June 18th-21st, Chattanooga Tennessee

June 18-21 Tuesday-Friday Chattanooga, Tennessee

Traveling to Chattanooga from Memphis was another travel adventure.  It was one of those days where we were on the curving, winding back roads with no shoulder.  The kind of road with little to no traffic except the delivery trucks that you meet on a blind curve, that think they own the road and are clearly over the yellow line.  Inhale deeply, clutch the door handle, and motor on.  The kind of day that had us go from Tennessee to Mississippi (birthplace of America's Music) to Alabama (diesel fuel $2.69 in Decatur) to Georgia (we're glad Georgia's on your mind) to get to Tennessee.  The kind of day where we both looked at each other and wondered whether the GPS was actually set on the "Shortest Route", AND we checked it several times.  Amazingly we have been to one of the small towns we passed through; Corinth Mississippi.  We visited Tony's brother Greg when he worked for Caterpillar in Corinth, and lived in a small border town of Counce Tennessee.  So we have seen fireworks over Pickwick Lake and had visited nearby Florence Alabama where there is a Frank Lloyd Wright house that does tours.

Along this seemingly circuitous route we spotted a whole flock of large white cranes along side the road, and yes, they were real.  Most often you see a lone crane as you are driving along.  There were several signs pointing to TVA dams along the Tennessee River.  The TVA was instrumental in damming up the meandering Tennessee River to control seasonal flooding and make the banks more inhabitable for growing industry and cities along its banks, including cities like Chattanooga.  Had we known the route we would be approaching Chattanooga, we might have allotted more time or a day in Huntsville

(Rocket City) Alabama.  As we approached and saw rockets standing along the skyline, I checked Google and my "1000 places to see in the US and Canada" book, to find that Huntsville is home to the largest space museum in the world.  It was also very instrumental in putting the first men on the moon, is working with NASA on travel to Mars, and is home to Space Camp where over 750,000 kids and adults have conducted simulated space missions.  Next Time!

Friends from our Alaska Caravan last summer, Gene and Barbara who live just north of Chattanooga in Hixon, offered to meet us at the Big River Brewery for dinner.  Fried Pickles, nachos, conversation & laughter got us through the next couple of hours.  Parking was $7 for unlimited time, so we took advantage of it strolling along the river front while they pointed out special buildings like the largest
fresh water aquarium in the world, and features like an unused rail trestle that has been converted to a pedestrian bridge across the river.  There is a steamer that does cruises up and down the river and several outdoor concert venues are along the riverfront also.  While we were stopped for ice cream at Ben and Jerry's Gene suggested we check out Mayfield ice cream which is made locally.  It is on the grocery list! (We did find Mayfield's at Wal-mart in Chattanooga AND Kroger in Pigeon Forge.  It was quite tasty! Hey, you have to try several flavors, & RV refrigerators are only so big.)

Over the next couple of days we took in some of the top tourist sights in the area.  First and most moving was the Chickamauga National Cemetery, the first in the USA.  It was the sight of three days of heavy battle during September of 1863 as the Union tried to gain control of Chattanooga for the rail and river access to fortify troops and continue their march to Atlanta to overthrow the deep south during the Civil War.  The 30 minute video in the visitor center was riveting as you watched the red and blue squares depict troop movements amidst re-enactments and readings of troop correspondence and a timeline of several soldiers enlisted activities and battles.  The drive through the park

especially down battle line road checking out the monuments and battle details, especially seeing Confederate cannons and (blue placards) while across the road the Union cannons by the red placards seem all too real.  The primitive weapons (compared to today) made the saying, "don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes" a real rule of engagement.  Single shot muzzle loaders and bayonets, oh my! Some of the Union boys had seven shot repeaters but not many and you had to get close enough to the front lines with the cannons so the shots would
carry over your own troops.  The cemetery was proposed by Civil War Vets about 20 years after the war and their stories and memories and diligence helped make the National Cemetery a reality.  Since there were no news media in the field like today, the bronze relief sculptures on many of the monuments recount battlefield memories of the vets and serve as pictures for those visiting.  After a few hours in the heat and with many, many monuments to the various regiments, brigades and companies and states and generals, our heads and hearts were reeling so we moved on.  Bit of Trivia, President Abraham's much loved brother-in-law (confederate soldier) was killed during this three days of fighting. 

