The city of Chattanooga sits in a valley surrounded by hills. Think of a small stream meandering through a meadow, looping back and forth. Then enlarge the stream idea to the Tennessee River weaving around Chattanooga. The actual downtown looks quite small, with few tall buildings and tree lined streets. Revitalization procedures seem to be at work. I believe that the main shopping stores are located in malls away from downtown.After touring downtown, I-24 looked bumper to bumper, so we opted to find a back way home. To our surprise the road took us in and into Georgia. We remembered that I-24 dropped into Georgia before entering Chattanooga.. During our stay we often were in and out of Georgia. The streets just continue from one state to the other, just like the city of Bremerton flows into Kitsap County. It just seemed strange to us where states are separated by natural terrain like rivers, mountains and deserts.
Lookout Mountain rises above the city to the Southwest. The mountains are part of the Appalachian chain extending into Georgia and Alabama. Three local attractions are located on Lookout Mountain. 
Ruby Falls can be found 1120 feet underground. The first 260 feet down happens in an elevator. Thank you very much! Then a path leads through the narrow cavern with many colorful formations ending at the falls. Strategically placed colored lights enhance various facets of the cave. Being a wet cave we stepped carefully but easily. Unlike Mammoth, very few stairs were included. 
One half mile in, the cave opens to a tall domed room. From a small opening near the top of the dome, water falls 145 feet into the pool below. The 5 foot deep, manmade pool controls flooding. Water flows toward the back of the pool where the overflow ports carry it to the natural underground stream and eventually to the Tennessee River. Lights with rotating colors fill the cavern and enhance the feeling of awe. The water fell so far, I wasn't able to get a full length photo of it. To exit the cave, tours back track the route in. 
Rock City advertisements show up everywhere. We weren't quite sure what to expect. What we found was a rock garden with narrow pathways between huge boulders. Labels identify the trees and plants in the garden. Some rock formations have names. One area is so narrow that visitors have to squeeze through unless their physique ranks as skinny.
Around and under and through rock walls the paths lead to Lover's Leap a viewpoint that overlooks the valley. In one spot seven states can be seen on a clear day. 
A waterfall thunders down the side of the Lover's Leap outcropping, and into the pool below.
One section called Fairyland takes visitors through a tunnel with nursery rhyme scenes portrayed along the path.
Next we drove to Point Park on the northern tip of Lookout Mountain and the site of several Civil War battles. A tall monument towers over the park that represents the coming together of the Confederate and Union sides as Americans. 
The views from this park overlook the Chattanooga Valley. I was hoping to track the river's big "S" curves. Yes, I know I put two almost identical photos in this blog.
Across from the park, we also took in an electric display of the Civil War battles that took place here. It ranks as an "Ice Cave" attraction: not worth our time or money.
The Incline Railway rises up the side of Lookout Mountain at a 72.7% grade. From our viewpoint in the front seat the track appeared to descend steeply and level out. 
However, as we approached the lower terminal we found that the rails descend vertically from all the way from the top to the bottom.
The rail cars are designed on a steep angle to help it move along the rails. It takes about 15-20 minutes to go up or down the mile of track. What an interesting ride! As a side line we also saw a groundhog in the lawn at the upper terminal.
Rain fell lightly as we donned our raincoats and headed for the Sunday Farmer's Market. A chicken wing cook-off highlighted the market this day. The wings all looked tasty, but we didn't try any. From their names, the wings also appeared spicy hot! The market sets up in a large, open, metal, warehouse-like building. Vendors sell fresh produce, meat, cheese, handmade crafts and lunch foods. A musician provides music. The four rows of vendors offer a large variety of interesting products. We found a new pottery spoon rest to replace the one that smashed against the floor after one too many twisty roads.
One can't leave Chattanooga without seeing the classic, "Chattanooga Choo Choo". The restored 1909 train depot now houses a hotel, cafes, and restaurants including dinner in a dining car. 
The complex also includes a train museum, an arcade, a few gift shops, beautiful gardens and of course the Choo Choo. Can you believe roses are still blooming here in mid November?Chattanooga with its river port, mountain passes, and railroads played a key role in the Civil War. The South saw Chattanooga as a way to move northward and the North saw it as a gateway to the south. The Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park helped us understand the role of the city in the Civil War. The park straddles the Tennessee/Georgia border. In the Chickamauga Battle of September 19-20, 1863 the Confederate and Union armies clashed all day. Then the union Major General Rosecrans shifted his line by mistake making an opening for the Confederates to pass through. This resulted in the Union troops being driven back to Chattanooga. The Confederate took control of Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, and the Chattanooga Valley. They cut off supplies to the Union forces. However, 33,633 Union and Confederate troops were killed, wounded or missing. This is one of the bloodiest two day battle of the war.Although considered a Confederate victory, it came at great cost. By not pursuing the Union forces, the Confederates allow them to regroup.
The Battle of Chattanooga took place November 23-25, 1863. General Grant directs Union attacks on Lookout Mountain, across the valley and up the side of Missionary Ridge. Again one Confederate general hesitates and makes a difference for the attack. One Union officer didn't get the orders in time and went ahead and charged the hill. The end result caused the Confederates to flee back to Atlanta. The literature states that this brought the end of the Civil War sooner.
The visitor center timeline helped us understand the logistics of the battles. Derrille didn't care for the movie, but I did. The movie used a soldier from each side to describe the battles.
The battlefield drive reminded us of Vicksburg. Blue signs show where the Union troops were. Each sign names the divisions and a bit about what was happening. Similar red signs show Confederate lines. 1400 monuments and historical markers in this park commemorate the Chickamauga battle.
The method of fighting still amazes me. That two mile long lines of men would charge across an open field at each other boggles my mind. One thing in Chickamauga and Chattanooga was that some of the fighting occurred in the woods. Can you imagine the dedication it took to cross an open field with your foe waiting in the woods? Perhaps that's not as different as our soldiers in the Middle East openly moving through the villages and deserts.
We also drove the Missionary Ridge Crest Road. The blue and red signs show battle movement from the Chattanooga Battle. Monuments and cannons also show up along the road. 
Some of the Civil War information stands outside beautiful homes. Many of those who live on the top of the Ridge live in mansion style homes. These homes have outstanding views of the valley. 
We looked down the very steep north wooded side of the ridge and marveled at the courage, daring and stamina to climb and fight up the hill and make an assault on the forces at the top, in November.
We enjoyed our time in Chattanooga.
As a side note: some of you have asked about the cats. Ashley prefers sleeping on Derrille's lap or legs. She has become quite vocal in her demands for attention. If Derrille isn't around, any place in the sun will do. Occasionally Ashley gets to go outside too.
They are traveling well. Of course they too have been living in the RV for most of the last year. Murphy spends most of his time under or on the bed. They are 14 and 13 year-old cats Ashley has arthritis,while Murphy has glaucoma and high blood pressure. So they sleep, eat, sleep, demand pets, sleep.... They do enrich our lives just by being with us.
