A couple of weeks ago, the S.O. and I drove over to Chattanooga-just to get out of the house and see the fall colors. The day we picked, quite by accident, was glorious.
We drove over to the base of Lookout Mountain and rode the Incline up to the top. S.O. probably would have preferred that I drove up-but I had heard about this and wanted to try it:
Follow us up to the top!
The first surprise upon arriving was that it is more than just a park up at the top-its a residential district with some big old houses.
Walking to your right, however, one soon comes to the park:
This is the entrance to Point Park, which honors the Civil War Battle for Chattanooga. Once in side you can gain a quick appreciation of why the two sides ended up fighting on the mountain-for it has a commanding view of the city and the Tennessee River. Then, as now, Chattanooga was a vital rail hub (with lines going north toward Nashville and Knoxville and south toward Atlanta), and was an important manufacturing center. To gain control of this ground was to be able to split the Confederacy in two:
Notice the colors on the trees? It was simply amazing to see as we walked around. The drive over had been full of color too-but not as much as up here on the high ground.
We looked over from the rocks:
And we also took in some of the history. The S.O. does not understand why Americans are so swept up in understanding and reviewing the Civil War, to her-its something she thinks we should forget. Like Japan does not like to be reminded of the Second World War. She has little patience when I start looking around the plaques and monuments. Having come from the college where they started the Civil War-I have to learn more:
Owning the high ground was critical:
The view of the valley from the back side of the mountain.
The monument:
Finally-we looked at our watches and realized we needed to go back down if we hoped to make the place we wanted to go to dinner. So back we rode the incline:
The Lookout mountain incline is supposed to be the steepest one in America. I’ll accept their assertion-it was steep, especially when going down.
IF you do go to Lookout mountain from the west, get off US 72 at Pittsburg TN, and take the road that goes across the bridge-it brings you on a great drive along the right bank of the Tennessee River.
And don’t forget to visit here:
Rock City officially opened as a public attraction on May 21, 1932. Soon after, Garnet Carter enlisted the help of a young sign painter named Clark Byers, who was hired to travel the nation’s highways and offer to paint farmers’ barns in exchange for letting them paint three simple words: See Rock City. The distinctive black-and-white signs appeared as far north as Michigan and as far west as Texas.
All in all a great fall day. It won’t last much longer though-as the winter gloom will start to settle in here in Shopping Mall USA.
I just think of the effort it would have taken to haul 4 artillery pieces up that hill and I find myself sweating and thankful I was never a “drop short” 🙂
Given how WWII ended I imagine that Oak Ridge is not on your list of places to visit. I grew up there and stopped by the Museum of Science and Energy during a recent visit; my wife found the mockups of Fat Man and Little Boy (and, in fact, the whole reason for the town’s existence) to be very disturbing.
However, I’d be curious about what your S.O.’s reaction would be to the “Friendship Bell” that sits in a nearby park:
http://bell.maripo.com/
When from time to time you recall what a major pain I am. I was born to a Battery Commander in Germany and our stairwell commander was a guy named Hackworth. I either peed on him or puked on him. Color me brave and fearless and I was under 2. They both went on to fight together in Vietnam.
I went to school in Huntsville while the old man was doing the Lance thing. Played soccer against whatever school is on top of that mountain Altamont?
Thank you for the pictures. The last time I was there it was literally in a cloud. When my family visited it, we took no pictures that I know of. It’s hard to believe that soldiers fought their way up that mountain to take the guns.
Navy. While we all die together or get eaten by sharks, there’s nobody telling us that there’s some bit of hilly geography that needs dying together on. The navy surface and submarine warfare thing is kind of an all or nothing gig. An awful lot of people lose sight of that.
This is a great tip particularly to those fresh to the
blogosphere. Short but very precise information… Many thanks for sharing
this one. A must read article!
I’m talking about blisters, those tiny, pussfilled hot spots that crop up on your feet, especially on the toes, heels and edges.
Since this piston is larger, the force is multiplied at the wheels.