We woke in Chattanooga; an industrial city where it was 34 degrees, pouring rain, and the motel parking lot was flooded. Someone was smoking down below us, and we wondered what we were doing so far from our cozy Kittery nest!
We forged ahead nonetheless and the first stop was the gas station. Gas is cheap ($3.00 gallon)
Herb suggested that we drive up to the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Park. We drove up a very tortuous and precipitous road with washed out areas on either side. As we drove up, we could look down onto Chattanooga way below. We could see the bends in the Tennessee River.
In 1863 the Confederates had mounted a seige of Chattanooga (because of its importance as a rail center). The confederates had the advantage of being located on the top of the mountain but they were few in number. The Union army charged up the mountain and drove the Confederates off. When Herb and hiked up some of the trails, we really could not believe that thousands of men and their horses had actually climbed over this steep terrain to reach the top of the mountain. I've tried to send the famous painting by James Walker showing the seige.
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