Koomer Ridge and Hidden Arch

On Tuesday, I took a motorcycle trip from Dayton, Ohio to Red River Gorge, KY. The air was a little chilly (about 50) and I needed warming pads inside my gloves. I traveled down the Warrior Path (US 68) to Maysville and then by Ky 11 to Slade, KY.

Slade has both the Red River Gorge and Natural Bridge State Park on either side of the Mountain Parkway. It is a fantasticly beautiful spot.



I found the Koomer Ridge Campground in Red River Gorge and spent a nice evening checking out my ultralight camping equipment and new down hammock. The temperature only dropped to 44, so it was not much challenge staying warm.

On Wednesday morning, I took a short hike from the campground to see Hidden Arch, where I called in and left the audio blog also on the site. I was sitting at the Hidden Arch when I made the call:



I drove a loop through the Gorge, including 10 miles of gravel road to see Chimney Rock. My bike worked very well for the whole trip with a pack side saddle across the seat and a couple saddle bags - empty most of the time.



After the whirlwind trip through the Gorge (remember to put lights on low for the Nada tunnel - otherwise it is hard to see - I drove the two miles to Natural Bridge and made my obligatory trip up to the bridge:



The trip home was completed with no problems and no frustrations.

This is a great little get away from Dayton. It took me about 4 hours to drive the 170 miles each way, stopping for a couple cups of warming coffee and gas each way. There are plenty of services all along the route. Gas prices were 15 cents lower near Winchester than anywhere else along the route.