Garrison Natural Bridge Daniel Boone National Forest Pulaski County Kentucky Fall came late in 2018 and as I expected this adventure was a bit weak in fall color but it wasn't weak in the summer color department! For some time now I've been wanting to visit the little known Garrison Natural Bridge in Kentucky's Daniel Boone National Forest. Though not far from a seldom used but passable forest road, the offtrail hike required pushing through plenty of briers. This impressive natural bridge is a beauty and lived up to my expectations as one of the cooler arches I've visited, but from a photography standpoint it was one of the toughest I've tried to shoot. The trees are all in the wrong place for a great comp. Probably the more interesting features of the bridge is its two waterfalls. Extremely wet weather waterfalls mind you. One waterfall falls to the base of the arch and the other drops over the cliff ledge on the other side, very cool. It will be highly unlikely I will ever have the opportunity to visit here in the conditions to show off these features. A spot I did want to try for a composition was a few feet above the top of the upper falls, but we had some concerns about how slick the grade would be to set up one since it was very wet and mossy and one slip would have you sliding down to the ledge of the falls and tumbling 10 or 15 feet. I'll certainly be back in different conditions and a different season!
Great Wall Arch Asbury Trails Asbury College Wilmore Jessamine County Kentucky
Grays Arch Red River Gorge Geological Area Daniel Boone National Forest Powell County Kentucky Over winter I took a trip down with a good friend and his youngsters to one of my favorite places on Earth, Red River Gorge. Or itinerary for the day had us going to the Grays Arch near end of day, since the last time I was here I went early and direct sunlight made shooting the arch and it's rock house a difficult challenge. We had hiked to Ravens Rock and I was beyond wore out after that and was considering not even going to the arch but as we had a late lunch in the truck snow showers had left a light blanket of snow on the ground and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity. The scene at Grays Arch is truly one of the most spectacular scenes in Kentucky and in my opinion in the eastern US. A massive rock recess scattered with monstrous boulders stacked on top on one another leads to the arch that sits atop a ridge. In the middle of the recess is a 10 ft. tall crevice that runs almost 3/4ths of the recess and it offers some of the coolest views of the arch. The 1.2 mile hike for the most part is easy but the final .2 miles is more difficult as you drop down into a gorge by trekking nearly 100 steps, but it is well worth it and this place should be on everyone's list to visit sometime in their life.
