If you want to venture out past your yard for inspiration and some serious water features, consider taking a trip to Cumberland Falls in Corbin, Kentucky. Not only can you hear the rushing water, but if you time your visit well, you can see a moonbow, a phenomenon that happens when light from the moon is refracted through water droplets.
A much drier but equally amazing natural feature can be found a 30-minute drive from Cumberland Falls in Daniel Boone National Forest: Natural Arch Scenic Area. Feel the earth under your feet as you walk the half-mile trail leading directly to the sandstone arch, and feast your eyes on its 100-foot span.
Indulge your hearing and vision with a hobby that draws your gaze out and up: birdwatching. You can, of course, do this at home, but there is no better way to expand your bird knowledge than by learning from fellow bird enthusiasts. The Beckham Bird Club offers a variety of field trips throughout the year, as well as regular meetings on the second Tuesday of every month.
Spending time in nature can help us recenter ourselves emotionally and spiritually, and if that is your goal, drive to Mount Saint Francis Center for Spirituality in Floyds Knobs, Indiana. Mount Saint Francis sits on 400 acres, and while it offers several trails, visitors also have the option of doing a self-guided outdoor pilgrimage to see 19 amenities, including a Peace Pole, several shrines, and a meditation path.
For a next-level multisensory experience, Bernheim Forest in Clermont, Kentucky, offers outdoor exhibits that blend nature and art in its L+A+N+D (Landscape + Art + Nature + Design) project. Walks in the Fictional Woods by Merve Tiryaki is a large, circular pavilion made of bamboo canes that vibrate — imagine yourself standing in the center of a gigantic wooden wind chime. If touch and texture spark your joy, you will almost certainly love the carved patterns of Bernheim Burl by Stuart Ian Frost, created from part of an old oak tree.
By Carrie Vittitoe
P.S. Check out the first part of this article ‘Invite Nature To Your Doorstep’ here.
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