Parks – Page 2 – Seeing the Scenic City

Cloudland Canyon State Park

Yesterday we went to Cloudland Canyon State Park, located in Dade County, Georgia. Cloudland Canyon is a part of Lookout Mountain. This is about a 40 minute drive from where we live.

We have hiked a lot in the last six months, and Cloudland Canyon was the last major hike that was on my hiking to-do list. We hiked the 2 mile Waterfalls Trail.

This trail in particular is better after a large rain event, because these water falls are dependent on the amount of rain. The falls tend to be dry in the summer. The waterfalls are at their heaviest flow in the winter and early spring. This is why we saved this hike for last.

It rained all day Wednesday, and Saturday morning called for partly cloudy skies, so it was the perfect timing.

It costs $5 to get into the park, and you get a little tag to put on your windshield.

We parked at the West Rim Loop Parking Lot. We started off on the West Rim Loop Trail, before catching the Water Falls Trail. There is plenty of directional signage along the way.

You descend metal grate stairs to get down into the canyon. You reach a fork, with one direction leading to Cherokee Falls and the other to Hemlock Falls. We headed to Cherokee Falls first.

It was a cold morning, but the exercise quickly warmed us up, and we shed layers as we made our way down the canyon.

It is quicker to get to Cherokee Falls, with less steps, too. Plus, you can get close up to these falls, where the water cascades down into a pool. Because of that, I think more people probably go to Cherokee Falls.

After spending some time at Cherokee Falls, we retraced our steps back to the intersection, and then headed to Hemlock Falls.

Here you descend even further into the canyon, with many more steps. I wonder if anyone has ever counted?

Hemlock Falls is viewed from further away, on a wooden platform. I think that both falls are equally beautiful, but it’s a lot more work to get to Hemlock Falls.

Unfortunately, after viewing Hemlock Falls, it was time to turn back around and go up all the stairs that we just came down on. Here’s where the real exercise begins! There are plenty of sections with benches to stop and rest along the way, though.

We had a cold snap for two days, and because of all the recent rain, there was lots of ice everywhere, adding an extra layer of beauty to the surround nature. I enjoyed taking many photos of the ice.

I think this is one of my favorite hikes that I have done so far. There are different trails here, ranging from easy to difficult. There is a one mile overlook trail (half a mile out and back) that I think we will do next time, and combine that with just Cherokee Falls.

Soldiering on through this pandemic summer

August has been a hard month. The running theme has been depression and anxiety.

Derek goes back to work next week at UTC and I am scared. Yes, everyone will be wearing masks in the classroom, but knowing that he’s going to be around more people worries me.

I’m worried about Derek getting COVID-19 because his immune system isn’t the greatest. If someone else is sick, he usually gets it. He’s had the gamut of illnesses. It should be noted that whenever Derek is sick, I never catch it from him, but COVID-19 feels like a different beast.

I am struggling with work. It was hard to start a job working remotely from home, and to still be stuck at home almost five months later. Currently I’m working through a big project, and there has been a lot of confusion surrounding it. My anxiety is already high from the pandemic, and I’m an anxious person by default. Couple that with the confusion of the project and still working from home, well, let’s just say I’ve been a mess. My confidence and self-esteem are down. I cry a lot and I’m not sleeping well because work follows me into my dreams at night.

And then there is the long lasting cabin fever. We are still doing smaller activities in general. In a sense, one could argue that I have fulfilling weekends. Today I took two separate walks, worked on my scrapbook, read and watched The Sound of Music. But it’s not the weekend I want.

We still go to parks. We’ve walked the Walnut Street Bridge. We still eat at some of our favorite coffee shops and restaurants, or at least the ones that have large enough outdoor seating areas. But the problem is that we’re not doing anything new. My Chattanooga to-do list is stagnant. This is what I was afraid of in March, which feels like a lifetime ago.

The one good thing to come out of staying at home is that I’ve been challenging myself to take more photos with my macro lens. As the seasons progress, there are different things to photograph. I will attach some of my photos below.

I’m counting down the days until September. I want fall to come. I don’t expect anything to automatically change when the days get cooler, but I just need something to feel different — even if it is only the temperature.

The pandemic is not the only thing that has halted our activities. The heat has done that too. The only things we can do safely are outdoor things. Derek doesn’t handle the heat as well as I do. It’s just better to stay inside and stay cool.

