Another gift we gave Zane for Father's Day was a planned trip to Natural Bridge at the end of July. We made reservations to stay at the Hemlock Lodge at the State Park right by Natural Bridge. So, the weekend of July 29th - 31st we drove two hours east to the state park and had an awesome vacation.
Our room had a balcony with a view of the pool and lake. The pool was about 400 steps down the hill. It was worth the walk. We hit the pool as soon as we got there. Then, we came in and had dinner at the lodge and followed dinner by a hike up to Natural Bridge. It is only a 1/2 mile hike (on the Original Trail), but it is straight up. The weather was beautiful and when we made it to the top, there was no one else there. It was ideal and perfect. We hiked across the top (holding hands) and saw such beautiful views of the valley below. The sun was setting and since the trails close at dusk, we soon headed down.
On Saturday, we had lunch at Miguel's Pizza which is home to a rock climbing shop and a camp ground to many rock climbers. The pizza was awesome. You just take an order sheet and check off the toppings you want. We tried a tomato, black bean, and avocado pizza that tasted amazing. We followed lunch with a drive through Red River Gorge. I can't believe that we have all these arches, valleys and beauties this close. We scouted out places for our next family camping trip. After a long drive (with a little car sickness) we came back to eat at the lodge and some more swimming.
On Sunday, we hiked to balanced rock - a short and sweet hike. The boys looked for a geo cache there with no luck. Then we got a pizza at Miguels and did a little hike to Chimney Top in the Red River Gorge. More beauty and amazement. Then, we started our two hour drive home. We all decided that the sooner we came back the better. 
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