Chugging homeward from Missouri our first stop was Chattanooga, Tennessee. Chattanooga is a Cherokee word that means, “Rock coming to a point.” It’s refers to Lookout Mountain across the Tennessee River that snakes through the city.
Lookout Mountain is an excellent vantage point for viewing the Chattanooga Valley. The last “Overmountain” battle of the American Revolution was fought here.
Entering Lookout Mountain through a replica of a 15th century Irish Castle we descended 1,120 feet to view Ruby Falls. Plunging 144-feet, it is the tallest underground fall in the US.
The 2,376-foot long, Walnut Pedestrian Bridge as viewed from the Hunter Museum of Arts in the Bluff View Arts District. Built in 1890 the bridge was restored in 2010 and is now a linear park.
Chattanooga’s Terminal Station was built in 1909 and served as a passenger railroad hub until 1970. This property now houses the Chattanooga Choo-Choo Historic Hotel, restaurants and vintage trains.
On March 5, 1880 the first passenger train from Cincinnati to Chattanooga was nicknamed the “Chattanooga Choo-Choo.” Glen Miller made the song with the same name popular in the 1940s.
The wedge-shaped Terminal Brew House sits across from the Choo-Choo Hotel and serves up tasty brews and food in a historic setting.
Seventy miles north of Chattanooga, with over 26,000 acres, Fall Creek Falls State Park is Tennessee’s most visited outdoor recreation area.
Our rainy hike took us on a swing bridge over the Upper Cane Creek Gorge the park is centered around.
The trail to the basin at the bottom of Fall Creek Falls was rocky, rugged and overshadowed by jagged outcrops.
The park gets its name from Fall Creek Falls, which at 256-feet is the highest free fall east of the Mississippi River. This beautiful park has lots more falls and cool hiking trails that deserve a longer visit, but we were off to Franklin, NC on the next leg of our trip home.