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Chattanooga
Offers Family Fun
by Margaret Dornaus
It’s
been rated one of America’s Top Ten family vacation spots, and with good
reason: Chattanooga proposes something old and something new for
families itching to shake off end of
summer’s dust and fly from the nest for a bird’s eye view of the outside
world--or, at least, of the spectacular Tennessee River Valley.
Another
prime spot for simultaneously contemplating Mother Nature’s beauty and the
events of history is nearby Point Park, a site operated by the National
Park Service as part of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military
Park. At this, the nation’s oldest military park, you can literally walk in
the footsteps of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant by standing on the bluff where he stood
to command his troops’ victory over Confederate forces in the 1863 encounter
dubbed “The Battle Above the Clouds.”
Ruby
Falls is
still another of Chattanooga’s classic “Over The Rainbow” sights, although the
treasures you’ll see here are underground--1,120 feet underground to be exact.
That’s how far down you’ll have to travel (via specially-engineered elevators
carved out of Lookout Mountain’s layered sandstone and limestone) in order to
see phenomenal stalagmite and stalagtite formations. Along the narrow and often
slippery slope which leads to the cavern’s eponymous centerpiece, you’ll be
treated to extraordinary natural creations--lighted and labeled with such
fanciful names as “Cactus and Candle,” “Steak & Potatoes,” and “Frozen
Niagara.” The tour’s highlight, however, is the 145-foot waterfall (accented by
a show of laser lights and Wagnerian music) you’ll encounter halfway through
your circular underground journey. Even man’s best efforts fail to detract from
the stunning beauty of this natural phenomenon. For a look at how man’s efforts have enhanced our appreciation of
nature, head to Chattanooga’s Tennessee Aquarium--an eight-year-old
prodigy that has helped spawn a renaissance along this once floundering
mountain town’s riverfront district. The brainchild of a group of concerned
citizens, the $750 million riverfront complex has helped navigate the town’s
fortunes away from the bleak effects of its former reliance on heavy
industry. Instead, the town’s future today
seems as bright as the colorful freshwater inhabitants on display at their
incredible riverside residence. Here, yellow anacondas lurk at the bottom of
tanks shared with six-foot arapaimas surfacing for air every 10 to 20
minutes; giant catfish coexist with
alligator snapping turtles; and Gulf of Mexico natives called Spanish hogfish
regally command lesser porkfish (yellow pork chop-shaped creatures) to purge
them of parasites. Included
in the aquarium complex is IMAX, a state-of-the-art, six-story 3D
theater featuring hourly showings of nature films that pop out into your lap
from the screen. And, as if that weren’t enough, the nearby Creative
Discovery Museum gives adults and kids alike the chance to view science and
nature in a hands-on, up-close-and-personal way by experiencing a dinosaur
dig--or assuming Inspector Gadget’s identity at the “discovery” table of
mechanical inventions--or studying volume and pressure at “Archimedes Screw.” Afterwards,
stroll through a riverside Sculpture Garden or take in even more culture
at the Hunter Museum of American Art, a 1904 mansion that houses more
than 1,500 permanent works as well as special exhibits in the Bluff Arts
District overlooking the Tennessee River. Still
looking for more antidotes for the summertime blues? There’s always the Choo
Choo. Or how about that Southern Belle riverboat cruise? Or the International
Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame & Museum. Or Bessie Smith Hall. Or . . . For
more information, contact the Chattanooga Area Convention & Visitors
Bureau at 1-800-322-3344. Or visit its website: www.Chattanoogafun.com
©copyright
2000 Margaret Dornaus. Reproduction of this article and/or images, in whole or
in part, including reproduction in electronic media, without the express
permission of the author, is prohibited. For reprint information, contact mdornaus@earthlink.net
Photographs
courtesy of the Chattanooga Convention & Visitors Bureau. -Updated 8-21-00- |
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TM
Cradled in a hollow graced by the Tennessee River’s fluid ribbon and
ringed by spectacular Smoky Mountain scenery, Chattanooga has long viewed its
topography as both a bane and a blessing. More than a century ago, for example,
Northern forces turned the tables on native troops by employing Chatanooga’s
terrain to their advantage. The area’s niched hillsides and mountain overlooks
would, much to the Confederacy’s chagrin, become prominent Union allies in
three pivotal Civil War battles: Orchard Knob, Lookout Mountain; and Missionary
Ridge. Learn the history of those crucial encounters through the eyes of both
a Union and a Confederate narrator at The Battles for Chattanooga Museum,
where a stunningly effective three-dimensional video dramatically reenacts
those war-torn days. Then, head out to tour the sites of the surrounding
battlefields.
A climb aboard the Incline Railroad--a more
than 60-year-old attraction--offers a thrilling mile-long ride to the top
of Lookout Mountain on the
world’s steepest passenger train. After navigating the ride’s heart-stopping
72.7 percent grade, passengers will likely find the observation deck’s
breathtaking vista a gently soothing relief.. On a clear day, views from the
top span 200 miles of the verdant river valley’s color-saturated landscape.
Keep heading up the mountain road to another of the city’s historic
family-centered attractions: Rock City, a 14-acre pocket of gardens
tucked into unique sandstone formations with names like Needle’s Eye, Mushroom
Rock, and Fat Man’s Squeeze. The 1932 creation of gardening enthusiast Frieda
Carter, Rock City soon gained regional and national attention thanks to the inventor of Tom Thumb miniature
golf--Garnet Carter, Frieda’s enterprising husband. It was Garnet’s idea to
advertise the craggy mountaintop showplace by painting pitched-roof barns in 19
states with Burma Shave-like slogans. Designed to lure motorists to Rock City’s mountainside retreat, the
sloping “barnboards” cropped up in fields strewn along the “Snowbird’s Route to
Florida” that ran from the Great Lakes
region to the Gulf of Mexico. Although most of those signposts of America’s
past have long since vanished from the roadside, Rock City rocks on for those
willing to make the effort to locate it.. Once you do, be sure to visit Lover’s
Leap for the spectacularly panoramic view of seven contiguous states from
Rock City’s mountain overlook.