Hey Guys!
This post continues our time at Patti’s 1880 Settlement located in Grand Rivers, KY.
Read Day 1 here & Click here to find links to all of my blog posts & Click here to follow my YouTube Channel
We stayed one night at the Rose of the Lake bed and breakfast and like other bed and breakfast places, they provided breakfast each morning.
So, we headed over to the main house to grab a cup of coffee and then go sit outside by the pool until breakfast was served.
The one thing I didn’t like about this place is that you had to wait until 9:30 to eat breakfast, so if you had to check out before then, you would need to find breakfast somewhere else.
I had read about the delicious breakfasts that they served here so we didn’t want to miss out! 😉
While we were waiting, we walked around and checked out the property.
There were tons of beautiful plants and flowers.
You could tell the owner had a bit of an eclectic taste in decor.
There were lots of interesting pieces sitting around.
Near the house was a small koi pond
At 9:30 on the dot, they rang the bell to let everyone know that breakfast was ready.
There were several people waiting but we were some of the first ones in line! 😉
We couldn’t believe the amount of food they offered!
After making our plates, we headed back to our seats by the pool and enjoyed our delicious breakfast!
Once we were finished with breakfast, we packed up and headed to the nearby Mantle Rock Nature Preserve.
The preserve was located 45 mins from the bed and breakfast.
I just recently discovered this place after writing my blog post on Red River Gorge, KY.
If you read my post about Red River Gorge, you will know that the state of Kentucky has the second most natural sand stone arches in the US, second only to Utah!
At the end of 2023, there were 2,771 documented arches in Kentucky!
Tip: Click here for the top 10 longest span arches in KY & click here to see a list of some of the most popular ones
Once we arrived, we pulled into the small gravel parking lot.
Just a word of caution, this place is very remote with nothing around. I highly recommend that you have plenty of water, gas and wear good hiking shoes.
With that being said, there were 4 motorcycles parked in the parking lot when we arrived but they were getting ready to leave and no one else showed up while we were there.
The trail starts out gravel and has several signs along the path telling about the Native Americans who traveled along this path that is now known as the Trail of Tears.
It’s called this because so many of them died when they were forced out of their land and had to travel to other parts of the country.
See a map of the Trail of Tears here
Once you enter the woods, the gravel turns into a dirt and, often times, muddy path.
Along the path, you will find more historical signs.
You will walk a couple hundred feet and come to a split in the trail.
Ok, here’s where you want to take notes…if you go to the right where the wooden bridge is, you will walk approximately 2.5 miles before you come to the arch.
However, if you take the path to the left, you will walk approx. 8 minutes before you arrive to the arch.
So, it really depends on how you want to hike this trail….it’s a 2.75 mile loop trail.
Read reviews for this trail here
We decided to take the shorter hike to the arch.
More historical signs along the way
In 2004, the National Park Service recognized the nature preserve as a certified site on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and worthy of representation in the National Register of Historic Places.
The trail is completely shaded so you will have no exposure to the sun but always take plenty of water with you on any hike that you do.
Once you arrive to the arch, there’s a sign that gives you information about it. 
We were amazed at the size!
Mantle Rock is the largest freestanding arch east of the Mississippi River. It is 188 feet long and 30 feet high!
The sandstone glade on top of the arch is one of the highest quality glades in the state. It has been estimated that less than one percent of these habitats remain, but here they are protected.
Glades are open ecosystems where bedrock exposure and extreme soil conditions keep trees away.
However, there is a tree that is growing in the middle of the arch.
The rocks were covered in green moss.
You can also find honeycomb formations on the rocks along with fluorite deposits.
There is a rocky stream near the arch….watch out for snakes! I’ve read there have been copperheads spotted in this area!
Kentucky’s only known occurrence of June grass thrives here along with other glade species such as prickly pear cactus, rush foil, hairy lipfern, little bluestem, pinweed and poverty grass.
We walked from one end to the other taking pictures!
We tried to figure out if we could walk across the top of it but never found a way to access it from either end.
Of course, we couldn’t leave without taking our pictures under the arch!
After taking too many pictures, we headed back to our car.
Be on the lookout for some of the rare plants that are found here.
Tip: 50 mins from this arch is another arch called Fishtrap Bridge arch…it’s the 4th longest span arch in KY …also, 25 mins from here is the historic Gower House that was erected in 1780…the house used to be an Inn and accommodated many famous travelers including Presidents James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Charles Dickens, Andrew Jackson, and Henry Clay.
See lots more historical sites here
After leaving here, we decided to drive 1 hr to Garden of the Gods in the Shawnee National Forest in Illinois.
Tip: Click here to watch a YouTube video about 5 natural sand stone arches in Illinois (some of these aren’t too far from the Garden of the Gods) & click here to see a visual list of arches in this area
Ok, another word of caution here, you need to make sure that you have a full tank of gas, plenty of water and snacks because on this drive, there is nothing around you…and I mean nothing!
After driving 30 mins past the Mantle Rock Preserve, we arrived to the Cave in Rock car ferry!
We had to take this ferry to get across the Ohio River….there was no other way to get across that we knew of and this is the way our GPS took us!
While writing this blog post, I have discovered that commuters use the ferry to avoid the approximately 35-mile detour to the nearest bridge in Shawneetown.
There are over 500 cars that use this ferry every day. It will hold about 10-12 cars.
The ferry runs daily from 6 am to 10 pm.
