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Heights. Why does it always have to be heights?

Camping trip day 4: Tuesday September 16th, 2025

Good morning from the Meadow Creek Campground in West Virginia

In my previous post, I forgot to share a video.

I hear that this campground is a popular location for train enthusiasts since the train tracks run nearby.

As for today, it is a good morning.

Today I head to Natural Bridge State Resort Park in Kentucky where I will spend the night before visiting the main attraction of this adventure which is the Red River Gorge underground kayaking tour.

I’ve been very nervous about these plans as the tour isn’t guaranteed.

If there is not enough interest then the event will not happen.

When I booked this trip far in advance, I went ahead and picked a solo slot to book the crystal kayak tour in hopes that by starting the process that others would join the slot that I had picked.

To “seed” it and hope that others also join the same tour and time slot.

I figure if the tour is cancelled, they’ll call me or email me, right?

We’ll know soon.

Time to pack up.

Oh, and did I mention that there are no showers at this park?

There are some nearby, but they cost $5 so I’m on day three without a shower, now.

Hopefully Natural Bridge State Resort Park has one…

Great news!

This state park DOES have a shower.

And a washer and dryer.

Neat.

Per usual, when booking in advance I picked the campsite nearest to the bathroom.

I love this little park.

This is such a small and minimally maintained park.

There are the giant parks with rangers everywhere that are meticulously cleaned, and there are the half abandoned parks with trash and broken bathrooms, but this one is just right.

There is clear ranger activity to keep this place tidy and running, but it still felt like I was alone in my corner of the park.

The RV area is far more popular here.

I think I may have been the only tent camper compared to around fifteen RVs all lined up in a row, but this makes sense. They’re more likely to camp through the week rather than a tent camper showing up on a Tuesday.

I love this dumb $40 tent.

Near to this state park are several things of note including a restaurant that my therapist suggested to me which is Miguel’s Pizza.

Now that my tent is set up, let’s go and check that out and have a nice warm meal.

There it is, that yellow building in the distance.

Whoa. This place feels like a park gift shop.

I like it.

I hear that Ale 8 is the big soda brand in the area, so I’ll be trying that.

Note: I can see that the brand is actually named “Ale-8-One” and that it’s meant to be pronounced “A late one.”

While I wait for my pizza, I’ll send a quick postcard to my friend Tony in Michigan.

We met in Nebraska, so this card is apropriate.

Pizza time!

I took the server’s suggestion and ordered half of a margarita pizza.

I also need to do some planning while I’m here.

Tomorrow morning my kayaking tour is at 9am.

Typically check-out-time at a campsite is 11am.

Do I have time to go to the event, then return to the campsite and tear it down?

I should ask the park if my spot is reserved for the next day and if they’re strict about check-out times.

I could try to tear everything down and bring it with me so that when I’m done with the kayak tour, I can leave directly to the next camping location (which is the Mammoth Cave Campground in Kentucky).

Mammoth Cave is about three hours away, so there should be plenty of time to get there and check in to my campsite.

While working out these details and making calculations on Google maps, I notice that there’s a rock climbing place next to Miguel’s which lets you set up a tent in their lot for $3 a night…

I should have done that…

But I don’t know if they have a shower and I don’t know if I could have reserved a spot.

No time for regrets! We have adventures to squeeze in today!

What’s in this area?

There’s a Natural Bridge sky lift.

That could be fun.

I try to learn about local plants when I see them by taking pictures of their flowers, leaves, and stems and using apps on my phone to help identify them.

I forget to grab screenshots of the results, though.

I do not remember what these plants are, but one of the things I really enjoy about traveling is seeing new plants and animals.

Oh wow. This lift is a beast!

I don’t know if the motor for this thing would fit in an office cubicle.

“Do not swing or bounce chair”

Ahh. A gentle slope up.

NOPE!

Not gentle at all!

This gets so high up into the air.

I have a perfectly reasonable fear of heights and I am not happy about my current level above the planet.

Not a fear of falling, but a fear that I might drop my car rental keys or my phone and not be allowed to gather them back up.

What a nightmare that would be.

I need to push these fears out of my head and enjoy ride.

I very carefully summon the courage to get my phone out of my pocket for photos.

I’m internally torn about using a death-grip to keep my phone in my hands.

I worry that because I’m nervous, my hands will become sweaty and this could cause the phone to shoot out of my hands like a rocket if I squeeze it too tightly.

Push it out of your head, Levi.

Enjoy the ride.

It has a nice view.

I really wish I had stuck my important bits in a fanny pack before getting on this thing.

So…

If you’re ever going to use a ski lift, bring a fanny pack.

Or tie your phone to your wrist.

…

Whew!

Made it.

I’ll have to get back down this later, but that is a problem for future Levi.

Here’s what I couldn’t see from my view at the bottom of the lift.

From here I am instructed by the lift operators that I can go one of two ways.

I can go and stand on top of the natural bridge, or I can go to a nice view of the bridge.

