Cumberland Falls on a whim

CORBIN, Ky. — What do farmers who make their living in the fields do when it rains and being in the fields is impossible for a couple of days? Sometimes they jump in a vehicle and spend some quality time with the family. That’s exactly what happened recently when our son called on Saturday morning at 11 am and asked if we wanted to do a 48-hour getaway with his family following heavy rain in our area. We said yes, and at 2 p.m. the six of us were on the road heading south on I-75! Our destination was Cumberland Falls, Kentucky nestled in the Daniel Boone National Forest of southern Kentucky near the town of Corbin. Cumberland Falls is known as the “Niagara of the South” and offers an abundance of camping, many cabins for rent, rafting, kayaking, swimming, fishing, horseback riding, and is a hikers’ paradise. Our hope was that the heavy rains in the eastern Midwest would mean a big amount of water running on the Cumberland River, and we were not disappointed!

Arriving at Cumberland State Park’s Dupont Lodge at around 7 p.m., we checked into the rooms we had reserved for two nights. We were thankful rooms were available since this was a very spur-of-the-moment trip on a weekend at the height of vacation season. Dupont Lodge is old, but its 51 rooms are well-kept and very clean, and the lodge is exactly where we wanted to be to see some sights in the area. After grabbing a bite to eat in the lodge’s Riverview Restaurant, our first order of business was to drive a couple of miles to the State Park’s Visitor Center and Falls. Surprisingly, the crowd was very thin on this Saturday evening, so we stayed until almost dark taking in the beauty of the area and watching adventurers in kayaks and canoes on the river below paddling right up to the bottom of the falls. People were fishing below the falls off huge flat boulders extending into the river at the gorges’ edges. Above the falls a large flock of geese waded onto the rocks, dipping their heads into the flow as they hunted for tidbits in the waters. The grandkids thought the geese were quite comical.

Thunder rolled overnight, and the next morning we drove back to the falls to see how the storm had affected the water flow. We could see a difference as some of the rocks had now disappeared under the rising river. There were no kayaks on the swirling river now, no fishermen and no geese brave enough to challenge the current. We exited the State Park and drove 17 miles further south to Stearns, Kentucky to catch the Big South Fork Railway. The little town of Stearns which sits almost on the Kentucky-Tennessee border is rich in its history of coal mining for which a rail system was built in 1902. We bought tickets for the 2 p.m. train excursion which took us from the Stearns station platform to a reconstructed mining center 30 minutes up the tracks where we took a tour of an abandoned coal mine that operated from 1902 to 1948. Actually being deep inside a coal mine and learning firsthand the challenges and hardships of coal mining brought a new appreciation for the men who risked life and limb to bring the coal out. The preserved shops and buildings gave a glimpse of what life was like here in the early 1900s, and we gained a new perspective on how easy life is these days! After two hours at our stop, we re-boarded the train for the 30-minute return to Stearns. We continued exploring the area for a while, then drove back to Corbin where we found a nice local eatery called The Old Time Grill and enjoyed a delicious meal before ending our day. The skies had been very overcast all day with occasional sprinkles of rain falling on us. It was evident from the black clouds overhead that surrounding areas had received heavier rains during the day, so we wanted to take one more look at Cumberland Falls to see how its flow had changed during the seven hours since we’d seen it in the morning. Now the river was running high and wild, an angry muddy flow over the precipice of the falls! Many of the rocky crags both above and below the falls had now disappeared as the waters rose and churned much faster. It was very interesting to see the changes in the river and the falls that 24 hours had brought.

Monday morning came and it was time to return north to Ohio. After our complimentary breakfast at the lodge, we hit the road at about 7:30 a.m. and made one last stop to see the falls on our way out. The river continued to run muddy and fast, but as we bid it adieu, the sun broke through, and a beautiful rainbow appeared over the spray of the falls. It was a nice ending to our stay here.

About a half hour up I-75 in Richmond, Kentucky at exit 83 we stopped for fuel at a place we had visited on our trip south called Buc-ees. Having never been to one of these but having heard of it, we chose to refuel here and check it out. Saturday on our way south, Buc-ees was packed with travelers/shoppers, and we didn’t waste much time that day. However, now it was Monday and the crowd was lighter, so we took some time to look around. Buc-ees is a franchise of 45 stores that began in Texas and now extends across the southern states. Visiting one of these stores is an experience in itself. The Richmond Buc-ees opened in April 2022 and another is coming soon in the Bowling Green, Kentucky area. No semi-trucks are allowed here. Each location has a car wash and between 80 and 120 fueling stations. The inside store is the size of a football field! Buc-ees boasts a vast assortment of clothing, jewelry, unique gifts, souvenirs, and FOOD. They specialize in brisket and pulled pork, and we can attest to the fact that they don’t do things halfway. In the center of the store, you’ll find a team making freshly made sandwiches and wraps at a glassed-in station as they call out “brisket up!”. The newly made delights are quickly snatched up but the team constantly replaces them! There is a huge area with all sorts of groceries and an entire wall of slushies and drinks. If baked goods are what you desire, bring your appetite because there is a huge area of freshly baked treats along with roasted almonds and cashews, a large assortment of jerky, and all kinds of goodies! All Buc-ees stores are open 24/7/365 days a year. We recommend that if you are driving I-75 near Richmond you check it out. Oh, and they advertise to have the cleanest restrooms (with at least 30 stalls in the women’s) in America which we found to be legit! Check out Buc-ees at www.buc-ees.com or at www.uponarriving.com/bucees-ultimate-guide.

A few hours later we were home again and it was time to once again hit the fields. We came back with lots of great new family memories and some amazing pictures of our 48-hour mini vacation. Sometimes the short ones are the best!

This trip was taken from July 8 to 10, 2023, by the Sidener family, who live in Cridersville.