On Lookout Mountain

 Monday, Aug. 23, 2021

Our day started out not so well--I was packing up stuff into the backpack for our day of adventure, and suddenly I could not find my wallet. I looked in the backpack and it wasn't there. We looked EVERYWHERE in the RV--I knew I'd had it the night before when I stopped for ice. We ran to the convenience store and I asked inside if anyone had found it, but he said no. We came back to the RV, and I was just SHAKING. I started checking to see if my credit cards had been used... I was thinking that if I really had lost the wallet, we would have to go home today. And then--Joe found it! It was in the backpack the entire time, in an inside pocket that was virtually invisible. It slid in there instead of the main pocket. So everything was okay-- but it then took me an hour to calm down and be able to finally deal with going out.<br> 

So we packed up with lunch, sunscreen, hats, and various other needs for the day, and we took Cassie and drove up Lookout Mountain. We had two dog-friendly destinations in mind. The first was Rock City (which happens to be over the Georgia state line--the line goes right through Lookout Mountain!). This is definitely in the category of "tourist trap", in the sense that it was built in 1932 precisely to lure people up to see the amazing rock formations and gardens. The formations seemed even to early visitors to have paths between them, and they were seen as a city of "citadel." So a pathway was designed between and through the rocks, and many native plants were introduced to all the nooks and crannies. <br>

The designer was a German woman who loved her German folk tale heritage, so the different little nooks and crannies have gnomes everywhere (I am not a fan of gnomes), and there is a "fairyland cavern" with dioramas from many traditional fairy tales. That last part, we felt, was totally unnecessary and a detraction from the location. But the rocks and plants and water were gorgeous. There was soft music coming through everywhere too, and it was so tranquil, despite the tourists (but being Monday, it was probably not very crowded, and there were many times we were alone.)<br>

We really enjoyed walking the path, looking at the formations. Cassie was great--she walked ahead of us most of the time and was totally unfazed by all the steps (I kind of wish we'd brought our walking sticks, though.) We squeezed through several VERY narrow passages, walked over bridges (including a swinging bridge) and under and around the rocks. I was sorry not to get a photo of the swinging bridge, but I was so busy encouraging Cassie over it (she was SO AMAZING!) that I couldn't stop to take a photo. Definitely a big mistake! <br>

We stopped at the halfway point, which offered snacks, drinks (including a bar), rest rooms, etc. There was no restaurant service today (Monday), so the patio tables were largely empty, except for people who bought drinks. We decided to just sit there and enjoy the view and eat our sandwiches. I took a photo of the "See 7 States" rock, and the Seven States Flag Court, and the great view. We were probably there for an hour all told. After that, we continued on our way. It was about 3:00 when we got through the entire pathway, and then we stopped again for some drinks and rest time.<br>

Seven States Overlook

Balancing Rock

Seven States Flag Court

From there, we drove to the other end of Lookout Mountain to the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Historic Park.  Point Park, as that section of the park is called, overlooks the Tennessee River and is on the site where there was a huge battle in 1863, part of several which decided control over Chattanooga. The view of Chatta and the river was simply stunning! We sat for a bit, then walked around the park on the grass. There is a large monument to both sides in the war, an attempt at a "reconciliation" of sorts. But most significant is the view and the thought of how many young men were killed and wounded there during the "Battle Above the Clouds". I had about 15 minutes to spend in the visitor's center before our parking meter ran out.<br>

Painting of Battle Above the Clouds

Entryway to Point Park

Tennessee River and Chattanooga

The park has several other locations, but we were pretty tired by that time, so we drove back down the mountain and back "home." We did stop for ice cream, but the shop was closed--boo!! We had to cool off the RV, which was horribly hot inside, and then Joey made a lovely dinner of chicken on our little grill, plus peas and potatoes. And now, we need to start packing up-- we are heading to Memphis tomorrow. And, we expect to get two of our missing state stickers-- our route will take us through Alabama and Mississippi!

Chattanooga Choo-Choo

Saturday-Sunday, August 21-22, 2021 

We left Betsy and Sean's house in Hendersonville yesterday at about 10:45ish. Although I hadn't wanted to take I-40 all the way west to Tennessee, we took a wrong turn and the easiest and fastest thing to do at that point was get back on I-40. So we drove on the interstates all day. We stopped for lunch at a rest stop near the state border, and we stopped again at a flea market/antique place in Tennessee (which was a waste of time.) We arrived at our Boondockers Welcome host's house at about 6pm.<BR>

 Our host has a very large field of mostly grass behind what looks like some kind of business. There are several picnic tables spread out in the field (along with a bunch of RVs and boats which are obviously being stored here. There is a sweet path that leads from the back of the field down to the shores of the Chattanooga Creek. It's quiet and dark, but there are no hookups here. We got ourselves settled upon arrival, then took the Jeep into the center of Chatta, which was only about a 10-minute drive. We ate dinner at Champy's, which is well known for its fried chicken, which Joey loves. The meal did not disappoint-- the chicken was delicious, moist and fresh, and everything, including our fried pickle appy, came out blazing hot. We really enjoyed the meal, and brought home leftovers.<BR> 

 No hookups proved to be a problem for us, because it is too hot to leave Cassie in the RV while we go explore the Scenic City. I found a bunch of places where we could take her--scultpure gardens, Rock City, and Lookout Mountain. But this morning, it was overcast and rain was predicted. We decided to go to Lookout Mountain tomorrow. Meanwhile, we packed up for a day trip, and went downtown. My goal was the Riverwalk, and the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge, the longest pedestrian bridge anywhere. It crosses the Tennessee River, which runs through Chatta and cuts a valley between Lookout Mountain and Signal Mountain.<BR>

 We had some trouble navigating the streets, but finally found a parking lot. We had to download an app to pay for it. Then we walked over to the Riverfront, going past the highly recommended Aquarium (which we could not visit because of the dog issue.) We made a loop, not knowing where we were going, but finally got to the bridge. After resting for a little while, we took our photos and then just as we were ready to start walking, we watched a big black cloud head toward us, and it started to rain. We decided to head back to the car instead--it wasn't a rain CLOUD, it was RAIN. By the time we got to the car, we and Cassie were all soaked to the skin. That seems to be the theme of this vacation--too much rain!<BR>

 We were very disheartened, and decided to go back to the RV, because all our ideas of things to do were outside being rained on. We came back, ate our lunches, and then of course it stopped raining. But we didn't want to go anywhere that would be soaking wet. So Joey and Cassie hung out in the RV, and I went to a place about 15 minutes away which had 8 antique centers in one location. I spent a couple of hours walking through the antique stores, but didn't find any Roseville that i needed. I came home, stopping for ice on the way, and Joey said it had poured here again.<BR>

 So we've been here all evening, and we are hoping that tomorrow will indeed be sunny. We want to go up to the top of Lookout Mountain and to Rock City, both of which allow dogs. There is a National Historic Site at the top of the mountain, where there was a major battle during the Civil War. I'm looking foward to all of it, and just PRAY there will not be rain!