When fall comes, there are some things on my to-do list that can be crossed off. I am looking forward to picking apples at Wheeler’s Orchard in Dunlap, Tennessee. We will also go hiking at Cloudland Canyon State Park in Dade County, Georgia.

With September also comes my birthday. We were thinking of making a lunch reservation at The Cookie Jar Café, also in Dunlap. The family owned restaurant has a large porch with seating, and, specifically for the pandemic, they also set up extra picnic tables.

There are plenty of indoor things open now, but do we really want to do any of it? Everyone wearing masks does go a long way in keeping everyone safe, but it’s better to wait it out for now.

An evening at Coolidge Park

Coolidge Park was the place to be on Saturday evening. It was a warm night, but cooling down. We got ice cream at Clumpies and then walked the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge. We made it back to Coolidge Park in time for the sun to set.

I expect that a lot of people were there to witness the “spectacular sunsets” that were predicted due to the Saharan dust. There were quite a few people with some impressive cameras and tripod equipment. We had some rain earlier in the afternoon which I think may have helped clear the skies. The sunset that night was, in fact, a dud. It was still a beautiful night though and I snapped a few shots myself.

Booker T. Washington State Park

This morning we explored Booker T. Washington State Park, located on Chickamauga Lake. Booker T. Washington is the closest Tennessee State Park to Chattanooga.

Booker T. Washington has a few hiking trails to pick from. From what I’ve seen online, some of the longer ones are great for bicyclists. We picked the shorter Nature Trail, just over a mile long.

This was a nice trail. It is entirely wooded, and at times it runs along side the lake for a great view. The trail is a little rocky and covered with tree roots, so be careful and make sure you watch where you step!

The start of the trail is near the recreation area, where we hung out for a bit, enjoying the scenery. I am jealous of anyone who owns a boat or a kayak! We even saw a seaplane! It was a perfect morning for being out on the water.

Booker T. Washington State Park8 — At the edge of one of the recreation areas. There are pavilions, picnic tables and a playground.

Booker T. Washington State Park28 — A fishing pier.

Booker T. Washington State Park11 — I’ll take this boat, please. Or I’ll settle for being friends with these people!

Booker T. Washington State Park30 — Some really nice houses! Which one would you prefer to live in?

Booker T. Washington State Park33 — An orange seaplane flies over the lake.

Chickamauga National Military Park

I love Civil War history, so a visit to Chickamauga National Military Park was a must. My co-workers had said that the park had opened back up, and they had enjoyed their time there.

Let me just say … the beginning of our visit was a disaster! One co-worker told us about these trail maps that had questions that corresponded with the monuments and sites, almost like a scavenger hunt.

We printed one out for the General Bragg Trail and on Saturday morning, we set off. And we immediately got lost. So lost in fact, that we walked half a mile out of our way, one mile round-trip. Not to mention that Derek had already drank all of his water. So we went back to the car, bought a 24-pack of water and more snacks at a grocery store at the entrance of the park and started again. And we got lost again … and again.

It made me feel really stupid, especially because my co-worker had done that exact trail a week before, and she said the map with the turn by turn directions really helped her. What were we missing? We saw the marker for the trail where it started, but then we immediately lost the trail after the first monument.

There was a lot of arguing and a few tears that threatened to come out, but we managed to salvage the day. Eventually we just gave up on trying to find the General Bragg Trail, and we got into our car and saw everything by driving around.

The park is beautiful and easy enough to get around (unless you’re like us and can’t read a map apparently). There were a lot of interesting monuments with beautiful relief details. I enjoyed seeing the different cabins, some that were turned into on-site hospitals.

We were there all morning, and we only saw about half of the park. I would like to come back and explore more. Plus, the Visitor’s Center was closed, so I’d like to see that next time.

The Battle of Chickamauga was fought September 18–20, 1863. The Union lost, but they retreated to Chattanooga, where they would win a series of battles in November.

Big Soddy Creek Gulf

I have checked off another hiking trail off my to-do list! Derek and I hiked Big Soddy Creek Gulf in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, which is about 20 minutes north of where we live.

We arrived at 9 a.m. to avoid the crowds. We did come across a few people, but the trail was wide, so it was easy to keep our distance. We actually forgot our face masks at home, but this ended up not being an issue, thankfully.

