Natchez Trace Parkway

I traveled on the Natchez Trace Parkway from the Tennessee State Line to Tupelo, MS on Friday. A lot of the old Trace has vanished but there are places along the route where you can take a short walk and still find portions. I hit the Parkway around 11:00 a.m. and left it at Tupelo around 3:00 p.m. That part is just about 70 miles long but has a lot of pull offs with short hiking trails. I took all but one along that route. There are numerous springs along the Trace, Indian mounds from 1200 + years ago, and sites where the stations along the route were located. I waded in most of the springs after I hiked. The cold water was great after walking the 90 degree + temperature. One of the first springs is located in a pond created by a large beaver dam. The beaver lodge is visible on one side of the dam. Below the first dam the beavers built a second and created a smaller pond. There were a few wild flowers blooming around the path. The Park Service has built a stone crossing to get across the creek below the dams. I waded the creek there. People on the Trace had to cross the Tennessee River by ferry. There is a dam below that site and it is is underwater now. I don't recommend August a time to travel the Natchez Trace Parkway but I do recommend taking the Trace. There is a lot of history along the way. I did take pictures of the springs, the beaver dams, the flowers and the original Trace.

Point Park

Point Park is a National Military Park. I visited it between my visits to Rock City and Ruby Falls. Lookout Mountain was the site of one of the battles during the Civil War. The Park has a Visitors Center, displays and trails detailing the battles to control the mountain. There is also a great view of Chattanooga from the top. If you are there try to stay for a Ranger talk. It will add a lot to your understanding of all that was a stake in the fight for the Mountain and how the battles played out.

Ruby Falls

I visited Ruby Falls in Chattanooga in the afternoon. Ruby Falls is underground where on a hot day you can find cool weather. The elevator was broken so we took a bus to the emergency route and walked in from there. With the added distance it was a about a mile and a half walk. The route to the Falls is narrow and filled with interest formations. Ruby Falls was named for the wife of the man who discovered and explored the cave. The ruby lights on the Falls go with the name. I got pictures of some of the formations and the Falls.

Rock City

Chattanooga is very hot right now so I arrived at Rock City as soon as it opened. They run a sprinkler system at night and when I first walked down among the rocks at 8:30 a.m. it felt cool. By the time I left it was very warm. I did not know what to expect. Rock City went on my Bucket List (a very fluid list) after I read Neil Gaiman's American Gods. I had been to House on the Rock in Wisconsin (another place featured in the book) and so I wanted to see Rock City. I really enjoyed the visit. Rock City originally was billed as Rock City Gardens. It opened in 1932 and started as a private garden filled with native plants. Looking at what was planted I think the best time to see most of the flowers would be in the Spring. There were some summer flowers but not many. The rock formation were the star at this time of year. The paths have been laid out to take advantage of the rock formations in the area. Part of the time I was down between large rock formations and some time the path took me up on top to see other interesting formations. Part of the path took me between narrow openings and in at least one place I was by a opening filled with cool air. All in all I recommend a trip to Rock City if you are in the Chattanooga ares. I did take pictures and an attaching a few.

Tennessee Aquarium

I got to Chattanooga, TN about noon today. My first stop was McKay's used books store. It was right by the freeway and I spent about an hour looking and buying. Linda told me about the store so I was looking for it as I drove into town. It is very hot here so after I checked into the hotel I took the free shuttle to the visitor's center to get information for my trip to Rock City tomorrow. I wanted to stay out of the heat so I got a ticket to the IMAX and watched a 3-D movie about the Hubbell Telescope. I also got a ticket to the Tennessee Aquarium and spent 2 hours touring. If you are ever in Chattanooga I recommend the Aquarium. It was really well done. My two favorites were the river otters and the penguins. Both were out and swimming. I could spend hours watching the otters and two of the penguins were letting everyone know how fast they could swim. There were also birds, butterflies and of course many displays showing all manner of water life. One of the unusual examples were the fresh water sting rays. I was even able to get a few pictures.

Biltmore House Conservatory

The Conservatory at Biltmore House has a several different rooms filled with plants. I loved the orchids and took these photos.

Biltmore House

I spent the day at Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina. I had been to Asheville before but because the tour is expensive I had always skipped going. Biltmore is still owned by descendants of George Vanderbilt and running the estate is the family business. No one lives in Biltmore House today but the family members do still live on the grounds. There is a lot to see. Just the house tour took over two hours. I paid to get the audio tour and felt it was worth the extra money. If I remember right there were 41 rooms on the audio tour. There were also open doors where you could see part of other rooms. Biltmore is the largest home in the United States with over 200 total rooms. In addition there are the gardens, a winery, and the farm. No pictures are allowed in the house but I took photos on the outside and some of those are posted here.

JC Raulston Arboretum

I also visited the JC Raulston Arboretum on Sunday. The arboretum is part of North Carolina State University in Raleigh. It was a really hot afternoon but there was always shade around and small hidden nooks with benches to rest and cool off. I have some pictures of some of the flowers, the rooftop garden and one of the hidden nooks. There were a lot different and interesting trees but they were impossible to photograph. if you are ever in Raleigh the Arboretum is worth a visit. Admission is free.

Mordecai House

I visited the Mordecai House on Sunday afternoon after the Con was over. This is the oldest house in Raleigh still standing on its original site. The house stared in 1785 as two rooms with a small loft. In 1826 four new room were added. There are still two original building on site, a kitchen garden with heritage plants, and several other historic building that have been moved to the site. One is the birthplace of Andrew Johnson.

The city of Raleigh now owns the house and the grounds.