a day trip to chattanooga

Yesterday we took a little day trip to Chattanooga. What a wonderful place. We stopped to see Ruby Falls and Rock City. Oh my goodness...

Having previously worked in tourist traps (The Track in Destin, FL and Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA) I hate doing anything remotely touristy, because I know how the industry takes advantage of everyone. There are gifts shops around every corner and prices are sorely inflated. I Hate it. So I was a little reluctant to "see rock city" and Ruby Falls.

After about a two hour drive we get out on Lookout Mountain and head inside the Ruby Falls...building (for lack of better word). $28.95 buys us each tickets to the falls and rock city. Not really knowing anything about rock city, we ask. "It's a rock garden" I'm told by the man behind the counter. Great...we've just been raped by the tourist industry once again, I say to myself.

A freight elevator takes about 12 of us at a time down 1,100 feet in the moutain. From there we walk about 2,000 feet to the falls. Ruby Falls is the highest underground waterfall open to the public. Along the way are rock and cave formations that have been named according to how they look...pretty cool stuff. It's a constant 60 degrees with relatively hight humidity, so it feels more like 70. There are of course, the usual bad-tour-guide-jokes.

The waterfall comes complete with it's own light show set to music...very cool. The water is a constant 50 degrees and there's a walkway that allows you to walk all the way around it.

Back above ground we head father up the mountain to see Rock City. I was kinda tired, and probably would have opted out of that one had we not already purchased the tickets. "Alright, time to see gravel art" I say as we park in the car.

Oh my goodness...let me just say that this is one of God's coolest "art galleries". These aren't just rocks...they're boulders. We walk along an enchanted trail between moss covered rocks and 100 year old trees. There's a faint sountrack playing that fits the scene perfectly. There's a swing bridge that spans across a vast void between boulders. You can see for miles...on a clear day you can see seven states!

The end of the pathway leads to a magical cavern that's been taken over by gnomes. Second only to Disney, this cave portrays all of the Mother Goose fairytales that we all grew up with.

So needless to say, if you're in the area, or even looking for something to do for a day...you've got to see Ruby Falls and Rock City. They are unbelievable.