Chattanooga Boogie (background sound)
In Chattanooga it is now:
or on text link: cjdoscher1@(remove this to email)comcast.net .
God Bless the USA (play the midi)
A great place to visit while in Chattanooga is the Tennessee Aquarium, the largest freshwater acquarium in the world - be sure to check out the 'New To Do' link on their web site - catch a free electric shuttle to the Aquarium at the well known Chattanooga Choo Choo* at the 1400 block of Market Street (or ride from the Aquarium to the Choo Choo - hear the midi file of the song* by the same name at 'Carl's Favorite Midis') or take a horse & carriage ride from the Choo Choo down to the riverfront at night or during the day (the rides may leave from the Aquarium as well) - see a schedule for the free shuttle buses at the bottom of this paragraph. Stop by the Chattanooga Visitors Center near the Aquarium and get tickets to various attractions. Also visit the IMAX 3-D Theater, the Bijou movie house nearby, the Creative Discovery Museum for the kids, or Hunter Art Gallery while in town, if time permits. After touring the Aquarium visit Ross's Landing, named after Cherokee chief John Ross (his restored house is in Rossville, GA at the duck pond), at the nearby riverfront and take a ride on the Southern Belle Riverboat, a real paddle-wheeler (see a picture at Slideshow, picture #2, which is fine for dialup users or view a short video - may take a while to buffer for dialup), where full course meals and music (type varies by day of week) are available on night cruises and sightseeing rides (lunch optional) are available in the daytime until 4:00 p.m. . If one would like to explore the Tennessee River Gorge on a new and fast boat, check out the River Gorge Explorer (a beautiful boat). Weather permitting, a walk across either the Market St. or Walnut St. Bridge (the world's longest walking bridge) to Coolidge Park (north of the river), where one might ride a carousel or buy a New Orleans style snow cone with shaved ice (seasonal) or let the kids cool off in the fountain (in the Summer of course), might be nice. For those that like long walks and some nice scenery check out Chattanooga's Riverwalk pictures at Riverwalk Tour (the guided tour is optional). Nature, fitness or arts & culture lovers visit the Chattanooga Parks and Recreation Center or have a look at Chattanooga's Warner Park Zoo. For canoeing, kayaking, whitewater tours or summer camps visit Outdoor Chattanooga or check out OutVenture - Trips and Programs (direct link). For shoppers, look for Warehouse Row Outlets located downtown at Market and Houston Streets (both sides of Houston - formerly 12th St.) or visit Southside Galleries or Southside Mall down Market St. at 14th St. (south of Warehouse Row) for antiques, art work and more at discount prices. For those with fine tastes enjoy a dinner at the Choo Choo Station House or Southside Grill - the name may have changed slightly (behind the condos at the corner across the street from the Choo Choo bus pick-up and a short block, perhaps 1-1/2 blocks, west down 14th St.).
Click on the image below to get Chattanooga's weather at Weather Underground.
I am a life long resident of Chattanooga, TN, the "Scenic Center of the South". To learn more, or to seek out some local, statewide and Southeast job links, as well as free places to post your resume, look here.
Be sure to visit Lookout Mountain while in town and see Rock City
("the World's 8th Wonder" - get some history of Rock City at Roadside America), Ruby Falls (and the Lookout Mountain Caverns), the Incline Railway (the "world's steepest incline"), as well as (for Cival War buffs) Point Park, where the Battle Above the Clouds was faught, Battles for Chattanooga Museum (across from Point Park), Cravens House and Chickamauga Battlefield, America's oldest and largest Cival War park, located near Chickamauga, GA, south of Chattanooga via U.S. 27 (Rossville Boulevard South exit off I-24, then about 8 miles). Tickets to Rock City, Ruby Falls, the Incline Railway and other attractions may be found online at Chattanooga Fun or get an online discount package to these three Lookout Mountain attractions at tickets (direct link). If you wish you may buy tickets upon arrival at the Chattanooga Visitors Center (previously mentioned) downtown near the Tennessee Aquarium. Oh, while at the Incline Railway in historic St. Elmo (at the base of Lookout Mountain), there is a neat pizza & ice cream place called Mr. T's across the street beyond the wishing well (you actually cross two streets) or gyro's in the Incline Snack Bar by the base station. While touring Lookout Mountain, a side trip to Reflection Riding & Gardens at the Chattanooga Nature Center would be nice (alongside the mountain in the valley below - a tour in the Spring or Fall is especially colorful). The valley between Lookout Mountain (west side) and west to Raccoon Mountain (includes what was formerly called Aetna Mtn.) and north to Elder Mountain and the river is know as Lookout Valley. Don't miss nearby Raccoon Mountain (west of I-24 at exit 174 about 1.5 miles on old Hwy. 41 N. (& 72 W.), known as 'The Scenic Parkway' or 'The Trail of Tears Corridor') and Raccoon Mtn. Caverns & Campground (formerly Crystal Caverns). Note: The Alpine Slide and chair lift along with the large track with rather fast go-karts were taken out at Raccoon Mountain several years ago for a huge high dollar development called Cummings Cove (w/townhouses, a golf course called Black Creek, etc.). A small go-kart track and batting cages still remain, I believe, as well as the campground and cabins (smoking is not allowed inside the cabins); they may have a hiking trail there also. A nice little lodge is right next to the entrance to Raccoon Mtn. called the Alpine Lodge with a pool (I assume the pool is still open in the Summer months - haven't actually checked it in years). Other places to stay may be found at 'Some Great Tennessee Links' further down the page. Have an enjoyable afternoon or evening meal at The Catfish House located on the Tennessee River (get a window seat by the river if possible), a scenic eight mile trip west from I-24 (exit 174) on Hwy. 41 N (about 6 miles beyond Raccoon Mountain). While at Raccoon Mountain stop by TVA's Pumped Storage Project (the entrance is about a mile or two past Raccoon Mtn. Caverns after climbing the large hill on Hwy. 41 - it is 8 miles to the top of the mountain to the project) and cross the largest rock-filled dam ever constructed by TVA at 230-feet high and 8,500 feet long and view its beautiful lake or bring your food to enjoy at the picnic area and kids' play ground in the Spring or Summer (hiking trails are available or bike around the lake if you have a bicycle) - I would think the drive-through by road would be accessible year-around. I walked across the dam once when my battery went dead during a tremendous thunderstorm (after the storm, of course) - tried to boost it from an extra battery I had in the trunk but to no avail. The 'Public Safety' fellow showed up later near the entrance to the facility after I had walked a couple miles & helped me (when he stopped he asked me 'Are you the guy with the Volvo?' and I said 'Yes' - it was the last pubic vehicle in the parking lot). TVA's free tour of the powerhouse 1,000+ feet down into the mountain was stopped after 9-11 (you know how picky the govn. can be) - the fast elevator and the echos in the long cave were fun. I believe access is still available to the Visitor's Center Overlook (behind the center) to view the Tennessee River Gorge - it is sometimes called the 'Grand Canyon of the South'.
