Kentucky ends up at the butt of a lot of my jokes. It's like Cincinnati's awkward cousin that nobody really likes to acknowledge is a relative, but it's always there, much to all of our dismay. That being said, Kentucky contains one of my favorite places to visit in the entire world-Red River Gorge.
My friends and I like to go there a couple times a year. It's kind of become a tradition for us. Even though we do essentially the same thing every time, it's still one of the greatest trips. Every time.
Preparation is key. If you want to have a good time over there, you must be prepared. I'm not saying my ritual is the only way to go, but it works pretty darn well. Aside from the regular/more obvious camping gear (tent, warm clothing, s'more materials, etc.,) one of the most important (if not the most important) things to bring is a six-pack (or more) of Ale-8 Ginger Ale. Make sure you buy the bottles, the canned stuff isn't any good for your camping trip. Since I usually go with a group of my best guy friends, we also have a habit of bringing our BB guns so we can "dispose" of our leftover bottles after we're done drinking from them. I can't really explain why, but this is just one of those things that enhance the trip to the max for me.
Another important point of preparing for your trip is definitely which days you're planning on being there. There are a lot of campsites off the main road that cuts through the Gorge, and you'll be camping at one of those. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of other people wanting to camp at those as well, so you have to plan pretty carefully as to when you actually arrive there. We usually have about a three hour drive, and we've found that leaving Thursday earlier in the morning gets us there around the time where the weekday campers are packing up to leave their campsites. It sounds random, but it's worked every time. And you especially want to make sure you get there earlier in the day so that you can get firewood and set up your campsite with plenty of time before dark.
Once we arrive, we always split our group up--two people set up the tent, while the rest of us go and lop down some trees for firewood. Technically, you're not supposed to be cutting trees down, but as long as you bring down trees far enough away from the campsite, you should be good. And make sure you get PLENTY of wood.
Past that, it's really your call. Time passes differently when you're out in the woods, and there are no commitments. You can sit in front of the fire all day if you want, read in your tent (don't), hit up some of the sick trails around (Grey's Arch, Chimney-top Rock, and Angels Archway are some of my favorites), go swimming in the river, or literally whatever else you want. Even when you're doing things, it's somehow relaxing. So do it, go camping. Hit up the general store at the entrance to the gorge off the highway if you're not really sure where you're going, and you can snag some great maps. But just go. That's why it's called an adventure.