The entire trail is about 5 miles, out and back, but the most popular part is the beginning, 1.25 miles along a flat, gravel road that follows the creek and opens up to swimming holes along the way. We couldn’t have gone further even if we had wanted to, because a wooden bridge was damaged and unusable, perhaps from the storm and tornado we had in April?

The other side of the trail features interesting rock formations and a water fall about a mile in. When we were there it was only a trickle, but I am sure it is gushing after a heavy rain.

The trail also features a lot of picnic tables along the way (we made use of these) and there is signage indicating how far you have walked.

A highlight for me was finding lots of clusters of Mountain Laurel, which is the Pennsylvania state flower. I had lived in Pennsylvania for about 10 years, and yet I had only seen the flower in the wild once.

This is really nice trail, and I might consider coming back in the summer to go swimming. The water is really clear and cold!

We were finished and heading back to the car at about 10:30 a.m., at the same time the trail started to fill up. Hopefully more trails will open in the future, and we can continue to properly social distance by arriving early as we did today.

Quarry trail at Greenway Farms

After being closed for about a month, parks are starting to open back up in Chattanooga.

Yesterday was a warm, sunny day, so we went to Greenway Farms to check out a trail that goes around an old quarry. The quarry is flooded out now, and — even though swimming is supposedly prohibited — people use the area as a swimming hole.

The only problem with it being a beautiful spring day was that everyone else had the same idea we had.

When we first pulled into the parking lot, Derek almost wanted to back out of the plan because there were so many cars, but most of those people were hanging out in the open green area or walking their dogs.

Once we got on the trail itself, it wasn’t too bad. However, I was disappointed with the lack of mask wearers. Derek and I wore masks, and only three other people that we saw wore them too. We did our best to social distance ourselves from others, but at times it was impossible. During pandemic times, people need more spacial awareness.

Part of the trail leads to the bottom of the quarry, where people go swimming. The closer we got down to the end, the more people there were. I wanted to snap a few quick pictures, and Derek stayed behind. There were three other couples there at the time, and they were all spaced apart. I took my pictures, when I turned around to see no less than 10 kids running down the path. It was actually frightening! They were all there to go swimming. I hope they will all be okay and do not get sick from each other.

We took an upper trail that goes around the quarry. We had that trail to ourselves. I am glad that second trail was an option otherwise we probably would have cut our time short.

Despite the issues that we had to work around, it was a beautiful trail. I am glad we went.

However, I think we’re going to run into the same problem that we dealt with last month. Everyone flocks to the parks because that’s the only thing there is left to do, but then the parks are crowded and therefore not safe. With Chattanooga being a mostly outdoor activity city, most of the things on my to-do list are park related.

Greenway Farms is the only place that has reopened so far out of everything on my list. Nothing else is ready to be opened yet, and after our experience at the quarry trail, that is fine by me.

Greenway Farm Quarry Trail46 — The top of the quarry cliff looking down into the swimming hole.

Greenway Farm Quarry Trail34 — Some of the trail was quite rocky and we had to be careful with our footing.

Greenway Farm Quarry Trail36 — The Chickamauga Creek down below.

“Christmas in Dixie”

I completed a small bucket list item this weekend!

One of my favorite Christmas songs is “Christmas in Dixie” by Alabama. It has been my favorite song since I was little. I cannot explain why, seeing as I was born and raised in the northeast! More recently they have become one of my favorite bands. The band members are from Fort Payne, and so at the end of the song they sing, “And from Fort Payne, Alabama… Merry Christmas tonight.” We went to Fort Payne for the day and I got to spend a “Christmas in Dixie.”

I never knew much about the boys from Fort Payne, that is until we literally drove past Fort Payne, Alabama, when we were moving from Pennsylvania to Texas, over three years ago.

Living in Texas, there were more country stations on the radio, including a country classics one, which became my favorite. I was introduced to a whole new (well, new to me) section of country music. I kept hearing Alabama song after Alabama song and I enjoyed all of their music.

When we moved to Chattanooga, I realized that Fort Payne was only an hour away from us. I knew that going to Fort Payne during Christmas time would make the trip extra special for me, to make my favorite Christmas song come true for me personally.

We ended up having an activity packed day, and we learned a lot about Fort Payne’s history.

We arrived at lunch time and started out at The Spot, a cafe in downtown.

