(*Editing still in progress.)
So Mark and I continued our tour of Kentucky State Park Lodges in August, and my apologies - I'm a little delayed in posting these pics (!) - but I had a lot going on, at the time, to include getting bitten by what the doctor(s) have determined by a brown recluse spider at that time! ((I'll post a picture of it below.)
I didn't even know I was bitten at first, as I was likely bitten in my sleep. (The spider was likely in my bedding, crawling up my leg, biting my upper inner thigh near my groin - ewwww! Let that be a lesson to you, always check your bedding if staying in the woods or mountains of the Southeast ;)
In fact, I didn't even notice the bite until a few hours later. I did wake up feeling super run down, wondered if I had COVID for a minute, but went on about my day anyway.
Two hours later, on the short hike back from the falls, I became short of breath, my heart started racing, I began sweating profusely, and I became nauseous. I thought I was just dehydrated, came back, took a shower, and found this huge red, sore bump in my inner thigh.
The next day, it began streaking (cellulitis), so I used my laptop for a virtual doc visit and picked up some antibiotics in town.
The next day, I had a low-grade fever of right about 100, but didn't want to entirely ruin our anniversary, so we went to nearby Laurel Lake for Mark (who misses his Michigan lakes. I took a quick dip, but mostly lay in the sun, while Mark stayed in it like he lived in it lol. )
By the 4th day, it was clear the antibiotics weren't working, my fever was 101, and it was now purple with two very clear punctate wounds, - which I had incised and drained back in Lexington, went on antibiotics. I still have a purple area there, in fact, which the doctor said I'll likely always have - fun!
Thus, what few pics I took, I'll finally post here!
(We hope to go back perhaps in the Spring to get better pics and do the place justice :)
Now - the first thing to know, Cumberland Falls is also known as "The Little Niagara Falls," and the only place in the Western Hemisphere that you can see a "moonbow" (more on that below) :)
The second thing you need to know is that Dupont Lodge is the oldest of the Kentucky State Park Lodges, having been built by the CCC in 1932 (rebuilt after a fire in 1941).
IMO, though still beautiful, it could use just a tad of renovation without changing the structure - i.e., sandblasting the stone, sealing the windows, and it's super musty.
It's super sad, actually - not sure why it seems they spend the least money on the oldest, most historic of the Kentucky lodges, but it's obvious they do - then again, we went one week after the Eastern Kentucky floods and much money was going to house people at the two Kentucky State Parks in that region, as well as Kentucky State Parks are recently on a strict budget due to COVID budget issues, so that could be part of the reason.
Regardless, I'm happy anywhere, and Kentucky lodges are super cheap - like $80 to $120-a-night cheap, even in the summer, with cabins starting at $130 to $225. (We stayed in a little duplex cabin to the side of the lodge for $112 a night.)
Back view of Dupont Lodge and Patio ...
... and another 500 feet to Cumberland Falls Gift Shop ...
More information about the Cumberland Falls Moonbow can be found HERE, but the short version is, the moonbow is created within the mist of the falls, but only on clear days for one or two nights at the beginning and the end of a full moon :)
Cumberland Falls Moonbow (not my photo).
And here's another colorful pic of sorts, though not as pleasant - the aforementioned presume brown recluse spider bite on Day #4!
Pretty, right?!?
Yeah, not so much. All good now though!
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