August 2020 – Seeing the Scenic City

Browns Ferry Federal Road Trail

I am counting down the days until cooler weather arrives, because I am looking forward to resuming hiking.

I have been Googling Chattanooga area hikes, and I am curating quite the list. It has been frustrating to discover all of these wonderful places, and know that it’s just not the best time to attempt a 3 mile hike.

This morning I was looking at hikes on Moccasin Bend. I found the Browns Ferry Federal Road Trail, and I got so excited about it, that we had to go right NOW.

The weather has been cooler all weekend because it has been raining on and off, and it was mostly cloudy, keeping the sun at bay. I had found the trail early in the morning, about 9:30, and convinced Derek to go. We were at the trail parking lot by 10 a.m.

The reason why I just couldn’t wait a few weeks is because the trail is a historic one, and I love history.

Browns Ferry Federal Road was a road in use since the early 1800s. A “trace” of the road on Moccasin Bend, as noted by signage on the trail, was discovered by LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), as well as the use of old maps. The trail opened up to the public in 2013.

In October 1863, the city of Chattanooga was under siege by the Confederates. The Union troops were starving, with no way to receive food supplies. The Union devised a plan to open up the supply line.

On Oct. 27, in the early morning hours, the Battle of Brown’s Ferry occurred.

Brig. Gen. William Hazen — fun fact, my last name is Hazen, no relation though, at least we think — commanded groups of men who floated down the Tennessee River in pontoon boats from the city of Chattanooga. They sailed around Moccasin Bend to the crossing site, Brown’s Ferry landing, which was in Confederate hands.

Sailing in the pre-dawn, they achieved the initial element of surprise and were able to cross the river, but were soon discovered by Confederate troops who fired upon them. Union troops were also waiting on the opposite bank (where we stood on the end of the trail) as reinforcements. Ultimately, the Union forces outnumbered the Confederates, who drew back to the south.

This allowed the Union to gain control of the road and open their supply line again. This supply line, and part of the battle became known as the “Cracker Line,” after the hardtack crackers that the soldiers ate.

It was exciting to stand there and picture the men coming up the river in the pontoon boats, as well as the man waiting in position on the shore, and imagine what they must have been thinking.

To see a map of the battle, and to read more about it, visit these two websites:

www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/browns-ferry-october-27-1863 and https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/fight-browns-ferry.

I own Jeff Shaara’s Civil War novels, one of which, The Smoke of Dawn, is about the Battle of Chattanooga. I have read them before, but not since moving here. I remember there being a chapter about the Cracker Line and the battle of Brown’s Ferry. I am looking forward to rereading this book again, even more so now.

In addition, Browns Ferry Federal Road was also an original segment of the Trail of Tears, or the removal of the Cherokee. This happened in 1838. The Cherokee also gathered around the same spot as the Union soldiers did, crossing the river.

The trail is a 1.2 mile out and back hike. It is mostly woodsy, with some open areas. We actually got lost. There was a section of the trail that looked like it went to the right, but it quickly became overgrown and it was obvious we went the wrong way. Looking at the AllTrails app put us back on the right track though.

It was a little muddy when we went, but that is probably because it has been raining all weekend. There are sections of the trail that have elevated boardwalks.

We saw some interesting flowers, butterflies, spider webs and even a couple of fresh deer prints. The trail ends at the river. A barge came through while we were there. We stayed there for a bit, enjoying the view, and imagining the history that occurred there.

Alternative coffee options for an alternative way of life

Derek and I love coffee shops. You can read about some of the ones we frequent here.

The one thing I have missed the most during the pandemic is sitting inside a coffee shop. Getting to-go orders, or sitting outside, is just not the same. I miss the cozy ambience of being inside.

The only coffee shop we’ve never stopped going to is Rembrandt’s, because they have a large outdoor patio. I love going to Rembrandt’s, truly, but I ultimately want to rotate with the other places again.

Since the pandemic started, we have found two new coffee places. Except they’re not really places at all, which is best during a pandemic.

(Be) Caffeinated is a drive thru in Red Bank on Dayton Blvd, not far from where we live. It’s been open a little over a year. We had passed it multiple times, but never gave it a second thought. A drive thru is now one of the safest places you can go these days.

Again, as I’ve noted before, I can’t offer any opinions on the coffee. I only get chai lattes. However, at (Be) Caffeinated, Derek has ordered the Hazelnut Bliss as well as the Gig City Mocha. Derek says it is worth noting that their cold brew is strong. So strong that, getting a coffee in the early afternoon kept him up all night! We now know to go here in the morning.

A few months ago, when the Chattanooga Market opened up, we also discovered Spill the Beans, a coffee truck. At Spill the Beans, Derek has ordered the toffee nut cold brew. Spill the Beans’ schedule looks a little different these days, but normally you would find them at some of the bigger events in Chattanooga, as well as sporting events. We always look forward to going to the Market on weekends, and now Spill the Beans is included in that.

Our desire to get coffee and chai on the weekends has not waned despite the pandemic. At least we have these two options, which we will keep in rotation even after the pandemic has ended.

Hunter Museum of American Art

I’ve been having a rough go of things lately. Today, I took the day off from work — boss’ orders. It was nice to gift myself a three-day weekend.

Many of our weekends have been spent sitting on the couch, thanks to COVID-19. I wanted today to feel special. We decided to go to the Hunter Museum of American Art.

The museum has been on my Chattanooga to-do list since we moved here last year. Then we couldn’t go even if we had tried to, because the museum, like so many other places, closed down in March and stayed closed for an extended period of time. They recently opened back up a few weeks ago.

I’m still concerned about being around more people than necessary in an indoor location, but I thought it would be safer to go on a week day. We were by ourselves for most of our time there. It only got crowded later in the morning, when we were on our way out.

The Hunter Museum of American Art is in the Bluff View Art District. It consists of two buildings, a modern building and the historic Hunter Mansion. We both enjoyed our time there. There was a wide range of different types of art. My favorite were all of the landscapes, especially some of the autumn related scenes and ones of Chattanooga.

There was a special exhibit on display, The F Word: We mean Female! This was a whole collection of art by female artists in honor of the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the U.S.

A painting of Lookout Mountain, with the Tennessee River in the background.

A painting appropriately titled “Autumn.” I loved this one.

One of the displays in The F Word exhibit.

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.