Ruby Falls

Chattanooga from part of look out mountain

 Imagine going under ground- 260 feet - and walking through caverns filled with oddly shaped stalagmites and stalactites only to come upon a waterfall. A giant waterfall. A 145 foot water fall.  Gushing at 300 gallons a minute this spectacular waterfall is worth the walk.

It just got cooler and cooler

We began our tour in line by an elevator. Each tour group has about 40 people in it and each elevator ride takes about 12 people down 260 feet. Warning: There is no cellphone service (DUH- you are underground) Once you have reached the bottom a photographer takes your picture (Like any good tour) and then you wait for the entire group. The tour guides are very knowledgeable. They stop to explain parts of the cave. Many of the stalagmites and stalactites make interesting shapes and they have signs pointing them out.

One of the shapes

 The tour to the waterfall takes about an hour and as you are going to the waterfall you run into other groups coming back. The pathways are extremely narrow, so if you are claustrophobic this is not a good tour to take. It can be unsettling because it is dark and damp.

Mirrored pond

 There are places where the water drips and it's so calm and quiet. The most amazing part on the way to the falls was the mirror pond. It was a collection of water and the park has put up a blue light behind it.

The falls

 Some other exciting things they have at the park is the incline railway- it goes up Lookout Mountain. They also have a zipline course, which is only open on the weekends.



 This is where we went:

http://www.rubyfalls.com/

Entrance to amazing Stalactites

Very Narrow paths

Catcus/Candle shape (This one we could touch)

The Great American Eclipse

I told Randy I wanted to see the eclipse. At first he was skeptical. I don't blame him, he geninuely thought this was just something that happened frequently enough to see anytime.  It is not. It is amazing coincidence when the sun and the moon line up and block the light for just a little bit on earth. This happens about every 18 months somewhere in the world. The next one to happen in our area is in 7 years.  But who knows where a person might be in 7 years? So I did not want to wait.

First we flew to Atlanta days before the eclipse. We rented a car and decided to stay in Tennessee and see Graceland. Then we went to Arkansas to dig for diamonds, then we headed for the path of totality.  None of this was planned in advance except for the plane ticket and the car rental. We had no reservations and did not know where we were going except that we were going to go to path of totality.

Partial eclipse through the glasses

Luckily we have some friends in Tennessee who have an amazing property with lots of room and it's the highest point in their county. Plus it was just outside of Clarksville, Tennessee- so it was perfect. Everything fell into line, even the weather- which was 100% clear skies!!

The glasses where amazing. I can't figure out how or why anyone would even try to stare at the sun during the eclipse with out glasses. You can see nothing without them. The glasses make all the difference. I tried several times to take pictures with them, but they didn't really come out at all. The total eclipse was completely view able with out glasses. It was amazing. It was like being in a 360 degree sunset. There was dusk all around us, not complete darkness, but dusk. When the sun came back the birds began chirping again, the song they sing in the morning. It was really cool.

Partial Eclipse as seen by the camera with no filter.

We had a lot of fun with it, we made an eclipse box- it worked, we put white paper on the ground and watched the shadow waves, they looked like snakes and we even tried viewing it from the bucket.

The total eclipse was worth it. If you ever have an opportunity to catch one, do it. Just don't forget your glasses so you can watch the phases.

Total eclipse

Road trip: Traveling Alone

I set out at the beginning of last year to visit the 12 US States that I have not visited. Randy was unable to make some of these journeys with me, and I understood as I made my plans. I am not afraid to travel alone. I never have been. My first "alone" trip was to Boston when I was 21. I went on a duck tour, saw the aquarium, went to the Cheers Bar (Both of them), stayed at the Omni Parker House, and walked the entire Freedom Trail. Basically, it's scary at first but when you get started it's not really scary at all. It's pretty exciting to see new stuff, to be able to take your time, to not be on someone else's agenda.

My first stop was to Washington, DC. Technically not a state, but Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia were also on my list, so I thought I could knock those out on my way and maybe see the Capital. 

I started my journey at 9pm. The total time to DC from my house is 11 hours, basically I knew it was going to be a really long night, so I planned on stopping a couple hours into the drive. 

I drove all the way to the outside of Cleveland and found a place to stay. There were a lot of hotels. One correction of errors for future trips is to have my stopping point planned in advance.  Being a woman and traveling on my own is not as dangerous or scary as people make it out to be. It would be nice to have someone with me, and I would appreciate the companionship, but being alone isn't bad either.  Anyway I found a place to sleep for a couple of hours when I woke up I booked a hotel in DC and went on my way. 

Driving through Ohio was kind of slow, it was all toll roads as well. The toll roads continued on into Pennsylvania and it was a lot slower. When I got to the outside of Pittsburgh I discovered the construction that I had seen 7 years before while driving through was still there. The speed limit was also only 65 most of the way.

The drive through Pennsylvania was familiar. I like driving through the rocky highways. Toward the end there was a very large tunnel that cut right through a mountain. I discovered I do not like driving through tunnels, which was kind of a shocker because I didn't think it would upset me.

My mother didn't like this. Randy's mother didn't like this. A lot of people did not like this. I'm not really sure why. It's not like we live in Saudi Arabia, it's not illegal for me to travel alone. It's also not like I don't have precautions. I never stop at dark rest stops. I make sure that places are well lit and there are people around, also look for signs for security cameras installed. Sure emergencies happen, your car could break down, you could have an accident, there could be a serial killer on the loose (the last one is probably pretty rare, but it's important to remember not all people are good) but there are also things you can do to help prevent or facilitate fixing these problems. 

Here's a couple of tips

1- Get your car checked out before taking a road trip. An oil change is a good idea. (I just rented for the major trips)

2- Make sure your insurance is up to date. If you have an accident they can help you out if you are stranded. 

3- Lock your doors and be aware of your surroundings. I'm not recommending a concealed weapon, in fact you have to follow the laws in other states if you are driving through them. Many states have different rules about this, and also pepper spray or mace, or even a taser, can be turned against you. Self defense classes are always a good idea.  A really good thing to have is your phone and always keep it charged.

4- When staying at a hotel make sure they are reputable. There are many "murder motels". This term is loosely used, they don't really have murders (all the time) but they are places that can be unrealistically awful. Luckily with the internet and GPS it is a lot easier to avoid these type of hotels. 

5- Travel during the day. I sometimes travel at night because I occasionally work 3rd shift, so I really am used to being awake at night, the daylight makes me sleepy when I'm on that cycle,  it can be more dangerous. 

6- If you are not traveling during the day make sure that places you stop at night are really well lit.
7- If you can travel with a buddy, always do. It does make the time go faster and is a lot safer. 

I hope this helps or at least gives you some inspiration for your own road trip!