Corbin, KY: Of Failure and Success

In southern Kentucky, we investigated the twin unrelated phenomena of “secret herbs and spices” and the rare “moonbow,” and learned a lil bit more about success and failure. Corbin is perhaps best known as the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken, and the original location is a fast-food cafe and museum, all in one. Here, the world famous recipe was created, developed and perfected.

Everyone with a pulse recognizes KFC’s founder, Colonel Sanders, who was not a military colonel, but an honorary colonel. He had a rough start in life, literally becoming the man of the family at age seven when his father died. Mom went to work and he was in charge of running the family farm, raising his younger siblings, cooking, cleaning and running the household. AGE SEVEN.

Later, when his mom remarried, he didn’t get along with his stepfather and left home for good at age 12. So you know this guy knew a lot about hard work. But he also knew a lot about failure, a case study in persistence. Colonel Sanders is the ultimate story of failures and successes.

Farmhand. Soldier. Secretary. Salesman. Ferryboat Operator. He tried everything. And then came the chicken to change his luck. After opening a gas station offering “free air,” he then added a cafe to serve food to travelers stopping to gas up, and then built a “motor court” motel to give them somewhere to sleep.

Sanders was age 65 when he got out of the hospitality business and concentrated on KFC. The museum was exceptionally well done, and honestly, eating KFC in the original KFC location tasted quite a bit better than your average KFC meal. Or did we just imagine that? You can eat fast food right in the middle of a museum. Where else is that possible?

Our course, the “11 secret herbs and spices” — and the early use of a pressure cooker (helloooo, Instapot!) — made KFC a worldwide phenomenon. A bag of KFC spice mix, used in all their restaurants even today, is cheekily labeled: “WARNING. Contents are TOP SECRET. Do not let anyone named Popeye, Wendy or Ronald near this package.“

Sanders was a master marketer. For instance, he put a complete hotel room layout near the restrooms in his cafe, so women on their way to tinkle would see how nice the rooms were, and would thereafter conclude that his motel was up to snuff for their family to spend the night. The setup is still there — right next to the ladies’ room.

The motor court and cafe were eventually sold at auction, as Sanders concentrated on taking his chicken on the road — and we all know the rest of the story. The KFC museum is cute, and clever, and funny. Even the restroom wallpaper purports to be made of Sanders’ many (failed) business pursuits … and a lil bit of comedy.

People come from far and wide to visit the Sanders Cafe — in fact, while we were there, a group of at least 60 motorcyclists had stopped for some “finger-lickin’ good.” They stopped using that slogan in August 2020 — COVID!! — when licking your fingers for any reason was seriously ill-advised.

Side note, the World Atlas ranks KFC as the #5 most unhealthy fast food (#1 = Wendy’s). We don’t care. It’s still delicious and an important part of our story: our first date was a picnic in the park with a bucket of KFC. :). If you’re going through Southern Kentucky, be sure to stop and see the Colonel!

Cumberland Falls

A shocking number of states claim to have the “Niagara of the ______” (fill in your state or region), and Kentucky is no exception. Cumberland Falls claims the moniker “Niagara of the South” with a beauty that is 160 feet wide and 68 feet high — the state’s largest.

Cumberland Falls is also one of the most powerful, and largest by volume, east of the Mississippi River. It can be viewed from a number of different vantage points and hiking trails in this dog-friendly state park.

Just like the “real” Niagara Falls, which we visited in 2019, the cascading water produces a pretty lil rainbow at the base of the falls. But most people could care less about the Cumberland RAINbow. They come to see the Cumberland MOONbow! What the heck is a moonbow, anyway?

Cumberland Falls is the only place in the Western Hemisphere (and one of the few in the world) where “moonbows” — rainbows produced by moonlight rather than sunlight — can be seen. Also called a white rainbow or lunar rainbow, it is formed just like a daytime rainbow, with moonlight being refracted in the tiny water droplets misting off the falls. And just look at all that mist!! /excitedly rubbing hands together/

Seeing the elusive moonbow is tricky, though. It’s only for a couple nights each month, during the full moon (Plan trip to be here during a full moon – CHECK). It only appears extra late at night, frequently close to midnight (Take an extra-long, old-people-style nap, so as to stay out past 9 pm bedtime – CHECK). And the sky must be crystal clear. We headed to the Falls and held our breath in eager anticipation, with a few hundred other ‘bow-hunters, lined up on the edge like alien-hunters in Close Encounters.

The full moon came out. And it was spectacular. We waited for its slow rise to take it above the trees so the light could hit the falls. We were so excited. It was happening!! We were here for something special, that not many people on Earth have ever seen! And then. Then. The clouds rolled in. Noooooo!!!

We waited another 30 minutes to see if they would clear, but no such luck. Mother Nature could care less about our plans. The planned moonbow encounter was a total failure. But, the falls themselves were still gorgeous at night. And, now I know how to turn my camera to night mode, so there’s the success.

Cumberland Falls also has a variety of hiking trails, many running along the Cumberland River, which is a popular river for rafting. We stayed at a campground at Sheltowee Trace Adventures, which is the go-to outfit for all kinds of rafting trips and other adventures in the area.

You can still camp here even if you don’t have an RV. Behold, the rare covered wagon style of RV, complete with air conditioning! No word on bathroom accommodations within.

Despite Finn’s protests, we selected the suspiciously-named Dog Slaughter Falls trail. Supposedly, an Indian tribe in the area stationed dogs all around their camp for protection, and a raiding tribe killed all the dogs so they wouldn’t alert their conquests. A lot of trees were fallen, so we renamed it: Back Slaughter Trail. Ooooof!

Although our brief stop in Southern Kentucky will forever be remembered as the Great Moonbow Disappointment of 2025, it was still an enjoyable pit stop. As our four-year-old grandson Connor says, “You get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit!” Or, as Colonel Sanders would famously say, “One has to remember that every failure can be a stepping stone to something bigger.” We’re stepping up to bigger things with our next stop — just you wait and see!