Note: The search below is a comprehensive listing of sites related to Chattanooga - it might be helpful to add it to 'favorites' in Explorer (or 'bookmarks' in Netscape or Firefox) after getting results. An option would be to enter your own search criteria, e.g., Tennessee or "Cival War" + "Lookout Mountain".
Chattanooga is the fourth largest city in Tennessee and got its name from the Creek Indian name for Lookout Mountain (and means 'rock that comes to a point'), one of the main features of the city skyline, although the city is mostly surrounded by mountains (Lookout, Signal, Raccoon, Missionary Ridge - not really a mountain, etc.). The Cherokee word ''Tanasi'', referring to what is now the Tennessee River, is where the state's name originated. Chattanooga is the birthplace of Moon Pies, miniature golf, and the first Coca Cola bottling plant (over 100 years ago). Learn about some of Chattanooga's history as well as history behind some local sites, such as Incline Railway, Point Park, Cravens' House, Signal Point, and various Cival War battles here at North Georgia's portal to Chattanooga, Tennessee. If you would like more local reading or pictures of the Tennessee River check out the Tennessee River Gorge Trust (don't miss the newsletters). Also check out The Chattanooga Times Free Press, the area's local newspaper.
Learn about further outdoor adventure in Southeast Tennessee such as scenic drives through the Cherokee National Forest, white water rafting,
heritage trails, arts & antiques, historic sites, museums and more at
Tennessee Overhill Experience. Find local tourist and travel information at the Chattanooga Convention Center or take a peek at government or learn about their automatic traffic enforcement system at the
City of Chattanooga.
If you would like information about Sequoyah who created the Cherokee Indian alphabet try Encyclopedia of Arkansas - Sequoyah or read about the forced removal of the Cherokee on the infamous Trail of Tears (this doesn't mention that the hastily signed 'Treaty of New Echota' in North Georgia, which ceded all Cherokee lands east of the Mississippi River to the U.S. for $5 Million, was only signed by representatives of 300 Cherokees, not the entire tribe of 15,000+) or see Arkansas's version here. Chief John Ross, the principle chief of the Cherokee, fought legally for the invalidation of the treaty but this ended with passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 (Pres. Andrew Jackson had a deep resentment against all Native Americans and he pushed Congress to pass the act). On the infamous trail west to Oklahoma several thousand Native Americans died, including the wife of John Ross. One may want to also visit the Native Americans Web Site or another link here. Moccasin Bend, just west of downtown Chattanooga on I-24, (see a picture at pic. #3 in 'Slideshow' link below) is the land mass with the Tennessee River on three sides and which got its name from the Cherokees who used to camp there, as they likened the shape as seen from Lookout Mountain to an Indian moccasin. It may best be viewed from Point Park, part of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park and which may be found at the top of Lookout Mountain. Point Park is easily reached by foot from the top of the Incline Railway (previously mentioned), the track of which runs one mile above the valley below; walking distance to the park is about 1/4 mile from the Incline (see a picture at pic. #1 in 'Slideshow' link below). Across the street from the park resides the Battles for Chattanooga Museum (mentioned in second paragraph above) which has a colorful electric map of the Cival War (War Between the States) battles fought in the Chattanooga area.
1. Downtown Chattanooga Hotels offers great rates on over 50 hotels near downtown Chattanooga (has a nice map of the city).
2. Look at the various tour packages for Chattanooga, TN at Vacation Packages.
3. To stay near the mountains find reasonably priced cabins at Raccoon Mtn. Caverns & Campground about 7 miles west of downtown Chattanooga off I-24 (exit 174 and north on Hwy. 41 about 1.5 miles - turn right if headed west on 24) or visit the quaint Alpine Lodge just outside the entrance. Note: Several nice motels are to be found at this same exit - this and Exit 175 are the gateways to Lookout Mountain also.
4. Explore the Smoky Mountains at TheSmokies.com.
5. Check out other neat Tennessee links at TennWeb (including the middle Tennessee area & The Smokies).
6. Visit CMT.Com, Tennessee's Country Music Television, check out various Country singers and possibly some Nashville attractions.
7. One might want to look at the Tennessee State Parks or the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development web sites.
