Red River Gorge Sequel

Year two at Red River Gorge lived up to the hype. We made our March getaway happen again this spring, and Isaac was able to join us from Richmond. Karson, however, was off on her own adventure out west with a friend, so she couldn’t make it this time.  I missed her the most as college basketball was this years theme.  I definitely could have used another girl in the mix, hah!  

Since we visited last year, I had a better idea of what I wanted to do this time around. At the top of that list was The Gorge Underground, which requires booking in advance—especially if you have a specific day and time in mind. Your group size also matters as they only accommodate eight per time slot.  

My plan was to stop in Somerset to grab groceries and make things simple—big breakfasts and sandwiches for lunch, and we'd eat out for dinner.  I brought two small coolers and grabbed a bag of ice to keep things cool.

Thankfully the place hasn't gone too commercial but it can also make it tough to find the right place to stay.  There are lots of options but hard to know exactly which area is ideal  Our cabin last year was nice, but it was a haul to the trails and made me want something different this time.  Plus it's fun staying somewhere new.  We ended up in Campton at a place called Cliffview Resort.  The pictures of the place made it look very isolated.  We'd joked about the movie Deliverance and Miles learned how to play "Dueling Banjos."  The directions to the place were fairly complicated and even included a video walk through of how to get there.  Plus, there is poor service in the area.  Fortunately, we found it.  I like to think I have a pretty good sense of direction, but even after a few trips in and out, I’m not sure I could navigate us back.

Natures Sanctuary

While I was unpacking everything, Matt took off to help Isaac find our cabin. He had also taken a wrong turn.  The area was definitely rugged, but there were lots of other cabins around us so not entirely isolated.  We had everything we needed - a nice cabin, huge smart TV, a hot tub, foosball, air hockey, three awesome porches, and the beauty of nature all around us.

The first night we ate at La Cabana Mexican Restaurant.  It did not disappoint.  Matt and I split the biggest burrito ever.  There was live music, and the weather was perfect.  Back at the cabin, we relaxed in the hot tub, played some rounds of foosball and watched some college basketball.  

I'm at a point in my life where I'd like to be able to sleep in, but it doesn't happen much.  Matt and I were up bright and early on Friday enjoying the sunrise on our back porch.  We took a walk around the area and headed back to fix a nice breakfast.  It was a fairly lazy morning of reading, relaxing and again, watching basketball.  After Kentucky’s big win, we celebrated with ice cream at the Brick, the same spot we loved last year.

One of my must-sees, along with The Gorge Underground, was the Nada Tunnel. Luckily, it wasn’t very far from the Brick.  It’s super narrow, and even though it’s technically a two-way road, there’s no way to tell if another car is coming until you’re almost inside. We pulled up just as several cars were coming through from the other direction. At first, we were just going to get out and take a picture, but eventually it cleared—and we got our chance to drive through. 

Y’all… this tunnel is wild.  We would’ve preferred not to go back through it, but it was going to be a long drive to get to the trail we wanted to hike.  

If you’ve never visited the gorge, I recommend downloading the AllTrails app. The area is huge, and there’s so many trails to explore. Make a plan ahead of time, or you’ll end up doing a lot more driving than you expect.

I learned my lesson about trail distances last year.  I am not a “long hike” person. Two-ish miles or less is where it's at for me.  Gray's Arch was on the day’s agenda. The trail is 2.5 miles out and back. What I didn’t realize was that you have to descend about 90 stairs just to get to the area…which, of course, means you have to climb back up them later. 

Once we got to the bottom, plenty of hikers continued upwards toward the arch. No thank you—I’ll pass. The boys decided to press on, but Matt and I stayed back. With my bad foot and Achilles, I didn’t want to risk it. Plus, I already knew those stairs were waiting for us.

I know I'm out of shape, but good grief the trek up was hard.  My racing heart was coming out of my chest.  I've seen a bunch of Tiktoks where hikers say "the greatest view on the hike" and pan their camera to the parking lot.  That is exactly how I felt when we reached the car.  I was ready to collapse.

On to Miguel's Pizza!  I don't know what the boys were more excited about - the pizza or playing basketball.  There is always a game or something going.  After we ordered our food, off they went to play knock out with the group which eventually turned into a pick up game.  They had a blast, and we enjoyed some tasty pizza.

