Chattanooga

We left Birmingham on the 27th of November and travelled to Chattanooga. The goal was to cross into our 5th state on our road trip. By a quirk of the map and road network, you have to travel into the far western corner of Georgia and 20 minutes later you go back into Tennessee. I also wanted to see the TN River. Can anyone remember the Choo - Choo song (1941)?

On the way there, the parched landscape gave way to more parched landscape. We passed a smouldering fire on a hill near the freeway. Two days later an area near here (in Gatlinburg) burst into flames and 9 people died as the the result of windy conditions associated with a front coming through with (finally) some rain.

There are paddle boats on the TN River and it is as wide as the Ohio we saw at Evansville. The main bridge is impressive (see below). There is some native American history in the area that would make you weep - in fact the 'Trail of Tears' as it is known. This was a site were 1000's of native American Cherokee Indians were forcibly removed c. 1838-39 along the river and out to western lands like Oklahoma. This is thanks to the 7th President of the USA Andrew Jackson's 'Indian Removal Policy' (1830) and enforced under the Treaty of New Echota. Sylvie and Ute are sitting on seats along a walkway that highlights the history of the area with a series of information panels.

Stattmitte Chattanooga

Chattanooga Architecture

Main bridge at Chattanooga over the TN River

Tourists on the walkway along the TN River