Park

Carter Caves was a true highlight of our Louisville excursion, and one that we easily could have missed. Just a few short miles off of I-64 in eastern Kentucky, this park is a treasure trove of natural wonders, yet also offers golf, putt-putt, fishing, horseback riding, canoeing, tennis, and swimming. There is a lodge, campground, and cottages, according to your preferences.

Natural Bridge is one of the park's landmarks. It is the only natural bridge in Kentucky that also supports a paved highway.

Very inviting. The stream leads the way.

Follow the rustic stone path.

What's this!? After a brief moment observing these urchins at play, I had a feeling Rand Paul would have a sweeping victory in Kentucky's senatorial race. If these kids' parents vote, that is.

Little dark cubbyholes like this are so commonplace in this park, they scarcely draw your attention after awhile.

But BIG cubbyholes like THIS will knock yo' socks off!

This picture needs some explaining. We're inside the Natural Bridge, gazing UP through a natural hole. Later, you'll see the view from the top. Creepy.

Now you can get an idea of the size of this thing. Mind you, everything Judy and I toured was free. The park has several for-pay cavern tours, or which two are open year-round. Maybe we'll do them someday, but this was enough to get me excited.

Beyond the bridge, the trail goes up and you can look back at it in the valley.

Somewhere along the way I spotted a familiar plant that was once found on our school nature trail (no, not the same plant). It has three names: Fairy Wand, Blazing Star, and Devil's Bit. What's your favorite?

This isn't the clearest picture, but just a short walk from our lodge is Smokey Bridge. It is a very pristine spot away from some of the park's busier spot, and we found it just at dusk. I did not even realize at the time that it is even more massive than the other Natural Bridge (220 feet long compared to 180, and 90 feet high).

Our room at the lodge had all the amenities we needed at a reasonable price, and a back porch overlooking a wooded area with abundant wildlife. Nothing too wild for us, though. The restaurant at this lodge was excellent. Thank goodness. There were no eating alternatives for several miles.

The following morning we knew we wanted to leave in time to arrive at Charlie and Liz's by lunchtime. We ambitiously set out to explore the Box Canyon Trail, a 0.75 mile trail that was truly remarkable and well worth the time and effort. Below is the Cascade natural bridge (have you noticed those things are everywhere)?

This is part of the arch of the natural bridge.

For those of you familiar with the Farm Life Nature Trail, do these three trees look familiar? They could be first cousins to our beloved poplar trees, Jack, Will, and Tom.

As the brochure had told us, unusual geologic features were everywhere.

Wish we'd had a geologist along to explain some of these formations.

This overhanging rock marked the beginning of the "box canyon."

Beyond this angular projection, the canyon walls were a consistent 90 degrees.

Many beautiful plants thrived beneath the protective sheer limestone walls. We haven't identified this specimen, but it reminded us of Firepink. The flowers were similar, but not the leaves.

A look back from the other end of the box canyon is revealing. Breathtaking.

This oddity is called the Wind Tunnel, and on a warm, humid morning, it lived up to its billing. Judy and I stood in it for several moments enjoying the refreshing, brisk breeze.

Judy and I did not have time to take any guided tours, but there are more caverns in this 2,000 acre park than anywhere in Kentucky. On this day, busloads of school children were unloading for tours, but none of them were on the trails we hiked.

Then we were off to Louisville, pretty much on schedule. We were thankful to have found Carter Caves, and as you'll see in my next post, we liked it enough to come back on our trip home. Stay tuned!