Saturday was the BIG day of The Gorge Underground.  You have to arrive about 30 minutes before your timeslot which meant 9:30AM for us.  We fixed our big breakfast and headed out.  It was chilly that morning so we dressed warm.  Plus, it's 50 degrees in GU.  What I didn't realize is that you cannot wear footwear in the clear kayaks.  You can wear socks, but the guides let you know they will get wet.  I guess you could bring a pair to wear in kayak which will get wet and bring a dry pair for when you get out.  We didn't have a spare pair with us so barefoot we went which made it extra chilly.

 

Matt and Isaac were instant pros, but Miles and I struggled a bit.  I don’t know if it was the extra seat in the front of the kayak or just no coordination, but I could not get the hang of it. While everyone else was cruising along, Miles and I moved at a turtle’s pace.

 

In the 1900's this was a limestone mine and when the workers were carving out the tunnel, they opened up water channels.  It didn't flood all at once because as they mined, they were able to keep the water pumped out.  As they dug deeper, more and more channels of water opened up and continued to flood.  Over time, and after I-75 was complete,  the mine filled completely and became an underground lake.  It's a super cool experience!

We headed back to the cabin for lunch and more basketball.  Our plan was to eat at Redpoint Barbecue which came highly recommended by our guides.  After a lazy afternoon, we made our way out for our last dinner, which ended up being super close to the cabin.  The place was packed, but we only had a 30-minute wait.  There were areas under construction, like they were planning to expand. While we waited, Isaac jumped into a hacky sack game with a group of people outside. They were nice to let him join in, and you could tell they were rock climbers. One of them mentioned how they enjoy playing hacky sack in their community—which I took to mean climbing?  

I ate WAY too much but am looking forward to going back in the future.  Because it was still early, we decided to head over to Thrillsville to play mini golf.  When we got there, though, the worker told us they closed at 8:00 PM, which would’ve been fine except it was 20 till 8. I thought it was dumb and was wondering if they planned to kick people off the course mid-game or what. Technically, shouldn’t you be able to start playing up until closing time? I guess not.  Plus they lost quite a bit of money too.  Weird.

We checked out early the next morning and went our separate ways - Isaac back to Richmond and us back to BG.  It's always a treat being able to spend time together and making memories.

A Five-Year Detour: My Journey to SKyPAC and Back

There was nothing more frightening to me as a young mother who had stayed home to raise children than the thought of going back to full-time work. For years I was a part-time preschool teacher working with three and four year-olds at a church. It was safe and sheltered.  Before children, my life was much faster.  After graduating from college, getting married, and moving back and forth to/from Georgia, I worked in sales at local newspapers. After that, I was an instructional assistant in the city school system.  Matt and I were serving in full-time ministry, working at our church, and he was attending seminary at Lipscomb.

Married life and babies happened quickly. And then suddenly, they were all heading to kindergarten.  I knew I wanted to ease back into work, but I had NO clue what I was going to do.  SKyPAC had opened in the spring of 2012, and they were hiring part time ticket office staff.  I remember thinking, Maybe I could do that?  And, they took a chance on me.

I always joke and tell people I was baptized by fire. Not only is the ticket office the front line for everything, but the gentleman who hired me quit that very week. Ouch!  After working my first show, coming from a very low key work world up until that point, I went home, sat in the bathtub, and cried. What in the world had I gotten myself into?! With the help of Katie, Debbie, and Sue, I powered on, and we became an unstoppable team. I caught on quickly, and the rest was history.

 

 

I was exposed to incredible artists and colleagues like Andee Rudloff, the late Brandon Bradshaw, and one of the most talented vocalists I’ve ever heard, Zac Bush, in the education department where I eventually transitioned into a full-time role.

 

 

Deb was my rock and automatic best friend. We made an instant connection — swapping stories and cheering each other on through the highs and lows. We'd throw paper planes over our next door cubicles for entertainment or when we were annoyed!  It was such a special friendship.

Jess was one of those people who could market anything. She was constantly thinking outside the box, always asking, “How can we make this work?” I assisted her on projects that we still laugh about (and stress about to this day - ha!).

 

 

Jennie was the rockstar ticket office manager who somehow managed to be everyone’s friend. She could handle high-pressure on sales, show nights, subscriptions, and settlements easily.  She carried the weight of the ticket office, protected her staff, and was always willing to assist frustrated patrons or address software issues.  It was a hard role!

