I've always asked Jason to take me camping, but I think he has been worried about me complaining or not being able to handle it or just being too high-maintenance... "indoorsy". Jason grew up camping a lot, so I couldn't blame his skepticism. Well, he finally agreed to a family camping trip! We packed up the truck and headed to Chattanooga!
We camped on Raccoon Mountain in Chattanooga. Our trip started off with Blaine starting a fire with hot embers left behind by previous campers in our fire ring while Jason and I set up the tent. He kept dumping leaves and twigs in it until we turned around and saw flames. He's a (dangerous) camper at heart.
Here's our 2 cutest campers posing in front of our tent, with the first of many rocks to be added to their "collections." Yes, our 2 and 4 year olds collect indigenous rocks from various places of wonder in New Orleans.... like parking lots and people's yards.
Once setting up camp, we took off to do some exploring, setting our sights first on the Raccoon Mountain Cave. Here are my 3 favorite people outside the cave's entrance and a few poorly lit iPhone photos of us inside.
After, we decided to check out Rock City on Lookout Mountain. This place was amazing. It is 14 acres of a self-guided trail over stone bridges, swinging bridges, around waterfalls, and through slim openings between huge rocks.
To the people who follow me on Facebook and Instagram: this was the closest resemblance to a #vivifit for the whole trip! YES!
The view from the top was beautiful!
Apparently the view was not enough for this idiot to get off his phone. Seriously, I just had to capture this. What an amazing view completely ignored.
Day 1 was a success! We went back to camp and the kids helped Jason start a fire (on purpose).
We put Blaine and Vivienne toe-to-toe on an adult-sized cot in their sleeping bags.
And I know this might negate some of our cool camper family "street credit"....errr.... "forest credit".... but I put a movie on the iPad and put it in the mesh sling on the ceiling of the tent. This kept our little campers satisfied with some night time entertainment once the rain came and kept us from enjoying sitting by the campfire.
Other than the first night's light rain, the nights were cool, the sky clear, and there were fireflies! Perfection!
On the second day, we went to the Chattanooga Choo Choo. I didn't know there was such rail road history in Chattanooga, but with my newfound obsession of the show Hell on Wheels, this was a very exciting discovery.
Next we went to Ruby Falls, a 145 foot waterfall that is 1120 feet underground inside Lookout Mountain. We stopped nearby and had some lunch at the cutest little spot.
We took an elevator down and walked through the cave to the waterfall.
A very cooperative photo of Jason and the kids....
When you first enter the "room" where the waterfall is, there are no lights. The guide gave us a short description of the room and switched the lights on and Vivienne's eyes widened and she said, "beautiful!" How cute?!
We got back to our camp and Jason got out his remote-controlled truck. The kids love it!
Again, we lit a campfire, cooked dinner and had s'mores... quickly becoming the kids favorite dessert.
The third day, we took a ride on the Incline Railway, a street car trolley that goes up a 72.6 degree INCLINE up Lookout Mountain!
At the top of the railway, there is an observation deck with yet another beautiful view!
photo credit: Blaine
And just a short walk away, there was Point Park, a Military National Park honoring both Confederate and Union troops for the Civil War's Battles of Chattanooga and Chickamauga. Of course, being a national park, our discovery of the government shutdown occurred here.
But, I did get a picture of these guys outside with a cannon before leaving.
On our last full day, we started with a trip to the Tennessee Valley Railroad. We took a 6 mile round-trip on a train. We learned about the role of the railroad in American history and development. Especially, the importance during the Civil War and Battles for Chattanooga. And although we rode by way of diesel, Jason and I did get to see steam engines and channel our inner Cullen Bohannon and Lily Bell. The kids really enjoyed the train ride.
Tickets please!
Watching the engine turning around at the end of the line.
From here, we took a long ride after lunch, just soaking up the beautiful scenery.
And we eventually stumbled upon the beautiful Chattanooga Arboretum and Nature Center. This place is amazing - over 300 acres of trails for walking, hiking, and even driving. We walked the shortest trail that brought us to a beautiful tree house!
There was canoeing available from this launch site, but we were too late in the day.
Blaine playing a wooden xylophone with an animal bone.
We opted for driving the Reflection Riding section since this was the last stop for us and the kids were not up for such a walk. There were several spots to pull off and enjoy, which we did. There was horse pasture and Vivienne was so excited!
We also came across some wild turkeys but didn't get a picture.
We really enjoyed this vacation! I can't wait to go back and do some more intense hiking with Blaine and Vivienne when they get older. The kids said their favorite parts were sleeping in a tent, starting fires, and eating s'mores! Overall, we all left as happy campers.
