Cumberland Gap

Total lunar eclipse

I was awake at 4:30, so I went out in the lodge parking lot in the pre-dawn and saw the full moon starting to eclipse. I went in and got Mary so she could watch the eclipse as well. We were pleased that the morning wasn’t cold at all even though we were a week into November. We decided the best place to watch the eclipse was from the back porch of the Cumberland Falls State Resort Park lodge. We enjoyed chatting with a lady from Michigan who was there early watching the eclipse as well. We stayed outside until after 5:30 and saw the moon become totally eclipsed and turned dark red. It was quite a sight. We were happy to see it since there will not be another total lunar eclipse until 2025.

Back at the room we had the breakfast we packed from home. The lodge’s restaurant was closed and there was no other place to eat nearby, so we were happy to have brought last night’s dinner and this morning’s breakfast with us. We had cold cereal with Greek yogurt along with fresh fruit.

Chained Rock

We checked out of the Cumberland Falls State Park lodge and drove toward Pine Mountain State Park where we planned to hike up to “Chained Rock” on the mountain over Pineville. Pine Mountain was Kentucky’s first state park, established in 1924. Early in the history of Pineville, parents told children that the rock perched on the hillside above the town was chained to prevent it from smashing into the town while they slept. The story grew over the years, so in 1933 a group in Pineville decided to actually put a large chain on the boulder. They used a 3,000-pound chain from a steam shovel that they hauled up the trail by mules in two trips. This was more of a publicity stunt than anything, attempting to attract visitors to the area. The stunt was a success, being reported in over 6,000 newspapers across the country and bringing visitors to the area nearly 90 years later. The trail to Chained Rock is a about .7 miles round trip and has some steep and narrow locations.

Chained Rock

From Pine Mountain State Park, we drove southeast to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. This pass through the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky was used by Native Americans for centuries then carried pioneers and settlers westward across the mountains. Famously, Daniel Boone led groups of frontiersmen through this gap in the mountains.

After a brief stop at the ranger station entrance to the park, we drove up the mountain to the trailhead for the Pinnacle Overlook. The road leading to the trailhead was steep and curved, being nearly a continuous set of switchbacks up the mountain. We parked at the trailhead and walked on the handicapped accessible trail up to the Pinnacle with an elevation of 2440 feet. Upon reaching the Pinnacle Overlook, we were treated to a beautiful view.

Standing in three states

We returned to the car and drove to the trailhead for the Tri-State Marker, a 2.2-mile round trip trail to the point where Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia come together. The trail starts easily on a wide gravel trail called the Object Lesson Road. Built in the 1920s, this section was designed to show the public as well as political figures that roads through the mountains were necessary and attainable.

As the trail to the Pinnacle Overlook continued, the path became narrower and steeper. However, the day was beautiful for early November, and we were happy for the walk. We passed several markers for the Wilderness Road, a trail blazed by Daniel Boone in 1775 from Ft. Chiswell, Virginia to the Cumberland Gap. The Wilderness Road was later extended from Cumberland Gap to the Falls of the Ohio River near present day Louisville. We also passed a large pyramid shaped marker honoring Daniel Boone that was placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution from Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.


We only saw a few other hikers on the trail, but we suspect that the area would be very busy during peak tourist seasons. There were two groups resting at the top once we arrived. We posed for a photo with our feet on the marker where the three states joined then started by down toward the car. The walk back down to the parking area was easier but just as nice. We ran into several visitors from Michigan as we walked but overall, very few were on the two-mile (up and back) trail.

1819 Iron Furnace

After returning to the car, we decided to make a brief stop to the 1819 iron smelting blast furnace nearby. We passed through the nearly one mile tunnel on Rt. 25E and quickly arrived at the over two-hundred-year-old sandstone iron furnace. We took a few pictures but were ready to be on our way since we wanted to be through Lexington before rush hour traffic.

A lunch stop at the Arby’s in Corbin for a very spicy Diablo chicken sandwich was just the thing. Back on I-75 north, we made a quick pit stop at Buc-ee’s at the Richmond exit then drove home by 5:30.