Lucky in Ol' Kentucky

With the extended break from work and amazing friends who opened their home up to us, we were finally able to get back to Kentucky over the Thanksgiving holiday. I hadn’t been back in four years - that’s a lot of missed fall climbing - and our tiny human had yet to be introduced to the RRG or Miguel’s pizza...it was time!

Exactly six years ago - in the Red, where else?! 

​You can cut a lot of time off a drive if you never stop...ever...as I learned the first time Brian and I traveled to the Red one Memorial Day weekend a million years ago.  He factored one stop for gas and a bathroom break - provided you were in and out before the tank was full - and that how we made all our trips, (our record may be a trip to Kentucky every weekend in October one year). So while Brian wasn't about to break any travel records for this 500ish mile journey, we were rather successful in keeping our stops to a minimum, even with a tiny human on board. 

One long lunch break, one stop for gas and a diaper change, and we had arrived.  And we got right to all things RRG.  We rolled down the windows; took in the sights, sounds, and smells; and placed our best Miguel's pizza order (choose your favorite topics from a list of about 50 - pasta, sweet potatoes, all the veggies, fetta, oh my!). 

Thursday was crisp and sunny, the best kind of fall day, so I started it off with a run...well, after I started it with a giant cup of chai.  Aside from the person who was lying on the side of the road calling to me, I had a great outing.  I guess that sighting wasn't all bad as I found myself running even faster than I thought the cold air and constant hills allowed for.  And when we checked on the man a bit later, he was gone; so it was fine, and he was fine, and I am fine, and I wasn't attacked or tricked, and I am fine, and it was fine....ahhh!  

It was a perfect day for a run

Our Thursday continued in excellent RRG fashion. After a very modest approach hike, something not all too common in the Red, we spent some time climbing. It felt great to top out a few routes, to look over the valley, to look down at my "crag baby," as a man in a climbing party near ours called her, and see her loving her time in the dirt and leaves.  

Later that day, we traded in our climbing gear for our warm weather gear because we had Miguel's Thanksgiving dinner to consume.  Surrounded by almost 20 of our dear friends, our Adventure Rock family, we enjoyed turkey and all the fixings. We sipped wine and ginger apple cider, and I got to share some pumpkin pie with my tiny human, who had the most fun crawling around with Olive, the pup, and snuggling with some of the most beloved members of my gym tribe.

and for all the good grips

We squeezed in a bit more fun before heading home Saturday morning.  Brian made sure to point out that HQ hiked to her first natural rock bridge. While she seems most interested in licking them, HQ does love to scope out a good rock formation - much like her daddy.  And she loves to grab hold of the grippiest rocks within reach (again, likely to attempt to lick or eat them, but we'l take what we can get for now). Next trip to the Red, we'll have to harness her up.  We're certain she'll love swinging about the crag as much as she loved sharing slices of Miguel's pizza. 

We are so blessed to have such a wonderful community - our friends who opened up their home to us even though they weren't able to travel with us; our friends who stayed with us despite the intricacies of traveling with a tiny human (Thanks, team, for joining our family junk show once again!), our entire crew who makes the thought of driving eight hours (with a tiny person who may have had an incident that resulted in making part of the trip in a no more than a diaper and socks) just to pull on some rocks totally worth it!