It’s become a tradition to spend a couple days of my holiday vacation camping in Red River Gorge—this year I traded a tent for a treehouse. And not just a shed a few feet off the ground—Observatory Treehouse is an off-the-grid 4-level piece of art suspended in a cliff side.

A Cincinnati-based company, Canopy Crew, designs stunning works of architecture that aim to get you into the canopy while putting as little stress on the host trees as possible. Pictures can’t begin to capture the design details, the view of the gorge at the top of the canopy, and the awe-inspiring sense of living in the tree tops. Who knew such an unforgettable experience of living harmoniously with nature and design is just a short drive south of Cincinnati?!