It was a really neat experience! It only took about 5 mins to cross the river.
The employees on the ferry had to manually steer the ferry into the boat ramp!
After exiting the ferry, you will now be in the tiny town of Cave in Rock, IL. and 30 mins from Garden of the Gods.
Located in this small town, is the Cave in Rock State Park that was named for the 55-foot-wide cave that was carved out of the limestone rock by water thousands of years ago.
Do not miss this stop like we did! There have been a few movies filmed here like How the West was Won.
You will also find the Cave-In-Rock Restaurant and Lodge that features fine southern-style cooking.
You can also take the Shawnee Queen River taxi with stops in Golconda, Rosiclare, Eizabethtown and Cave In Rock, and by request to Carrsville, KY.
The ferry runs Tuesday to Saturday from the second Tuesday in May to Nov. 1.
Click here for restaurants in this area
Tip: You can drive 15 mins to Elizabethtown, IL and see the oldest hotel in the state called the Rose Hotel...it was built in 1812 and you can still stay there! This is also where you will find the closest gas station.
As you are driving through the very tiny town of Cave in Rock, you will notice lots of brightly painted bicycles randomly placed throughout the town.
These were the idea of John & Ramona Davis who live in Cave in Rock.
There are approximately 20+ painted bicycles that represent different diseases. The Davis’s wanted to not only beautify their small town, they also wanted to bring awareness to the different types of diseases or cancers.
Passing the “Welcome to Illinois” sign
After driving approx. 30 mins past Cave in Rock, we arrived to Garden of the Gods.
Tip: For unique properties to stay at in this area, click here
There is plenty of parking and the walk to Observation Point takes about 5 mins from the parking lot.
This trail is said to be the most Instagram’d area of the Shawnee National Forest.
Note: This area is very dangerous…there are deaths here just about every year from falls. There are steep drop offs so be extremely careful and watch your children! Wear good shoes too!
I would also like to mention, that even though this is only a 1/4 mile loop trail, you will be walking out on big rocks that are fully exposed to the sun…it gets hot!! Have plenty of water!
Click here to read about more hikes in this area
At the beginning of the trail, there are signs that tell you about the area along with a map of the trail.
It’s a very easy walk but make sure you see all of the viewpoints…there are several.
Thankfully, the trail is shaded until you get to the big rock formations.
You will see lots of unique rock formations along the trail.
One of the first observation points that we came to had views of the famous camel rock.
This rock appears on the back of the Illinois state quarter when the America the Beautiful Quarter series was released.
You could see for miles!
Walking out on some of the rock formations
The rocks were so cool looking….the sign said that a sea covered this area many years ago and that rivers deposited layers of sand and mud along the seashore as the region was slowly sinking and as these materials built up, the heat and pressure of burial turned the sand and mud into stone.
No wonder people fall around here…we saw a lot of people who obviously had no sense!
As we were walking the trail, we spotted the Devil’s Smokestack.
Devil’s Smokestack is a huge pillar that was formed when softer sandstone around it washed away. The rock is 30 ft tall.
You could walk down to it but we decided to pass.
As we continued our walk, we saw a sign talking about the “bizzare bands” in the rocks.
The bands were caused when the rocks were buried under the sand and saturated with groundwater that was mixed with iron.
The rocks in this area have crazy looking designs on them!
The rocks here look like toadstool rocks.
Look at the designs in the rocks!
We followed the path and it took us to these stairs that were carved out of the stone.
The path was really narrow and it didn’t really lead to anything of interest.
More crazy formations in the rocks!
The Garden of Gods encompass 3300 acres of wilderness and you can see for miles along the path.
Walking out on camel rock
The views were awesome but it was a bit terrifying!
The camel’s “head”.
A few more shots of the rocks.
After leaving here, we decided to head home.
When we plugged our address into our GPS, it was once again taking us to the Cave in Rock ferry.
We knew there was nothing around and we were getting hungry….we had only eaten breakfast and that was 6 hrs earlier!
Thankfully, 7 mins from the Garden of the Gods, was the Garden of the Gods Outpost.
There was a phone booth in the parking lot so of course, my hubby had to have his picture taken with this rare sighting.
The only food they served was hotdogs, nachos and chili and they had all kinds of ice cream desserts.
My hubby and I both decided we would just order a concrete mixer.
A concrete is basically a shake that is served so thick you can turn it upside down without it spilling.
I had mine made with vanilla ice cream and peanut butter cups and the hubby had his made with chocolate ice cream and cookie dough bites.
While we were waiting for them to be made, we walked around the store.
It was a really cute store…they had all kinds of souvenirs, candy, sodas, and more.
You could purchase one of the Illinois state quarters that had the picture of camel rock on the back of it.
After getting our ice cream, we headed back to the car…..so good!
Even Bigfoot and his family get ice cream here 😉
Arriving back to the ferry.
The ferry was about to leave when we arrived but thankfully, they let us on!
As we were crossing the river, I got out of the car and took a few pictures.
This ferry company has been in operation since 1994.
However, the first ferry service started in 1892.
As we were about to exit the ferry, my hubby spotted a bald eagle sitting on a rock next to the water.
This is the best picture I could get with my Iphone…look to the far right side of the picture.
I overheard one of the employees say that he had watched the Eagle catch 6 fish that day!
After exiting the ferry, we headed home.
Thanks for reading!
Read Day 1 here & click here to see all of my blog posts
Click here to follow my YouTube Channel