Into the Red

Natural beauty is around every corner at this tucked-away treasure in Eastern Kentucky

- BY TARA MASSOULEH MCCAY

MY STOMACH started doing little flips as we turned off State 11 and began our ascent on a winding gravel road. Although the afternoon storm had mostly passed, the emerging sun was almost entirely shielded by a thick canopy of trees, and fat drops of rain from the branches kept our windshield wipers working. My husband, Matt, and I had just navigated a particularly precarious portion of the road when I finally saw it: a wooden sign reading "Cliff Dweller" suspended between two trees.

I'd been on Canopy Crew's website almost daily over the past week, reading the description for our tree house so many times I'd practically committed it to memory: "Cliff Dweller is the first cliff-mounted rental in the Red River Gorge! With...177 steps to get to the kitchen, 45 steps to get to the bedroom, and 11 steps to get to the roof deck!" I'd stared at the picture of the tiny wooden box (supported by nothing but a couple of steel beams and a few cables drilled into the cliff face) on countless occasions but never fully appreciated what a feat of design, architecture, and engineering it was until that moment. We threw our duffel bags over our shoulders and excitedly began our journey into the trees in search of our first adventure.

Higher Ground (From left) Canopy Crew's cliff-mounted tree houses offer overnight stays. The Red River Gorge area is famous among climbers for its massive cliffs and boulders.

ANCIENT BEGINNINGS