Monday, June 13, 2022
This morning, we drove up Lookout Mountain to Ruby Falls. We arrived early for our 10:20 reservations and so while waiting, climbed the lookout tower for a view of the Tennessee River Valley and milled around the gift shop.
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| Our Elcome to Ruby Falls |
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| View from the Lookout Tower |
The Ruby Falls guided tour begins with a 260 ft. elevator descent. The elevator only holds 10 passengers so it took three trips to get our tour group to the waiting room in the cave below. We then did a half-mile cave hike occasionally standing aside so that returning tour groups could squeeze through the passageway. The hike is level but ends up over 1000 ft. below ground because the surface of Lookout Mountain rises sharply. Along the passage, many of the cave formations were given names and displayed with colored lighting.
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| Draperies in the Cave Tour |
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| We found Nemo |
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| Colorfully Lighted Speleothems |
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| More Colorfully Lighted Speleothems |
The grand finale of the tour is a large room with the 145-foot tall Ruby Falls cascading dramatically into a pool below. The falls were named after the original owner’s wife. The room was dark when we first entered, then the lights were dramatically turned on for us to behold the tallest underground waterfall open to the public. It was a spectacular view that constantly changed colors as the lights changed. But soon, the lights dimmed completely and we were winding our way back through the cave passage with passing rights over the incoming tour groups.
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| Ruby Falls in White Light |
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| Would You like that in Blue? |
After our Ruby Falls tour, we proceeded to Rock City. Upon entering the park, we stopped by the Big Rock Grill to cool off and eat lunch.
Rock City is a geologic and botanic park started by Garnet and Frieda Carter in the 1930s. Frieda was interested in European folklore and started building a Fairyland (still part of the park) which the couple developed into Rock City. To attract tourists, Garnet hired an artist, Clark Byers, to paint “See ROCK CITY” on over 800 barns from Michigan to Texas to Florida. It was an effective PR tool. I still remember seeing those signs while traveling through the South and now finally can claim to have seen Rock City.
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| We Cooled off and ate Lunch Here |
After lunch, we began wandering the park’s trails through boulders, over a swinging bridge, and on top of cliffside outlooks. From 7 States Flag Court, views of TN, KY, VA, NC, SC, GA and AL can be sighted. Nearby, there was a restaurant, so we bought a couple of local beers and lingered under the shade of an umbrella with a slight breeze to ward off the summer heat.
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| The Swinging Bridge |
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| The Rigid Bridge |
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| Relaxing with Local Brews and a View of Seven States |
After our beer break, we continued wondering around Rock City and saw more interesting rock formations and great views as well as the iconic 140-foot artificial High Falls. The final section of path led us through Frieda Carter’s Fairyland where scenes from many European fairy tales were tastefully displayed using glow-in -the-dark visuals. Of course, the route emptied us directly into one of the largest of many Rock City gifts shops.
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| The Artificial but Beautiful High Falls |
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| I made it through Fat Man’s Squeeze |
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| I didn’t Leap |
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| Entrance to Frieda Carter’s Fairyland |
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| Scene from Little Red Riding Hood |
On the way back to the RV, we stopped at Food City for drinking water and a few groceries. Back in our motorhome, I napped for awhile but was rudely awakened because Jane was constantly opening and closing the RV door. Our awning motor was malfunctioning and throwing the circuit breaker. Well, long story short, I was enlisted to help Jane and we spent the next hour in the hottest part of the day climbing up and down the ladder to the top of the RV in order to secure the canopy and support arms as best we could with bungee cords and tie-down straps. Hopefully, it will hold up for the final three travel legs of our trip.
We then dined in the RV (supplemented with Chattanooga-brewed beers) and, as the temperature cooled off slightly, ventured out to enjoy our outdoor table and watch the Full Strawberry Supermoon rise above the Tennessee River.
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| Full Moon rising above the Tennessee River |
Wow! Those pictures are spectacular!! LF