After lunch, we walked up and down the street. We browsed in a few shops, and admired the Christmas decorations. Seeing all of the banners in town that said “Christmas in Dixie,” was a treat for me.

Fort Payne14 — “Christmas in Dixie, it’s snowin’ in the pines
Merry Christmas from Dixie, to everyone tonight.”

Fort Payne13 — James Dean is an artist from Fort Payne. He is famous for his Pete the Cat work. Pete was all over town!

We walked down a few blocks to the City Park, where there are Alabama statues. We stopped to take a few photos and then we scoped out the park, where a Christmas event would be taking place later on that night.

Fort Payne21 — Me with Randy, the lead singer of the band.

We walked across the street from there and checked out the Depot Museum. The Depot was built in 1891. Admission was $3 and there were a ton of interesting artifacts donated from Fort Payne residents inside.

Fort Payne28 — A wedding dress from 1903.

Fort Payne31 — A collection of old items.

Fort Payne33 — An old newspaper press! I was excited to see this and learn what it was.

Did you know that Alabama was known as the sock capital of the world? We learned at the free Hosiery Museum that during the height of the sock boom, one out of every eight pairs of socks was made in Fort Payne. The Hosiery Museum had machines that made the socks on display, as well as old historical photographs of the town.

Fort Payne39 — An old photo of the historical DeKalb hotel (named after DeKalb County) which burned down.

From there we walked next door to the Fort Payne Opera House, where we also got a free tour. The Opera House was built in 1891, and still holds performances today, including Alabama! The woman who talked to us at both the Opera House and the Hosiery Museum was wonderful and full of knowledge. I wish I had remembered her name.

Then it was off to the Alabama Museum, the whole reason for the trip. It is a small museum and gift shop, but it is filled to the brim with items from the band members. We ended up buying a Christmas ornament from the gift shop.

After that we checked out the Big Mill Antique Mall, housed in the old hosiery mill. Also in the mill was Vintage Cafe, where we had a mid afternoon light meal.

When it got dark we headed back to the park for their annual “Christmas in the Park” event. There was a bonfire, free concessions, music and a tree lighting.

We had a nice day exploring a new area in a new state. I am glad that we found a lot of different things to do and learned some history of the area. I had worried that Derek would be bored with a whole day devoted to the Alabama band, and it ended up being much more than that!

Leaf peeping

I’ve been living my best life this past month, as someone who loves to photograph fall foliage.

A couple of weekends ago we went to a stretch of brightly colored trees that are along side of a nearby elementary school, and had some fun taking portrait shots of each other.

Then last weekend we found some trees in Coolidge park. I had to get on Derek’s shoulders in order to get the angle I wanted, with the leaves in the foreground and the Walnut Street Bridge in the background. He’s a good sport!

Shakleford Ridge Park and leef peeping51

Shakleford Ridge Park and leef peeping48

Shakleford Ridge Park and leef peeping57

Shakleford Ridge Park and leef peeping61

Shakleford Ridge Park and leef peeping66 — My favorite picture!

Shakleford Ridge Park and leef peeping72

Shakleford Ridge Park and leef peeping75

Shakleford Ridge Park and leef peeping79

McCoy Farm trail

McCoy Farm is in the town of Signal Mountain. It’s a historic house and grounds that dates to before the Civil War. The woman who lived in the home last, passed on down through the generations of her family, bequeathed the house to the town in her will.

Now, the town holds public events there, such as 4th of July picnics. They also hold private events. The day that we were there, they were setting up for a wedding.

On weekends the public is allowed on the grounds. I am sure this rule is amended if there are scheduled private events, such as when we were there, so we did not check out the house and buildings. There is also a blacksmith building and a barn.

There is a one mile walking trail that makes a wide loop around the grounds, which is open to the public every day. Last weekend we walked the trail.

It is a woodsy trail, and I enjoyed seeing some of the trees changing colors. There is also a swinging bridge to cross. It is a simple trail, but it truly felt like we were in the wilderness, and not just a few miles from downtown.

McCoy Farm trail3 — This is my favorite picture I took on the trail. I love the texture and shapes in the front, and the pop of color from the leaves in the back.

McCoy Farm trail31 — The swinging bridge.

McCoy Farm trail34 — Bright red leaves in the fall are my favorite!

McCoy Farm trail37 — The McCoy Farm main house.