Ruby Falls and Rock City

We had a pretty full day today, and as you can see here, we started at Ruby Falls.  Well, first we started at the hotel where we woke up a little later, and snuck down for the free continental breakfast.  It was actually pretty substantial, come to think of it!  There was quite a bit to offer, and it completely cancelled out the thought of going to a restaurant to eat breakfast, because there was so much to eat there.  The whole term "continental breakfast" brought to mind a conversation about what that really means, which of course went to a funny online skit that Daddy had to find and show before we left the hotel.  

Anyway, as it was just one night, we packed up easily and were out the door quickly.  Ruby Falls was very, very close by.  We took a few rights, and made our way up Lookout Mountain, and followed the signs.  Madison was helpful with finding signs and remembering route numbers.  Soon enough, we were there - again, it was very close.  The parking lot was pretty full, but we had immediate favor with parking spots all day today, pulling in these spots that were right there, really close by.

We got our tickets, and the next stop was posing in front of a green screen before boarding the elevator down 160 feet.

We don't usually buy the souvenir photos they take in front of the green screen, but this one turned out pretty good.  We were about to do some spelunking!  Not really, but Mommy pointed out that this was the first time that Madison has ever seen real stalactites and stalagmites!

It's a guided tour, and not a self-guided tour.  As such, you can't stop for too long to take photographs.  The truth is, that might be the best thing to keep the crowds moving.  There were actually a lot of people down there, walking a thin and narrow path deep within the earth.  The idea that this guy named Leo crawled a remarkable distance until he could finally stand upright, and then he kept going in the dark with only a lantern... that amazes me.  Fortunately, there was plenty of lighting here this morning:

It's all colorful lighting, much of it.  These formations apparently needed a lot of enhancing, because oversized cave formations just aren't thrilling enough until you add multi-colored LED lights.  Same for the waterfall, of course.  

Here's Mommy and Madison at the beginning of the tour.  Overall, we walked approximately one mile underground, and it took about an hour total.  These are the statistics they give us along the way, and it's mostly level ground and of course all pretty cool inside, as far as temperature goes.  Eventually, we made it to our destination, Ruby Falls!

It's pretty impressive, actually!  The picture above has people in it to show the scale of the thing.  I think they said it was about 145 feet tall, and also the "largest commercial cave waterfall in America."  This suggests to me there are taller waterfalls underground elsewhere, which is pretty amazing to think about, because honestly this one is impressive.  The lighting above is natural, but with this waterfall, they added a bunch of lighting to it - and music too.  You're only given eight minutes to see it, and you sort of share that with a bunch of other people in your group. 

We were at the base of the falls a few moments, and again later on.  You can see the blue coloring of the lighting, and the smiles on the girls' faces.  It was a fun little expedition!  But soon it was time to return!

It was largely the same journey back, with a few deviations.  This path had a few other formations, some named and others simply lit with colorful lights.  From what we read on the surface, twenty-five percent of the power for the lighting comes from the solar panels we saw up there.

Madison enjoyed it.  We did too, of course, and we were happy to experience something like this where she could learn a little along the way.  There are many more caves, and of course some more famous and much larger.  Further up the road is Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, which is not as beautiful as others, but certainly larger.  Luray Caverns in Virginia is incredible, as is the musical pipe organ within.  The most amazing cave system Daddy has ever been to is Carlsbad Caverns, which is one of the most awe-inspiring places you can see.  It's a must-see on our list with Madison, some day.

But for now, Ruby Falls was certainly a stop worth making.  We found our way to the elevator, and made our way up, up, up again - and this time kept going up once we got to the store.  There was a staircase that led us up to the top of an observation tower, the top of a castle that enabled us to look out over Lookout Mountain.  It was quite a view!

Satisfied with our trip, our next stop was about five miles up the road, still on Lookout Mountain.  We crossed back into Georgia, and made it to Rock City.

This is one of the greatest tourist attractions ever conceived, up there with Wall Drug and the House on the Rock.  The best part is that it is actually here in Georgia, and so close to visit.  On one hand, it's filled with gnomes, which tells you all you need to know about a place, really.

There are over a hundred garden gnomes - probably more - scattered throughout the place.  But the other side of it all is the natural beauty of the place, and the way the large rocks are rested atop this mountain.

Here's Madison and Mommy along the way, going between a few larger rocks with that bridge overhead.  Visitors walked over and under these rocks, even going deep within a cavernous area at one point.  

Along the way, the landscaping is very pleasant.  Peaceful music plays and it's just perfect for a nice, quiet walk.  It was very quiet today, in fact.  The tremendous amount of rain had scared many people off, one employee said.  This morning, the weather was overcast and the clouds looked heavy.  That's why we went to Ruby Falls first.  But things had cleared up for the afternoon, and the weather was absolutely perfect.

Here you can see one of the two tight squeezes that the path takes you on.  This is the "Eye of the Needle," which we went through, and then up again on top of these rocks along this path here:

As you can see, there was hardly anyone here.  It was pretty astounding, and we were very grateful because we were all enjoying the place very much.  In fact, later on Madison said of the three destinations here in Chattanooga, this one was her favorite.

And the weather was cloudy enough that it wasn't terribly hot at all.  We took our time, wandering along the path amongst these massive rocks, some even with unusual shapes that resembled other things.

