The second portion of our 24 hours in Chattanooga was spent at Ruby Falls and the Incline Railway. I had discovered the day before that Ruby Falls was about an hour tour in a cave. I’m not a huge fan of caves so truth is, I wasn’t looking forward to this portion of our trip but I like a challenge so to the caves we went!
As we were waiting our turn to take the elevator trip down 260 feet into the earth I had time to reflect on my life just in case the earth decided to quake and the tons of rocks caved in on us. Just kidding. I actually read the story of Leo Lambert and how he set out to reopen the cave to the public that was used by Native Americans and both the Confederate and Rebels of the war against the States as a hospital. I read how Leo discovered the waterfall that was 1,120 feet below the surface of Lookout Mountain, and how he named the falls after his wife, Ruby.
Our time spent in the cave was interesting and not really as bad as I expected. It didn’t really feel cave-ish. Some of the rock formations were interesting and the way they used lighting down in the cavern was most effective.
This was named Donkey because it resembled the back side of one. Someone had a vivid imagination.
The lights doing their thing reflecting off the water was lovely.
This one called Tobacco Leaves may be deemed as politically incorrect but it did remind me of tobacco leaves, which in turn reminded me of my grandfather’s tobacco barn. Had to snap a shot!
A cave, is a cave, is a cave but I would be remiss if I didn’t regale you with a short video of the waterfall itself. Have you been there? Have you seen it? The lights and music in the distant background added to the experience for sure! Here is a short video of the highest underground commercial waterfall in America.
And then we made our last stop before turning our car northward and heading home. We rode the Incline Railway, “America’s Most Amazing Mile”, ascending on a 72.7% grade, while taking in the stunning views.
The end of the 24 hours in Chattanooga had finally come to an end. We grabbed a bite to eat and then headed home. A fast and fun-filled trip.
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