Lookout Mountain, Tennessee

The first day of our annual trip to Florida began at 6:00 am on June 15th as we pulled out of the local Dunkin' Donuts with two coffees, three chocolate milks, and a dozen donuts. This year we were planning on driving from Chicago to Ashburn, Georgia as we have done in the past. That's about 870 miles, a good distance for a single day of driving.

Just after dinner- a few miles west of Chattanooga, Tennessee, we decided to take a little detour to Lookout Mountain. A couple of years ago the mountain was covered in fog as passed, so this year since it was clear, we drove up. I remember a place called Point Park that had great views of the valley and memorials to the battles of Lookout Mountain.

We arrived and parked a couple of blocks away on a residential street. Beautiful homes lined the road, most with views of the valley. We arrived at the park and began to explore the cannons, panoramic views and monuments. We were the only five people in the park-my kind of place!

lktmtriver
A view of the Tennessee River from the top of Lookout Mountain (elevation 2392 feet)

The views are great and it is said you can see seven states from some points on the mountain.
With all of the Civil War era cannons around, it's easy to slip back in time to the Civil War era and imagine what it was like for the soldiers to keep watch and fight on this plateau.

mikecannon
Mike aiming the cannon!

The kids enjoyed being able to see an entire city from above. They began picking out landmarks along the interstate below so they could turn around when we passed the landmark and look up at the mountain to find Point Park.

lktmtboys
The kids look out over Chattanooga at sunset

We left the park just as the sun went down, and prepared for our three to four hour drive to Ashburn, GA. We drove down the narrow, twisting two land road to the foot of the mountain and picked up I-24 east. As we drove east on 24 we hit the landmark the kids and I picked out from the top of the mountain (a yellow billboard next to the river). They turned and searched for the mountain and then for the stone building where they stood previously scanning the valley below. Christopher was able to find it and couldn't believe how long it took us to drive to the little yellow dot we picked out in the valley.

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