Does this not look like a large blob fish?  I think it was called Mushroom Rock or something.  But you can see a face in there, can't you?  Maybe it's just us.  Oh, and yes, you can see the bird feeder there too, right?  Those were all over, as were the garden gnomes.  Here's a few more bird feeders.

We got Mommy something as a Christmas present here, a hummingbird feeder that's a version of one of these.  Also, we now have a "See Rock City" bird feeder ourselves, one we'll be putting together at home, probably this week.  Madison and Daddy will probably be assembling that one very soon, given Madison's love of putting things together.

Eventually, we did make it to the edge of Lookout Mountain, where the mountain presumably got its name from.  This is a water fall that is man-made, not a natural one.  Nevertheless, it's pretty to look at, quite tall.  It's called High Falls.  Here's the view from the top of that bridge, looking down the falls.

Madison has an interesting fear of heights, something we've been discovering lately. She was talking about it more and more from her experience at the lighthouse last year, and this year's return visit to the lighthouse sort of confirmed things a bit more.  This rope bridge was sort of a challenge for her, but Mommy kept close.

Looks like the rope bridge to the Temple of Doom, doesn't it?  Don't worry - there weren't any crocodiles below.  It was a pretty good distance down though.

There's Mommy and Madison on the lookout point, from which you can see seven states.  Today, you could probably see about five states, I suspect.  It was still a pretty good view - you could see quite a ways.  There was a corn maze below, and even a barn with the words "See Rock City" painted on the roof.  After walking along the top, we made our way back through the rock gardens, along the edge there and through the Asgardian Rainbow Hall.

Okay, it wasn't from Asgard.  It was just some tinted windows.  There wasn't any explanation for this, other than the fact that it was kind of cool.  Sort of like this random statue.

Standing on a rock that was separate from the walkways, a chasm between us, there was no explanation for this statue.  It could be some celebration of humankind's relationship with animals... or it could could be instead some creepy Lord of the Rings character about to unleash something we'll find out about later.

We got out of there quickly though.  Here's Madison in one of the many darkened passages along the path, on the way out.  There was one more tight squeeze though.

This is Fat Man Squeeze, which Madison had no problem going through, mainly because she isn't a fat man.  All was well for a time, but then we were faced with a difficult choice.  We couldn't go over the mountain, so there was no choice but to go through something worse than the Mines of Moria.

There was no other way, so to quote Gandalf, "So be it!"  This is where things get a little crazy at Rock City:

Madison asked, "This is tacky, right Dad?"  Yes, Madison.  This is tacky.  There were gnomes and black lighting.  It was quite damp, actually.  The huge amount of rain in the area left large puddles in the cavernous pathways.  Visibility was limited, so occasionally Daddy would splash into a puddle and warn everyone behind.  There was a lot of rain here the last few days.  Evidence of this was seen all the way up and down the road, with impromptu waterfalls coming off the side of the mountain here or there, even though there hasn't been rain since last night.  It was just a lot of runoff.  And we were walking through a bit of it as we saw this mystical place called Fairyland Caverns.

Not only were there gnomes everywhere, but there were also all kinds of classic nursery rhyme stories, all set up with black light.  Everything was there, from Snow White to the Old Woman in the Shoe.  And thrown in all over the place, there were more gnomes.

This gnome seems to be saying, "Get off my lawn!"  This was a two-story house here, one with glowing occupants in each window, and some wildlife too.  Different grottos presented different stories, all lit up brilliantly in the dark.

I can' remember this one, but it looked interesting.  There were glowing fairies flittering about a tree.  Other scenes showed a carnival with a large working Ferris wheel, or Red Riding Hood, or this massive area with a castle on a hill, and all sorts of nursery rhyme inhabitants.

It looks like these are behind bars for some crime we're not sure about.  Actually, most of the scenes were behind bars, to protect the displays against the usual Rock City riffraff!

But they needn't worry, because the gnomes were there, looking down on us as we traveled.  They clearly had us outnumbered too!

In the end, we escaped from Fairyland Caverns no worse for wear, and it really wasn't that bad of a place at all.  It was a fun little journey, and it turns out, it was the end of our trip through Rock City.  We wound up at the entrance area afterwards, where we stopped in the shop area to grab a hummingbird feeder and a gift for Nana.

We ate at the restaurant right there at Rock City, and it was surprisingly good.  It was also quiet there, and had a unique look to the place.  There is a massive rock in the middle of the dining area, one surrounded by a fence, and there was a rustic look to the entire area.  The bonus to all of this was a completely gluten-free cheeseburger that Mommy was able to eat.  It was so huge that she couldn't finish it.  Daddy didn't really finish his meal either, although Madison was able to scarf down her chicken strips.  She's been into barbecue sauce lately, and that certainly helped.

One last photo opportunity, and we liked this one.  There was a fall display that was very nice, so Mommy and Madison had a seat for one last picture.  We left Rock City, and it was an easy drive home, and a quick one too.  There was traffic in Chattanooga, and some back-up in Canton due to some event going on.  But beyond that, it was a simple trip.  We got home, fairly tired and ready for bed, although we did watch a movie, "Boxtrolls."  It's part of our October collection.  That month is coming up soon, and we'll be back in Tennessee then too.  But for now, this small two-day trip was a nice way to get away before the end of September, and the end of Fall break.  It was a good trip, and we went to bed tonight after reading and prayers and zerberts, quite exhausted, but quite content!