The 'Niagara' of the South

We took advantage of the day yesterday and went for hike again - the color is still amazing but won't last another week! This time we went to Cumberland Falls - nicknamed 'The Niagara of the South.'

Last summer we visited Breaks Interstate Park, which is on the border between Kentucky and Virginia. This beautiful place is known as 'The Grand Canyon of the South' even though it is a tiny park encompassing only a few miles and probably wouldn't even be noticed if dropped into ''the real thing." Doesn't that make you wonder? Is there a place in the West that has adopted the name of a famous landmark that is actually elsewhere? Does the North compare its beauty to the South? The Midwest? The Pacific Northwest certainly doesn't - and doesn't need to. Isn't the South beautiful enough on its own that it doesn't really need to identify all its attractions as they compare to something wonderful somewhere else? While Cumberland Falls is truly beautiful, it really can't compare to Niagara.

Here's another thing about Kentucky's Parks: The state parks are 'resorts' and have lodges with restaurants (and usually a Sunday buffet) and public swimming pools, putt-putt courses, horseback-riding stables... People spend their honeymoons at these places. (We don't do that in the West - we go for 'natural.')

Silly stuff.