I chose not to stand on a slippery surface high above ground without guard railings.

That is to say I will go to the view of the bridge, rather than to the top of the bridge.

They put railings here.

But not at the view point.

Heck.

Sand stone always feels slippery.

Oh great, people are gathered here talking about the bridge and they’re telling me that someone recently fell off and died.

This place is terrifying.

But I’ll sneak a little bit closer to the edge.

There is the bridge.

I am so glad that I didn’t go that way.

I feel much safer here at my sandstone view point.

But I do want to test my perfectly rational fear of heights.

How close can I get to the edge?

Up to the big rock.

That’s progress.

Past the big rock, but still on solid stone without slippery sand under my feet.

I’m not stepping any further.

That’s a trap.

I’ll grab a few more pictures and then I’ll head back to the lift to get down.

I didn’t get a picture of it, but there is a large rock that sticks up along the lift path and at some point people decided to start throwing crap onto it.

It’s mostly coins and hair ties.

I don’t think I like that.

I did position my items in my pockets and gathered my phone in a comfortable spot for more photos on the way down, though.

Hahha, I can tell I’m nervous in this picture.

But it is a cool view and a cool ride (and it’s nearly over).

At the bottom of the lift, the operator has headphones on.

I say to him “What are you listening to?”

“AC/DC.” he says.

“Hell yeah.” I say to him.

He gives an approving nod and says “Have a good one, brother.”

It was a good visit to the lift.

I mean, except for the dangerous heights parts.

Next I’ll load up on some fuel at the nearby gas station and look at Google maps again.

Oh, there’s an abandoned hotel or something across the street.

Spooky.

I think I’ll explore the state park some more.

I need to figure out the timing thing for taking down my tent.

The ranger at the check-in spot was really cool, I’ll chat with them.

All is well.

I have options.

No one has this campsite booked for tomorrow, so if I need to stay a little bit late, there will be no issue.

Time for that shower.

Oh! A katydid!

I’ve heard about these, but have never seen one before!

The shower is fantastic.

The water heater works and I have a fantastic, warm shower.

I do have one small complaint that there are no shelves in the shower, or even just outside of the shower.

I must rely on two hooks to hold everything.

The walls are also made of cinder blocks.

I figured the top of the walls would be sealed, but they are not.

I tried to set my soap on top of it, and almost dropped it down into the wall hole.

But I am now clean and I still have my soap.

Luckily the bag that I borrowed from my wife to hold all of my toiletries is designed to hang from a hook, so this was not too difficult.

I’ll try again to hang dry the washcloth from the park bench at my campsite.

Maybe it will work this time.

Lovely sidewalk art.

There’s a loop thing over here with a pull-over spot.

Is this for RV poop unloading?

I don’t really know how RVs work, except for what I’ve seen in National Lampoon movies.

Henson’s arch trail?

I’m game.

I am hiking alone, so I will be ignoring this recommendation.

Wait…

Is this another slippery heights danger place?

…

I suppose we’ll know soon.

Silk worm?

Another new creature unlocked!

And what kind of bird is this?

insert grumpy noise

There are some heights without safety guards along this route.

I’ll take a quick break and dangle my feet over this ledge.

I think that I’m nearing the end of the trail.

This wall has a butt.

And I’m pretty sure this park has ghost deer judging by this poop.

Oh, I am near the end.

What is that ahead?

I hear water inside of it.

A hole that leads to an aquifer?

Drainage?

I’m not sure how to describe it, but there’s a mini-silo hole in the ground with water running through it.

Well, two silo hole thingys.

That’s pretty sweet.

I did not expect to see this at the end of the trail.

A pleasant surprise.

Let’s work our way back to camp.

I’ll explore the camping areas for a bit to see what else this park has to offer.

Oh, this is a nice and large picnic area.

Another little bridge between the tent sites and the RV sites.

There’s a cabin over here, too.

I believe this is for rangers and interns.

Oh yeah, this is a state park inside of a national forest.

A new bug!

No trolls under the bridge.

Oh, so back at this picnic area, someone at some point burned a giant hole through the table.

Oops.

More new plants.

But it is getting late.

The sun is going down and I should have dinner.

Mmmm. Ramen.

And whisky.

I’m kind of glad that I got a mid-sized vehicle.

It’s a bit larger than I’d like when driving on slim roads and in NYC, but it does a great job of letting me pack anything anywhere.

It’s a bit of a mess, but I have a system to keep this all tidy.

WHAT IS THIS THING!

Is this an inch worm?

It moves like a puppet!

Let’s make a quick round with the UV flashlight to see if there’s anything cool to spot here.

These leaves have a glowing tinge to them.

Oh! Some of that sidewalk calk lights up, too.

The exploration today has been great.

Time for bed.

This wash cloth is still damp again.

So is the towel.

Hopefully they’re dry in the morning.

See you bright and early tomorrow when we head to the abandoned mine kayaking tour.