 

 

 

Jan, Erin, Becky, Jackie, Betty, Lynn, Bob, Dane, Alex, Rob, William, James and so many others, past and present, poured countless hours into keeping SKyPAC running. There were long days, late nights, big shows, deadlines, budgets, and times that stretched all of us so thin!  SKyPAC became my home.

 

Eventually, I was in charge of the education department. I never in a million years saw myself working in a performing arts center, but oh, how I loved my role there!!! I worked with teaching artists: Kenny Lee with Blues in Schools, Chris Carmichael and the way he could make his violin talk to students, Andrew Wielawski (who once took me to lunch at Mellow and introduced me to mushroom soup) and could teach children how to carve stone, Anthony Alterio and dance workshops, Kevin Spencer who is still a close friend that led multiple magic camps and school workshops that left kids amazed, and Alfredo and Jennifer Escobar who brought folk dancing and art into classrooms. Storytelling residencies. Fencing clinics through Kentucky Shakespeare. Puppet making workshops with Bits n Pieces theatre. Bullying prevention workshops which led to meaningful conversations with students.  Those were just a few of the projects I had the privilege of coordinating which exposed thousands of students to experiences they might not have otherwise had.  And that was only the in-school component.

 

 

 

I loved the weeks of summer camps - the laughter, the nervousness, the friendships formed by Friday evening and Saturday performances. Our building was full of energy and excitement.  My own children were able to participate when they were younger.

 

 

 

 

School day matinees where thousands of children experienced live performances, some for the very first time.  It was such a treat seeing the looks on their faces when they walked into the building, when the lights dimmed and the curtain rose.  Being terrified myself because I had to go out on stage and introduce the groups and speak on all the building safety measures. 

 

Scholastic Art & Writing exhibitions and our arts galleries filled with student artwork and proud families coming in to check them out.

It was one of the most joyful seasons of my life. Then came COVID and the world had to pivot. I never want to minimize that season because so many people experienced loss.  Businesses went bankrupt.  Schools closed.  But losing my job was painful!  I had spent eight and a half years there. It was all I knew. That building, those people, our goals.  It was my adult life. I was filling out unemployment paperwork.  What in the world was the unemployment office? How did this work? How were we going to make it financially as a family?  I was terrified.  Not just of the logistics but of the unknown - starting over!

 

Then SKYCTC entered the picture.  Again, never did I dream I would be working in the world of higher education.  I'm not sure why it surprised me since I am surrounded by family who are educators.  I fell in love with it.  It was a welcome reprieve after SO much uncertainty.  I'd tried a few other things during the in-between and knew those were not the career paths I wanted.  They didn't fit.  This did.  It was a new beginning in a different setting.  I'm forever grateful to Renee White and Marsha Shorts (and the entire business division) who were so patient with me as I settled into my job.  Chris Royse was the perfect boss and one of the most selfless leaders I ever worked with.  I've met some of the most awesome people at SKYCTC.

 

 

 

After leaving my role with the business division, I transitioned over to Adult Education a little over a year ago.  It’s been incredibly rewarding. Working with adult learners and with such a dedicated team has taught me so much. It’s been inspiring to be a small part of someone’s bigger journey. Forever grateful for this group!!!

 

 

I like telling people I went from one Sky to another Sky.  And guess what, skies are on top and both of these places are the best at what they do.  Different mission but both life changing!  I've spent five incredible years at SKYCTC and honestly thought this would be the place I would close out my career.  But, life had other plans.  I received a call from a colleague at SKyPAC the week before last. She asked if I would consider coming back. It would be a new role, different from what I had done before.  She said she believed I would be a great fit.  After we hung up, my mind raced a million miles an hour.  SKYCTC was home and a safe place when I needed it.  But, I also felt this huge TUG on my heart.  It would be a chance to return to a place and people that I loved.  That's really hard to pass up.

After a nice discussion with SKyPAC's leadership team and long conversations with Matt, I knew my answer.  It was time to go back home.  That’s the only way I can describe it.  Not because SKYCTC wasn’t meaningful because it has been. But SKyPAC was where I  started and where I want to end. I’m excited, anxious, grateful...I’m also aware that returning doesn’t mean everything will be how it was.  It will be a new chapter, and I am okay with that.

Sometimes a detour is a good thing. I'm ready for what's next!  Stay tuned.