Holiday Inn Cleveland-I-75-North Exit 25

... us of a typical town along the Rio Grand River where the older residential part of the city is run down, garbage strewn with unkempt yards, dirty looking and is predominantly black. The downtown sector has very few new glass high rises because the old classic Southern style buildings are still functional for lots of businesses. A mountain ridge runs through the middle of the city but is connected ...

... ha, ha, ha. We can't decide if it helps with the homesickness or makes it worse, but we are enjoying their deliciousness.

It's been an educational and fun time here in Chattanooga and we have enjoyed the natural beauty of the area. The fall colours came to their peak colour for the season and then all the leaves fell, it was incredible, like nothing we have ever seen before.

Love and Peace, the train visiting a train, Bek and Jesse.

We have arrived in Chattanooga and found ourselves a bargain basement priced little wooden cabin to keep us out of the rain and in the warmth, yay! This is just a short entry. This week we will be staying here in Chattanooga checking out the surrounds and making a few day trips to neighbouring states.

We will keep you updated. Lots of Love, the warm, Bek and Jesse Train

From Marietta we took Hwy 41 North. Met for Breakfast @ the WH in Cartersville. Took Hwy 136 to Hwy 151 to Hwy 95 to Hwy 27 North. 27 North runs into the Battlefield.

On Hwy 136 we took a detour to Johns Mountain. It is a left turn from 136 North and is well marked. We drove to an overlook via a gravel road that was probably 2 1/2 miles. Not a ...

Jamie, Zach, and I can now say that we have done what all the barns and bird houses across the southeast has been requesting people to do: See Rock City. Rock City is a Labrinth of rock formations on the highest peak in Tennessee. From one spot we could Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee. Zach enjoyed looking at the rocks that loomed overhead and the massive waterfall.

... would lead.

After about an hour of hacking and climbing my way through Nature's takeover, I ran out of trail. I'm sure it continued somewhere, but it was virtually impassable, and I was running out of daylight. So, rather than get my sorry butt lost on my first day, I headed back to camp to rest and give the waterfall a search tomorrow.

Unfortunately, sleep was difficult. Though I didn't hear any "bear-like" noises, I had a tough time getting any rest in what amounted to a ...

... gets very quiet and peaceful. Sounds are muted and colors are softened. It's one of my favorite forces of Nature.

And, since it was foggy, and getting late, I made camp in a little pullout (previously used by campers or hikers as a campsite), set up my tent, took a few more photos of the fog, the trees, and the wonderful forest sunset, and called it a night.

Next...
Day Three. I finally find Paradise!

... ever
encountered looking for a secret waterfall (which I never found).
It was difficult, and beautiful, and fun, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
And, though it was an enightening experience, it was also a sobering
one. Despite the fact that these lands are Federally protected, the
surrounding areas are being developed at a furious pace. All along Hwy
64 leading from I-75 into the forest, are new developments, incredible
population growth, and a ...

... s most
beautiful mountain forests. (You may remember the Ocoee as being the
whitewater rafting site of the 1996 Olympics... and if you're a bit
older, you'll remember it from the movie Deliverance -- insert theme music here).
I spent four days and three nights in the forest in search of those
little backroads that would take me to some of Mother Nature's best
kept secrets...Read more at www.vanishingamerica.net

... 8217;s not a lot of time, but each city has a special place in my heart and I truly feel so blessed with this opportunity and am determined to see as much as I can. And hopefully I’ll be going back soon for a more in depth look!

I sincerely hope that all of the wonders experienced by other members of this Web site will play out for me as well and I’ll do my best to update this journal to the best of my abilities while I'm over there, so that I can forever remember my ...