Another place instrumental in the fight for Chattanooga during the same time of the war was Look Out Mountain.  High above the city there is a park also with placards to the battles that took place there.  With views of the city and river below it was an important, coveted stronghold.  Troop movements and supply shipments could be monitored and flag and light signals sent to generals in the field.  We drove the steep, narrow mountain road to get there enjoying ourselves the city views and the famous Moccasin Bend of the Tennessee River far below.  There is a small museum that tells the history and invention of the flag signals and the code for communications.  The North eventually broke the South's code which partially led to their down fall. 

Other Highlights of our time in Chattanooga:

- Chompys Chicken which advertises "Forty and Fowl": Excellent Fried Chicken at a kind of eclectic mish mash bar place on the South side near the Innovation District.  The Forty refers to forty ounce glasses of beer! Spicy tamales, another house specialty looked great too but after the green chilies' heat in Santa Fe, we declined.

-Shufords Smokehouse north across the Tennessee River in the city of Red Bank.  A really, really small place in a ramshackle building that had very good pulled pork sandwiches and stuffed baked potatoes.  Both Food joints were recommended by friends whose daughter worked for a few years in Chatty.  

-Our Camp site at Raccoon Mountain RV park had a plum tree on it full of ripe plums.  Many lay

rotting on the ground and I watched a squirrel climb up and knock several to the ground then proceed to eat the fresh ones.  I got out a ladder and picked quite a few (after asking of course).  I put some in the freezer, we ate some, and I made a plum crisp with others.  Really high winds came through the camp one night along with some pretty heavy rain.  
The next morning we heard a chain saw and learned that a good sized limb had broken off a large tree splitting quite a ways down the main trunk.  Some unfortunate camper had a banged up truck, although I understand not too bad and given the size of the limb it could have been much worse.  Another camper had to reconnect their fifth wheel and back up to give the workers room to down the tree.  You could tell this was not their first time.  The tree fell perfectly where they had planned and they made short order of piling up the limbs on a trailer and clearing the debris. 

-Ruby Falls, the tallest and deepest underground
waterfall (145ft) accessible to the public in the USA, has been giving tours under Lookout Mountain for about 89 years, and is named after the cave discoverer's wife.  Cave formations are always pretty interesting but seeing the large falls underground was a first for us. It is named one of the 11 most impressive waterfalls in the USA.  When you approach the cave room where the falls are, most of the lights are off so you can only hear the water.  When the falls are illuminated it kind of takes your breath away.  You've seen things like that in movies but not usually in person.  We ooh'd and aah'd over the formations though some of the named ones were quite a stretch of the imagination to visualize. 

-Rock City is another tourist attraction on Lookout Mountain just across the border in Georgia.  It is one huge rock garden with very large rocks, skinny passages (like Fat Man's Pass), and some quirks.  You wander through taking in the bridges, gnomes, tunnels, waterfalls, and an overlook where you can see parts of seven states from the high vantage point (Lover's Leap).  The owner's wife loved German Floklore, hence the gnomes, many from the 1940's.  They even have a curator that repairs and refurbishes the gnomes!  The neatest section is Fairyland
Caverns.  The owners hired an artist to sculpt and create dioramas depicting various fairy tales.  Some are quite small setin cave like openings, others are set on a replica mountain.  They are painted with fluorescent paint and lit by black light so the overall effect is quite enthralling.  Rock City's other claim to fame is their unique first of its kind marketing and
advertising.  They were the first ones to commission sign painting on barn roofs for their attraction.  They paid to have "See Rock City" painted on over 900 barn roofs and walls in 19 states from 1935-1969.  You may have seen one of them.  Now we have seen the signs and Rock City itself.  

-The Chattanooga Choo Choo (aptly named train station) has historic trains parked behind the terminal at the platform so you can imagine getting ready for a trip in a bygone era.  The Terminal has been converted to some hotel rooms and there are breweries and shops in connecting buildings.  It is probably hopping in the evenings and on weekends with corn hole games and entertainment but it was pretty dead on the afternoon we were there.  

-Hunter Museum of American History was a great way to get a bit of culture AND out of the heat for a few hours.  
The paintings, drawings, sculpture, videos, etc. from 1700's to the present are all by American artists, partly displayed in The Mansion built in 1905.  Though not usually much for museums we enjoyed the change of pace.  I am not sure there was any one piece that I would have wanted to buy for my house and there was one disturbing piece.  Meant to depict a successful hunt; a rabbit waiting to be skinned reminded me of the time my dad made us watch him skin a rabbi "just in case we were ever lost in the woods".  I sent him a copy of the painting and told him I was still traumatized!

Just some other shots of Cheryl posing like statues, and a Redneck 6 Pack that Gene and Barbara gave us (2 RC cola's and 4 double Moon Pies in Strawberry, Chocolate, Banana and Salted Caramel).