SOLO ROADTRIP IV: DAYS 9-10 [EASTERN TENNESSEE & CHATANOOGA]

the next day i had a detour from my itinerary. because of hurricane helene, i was not able to drive to cherokee, north carolina which was where i was supposed to stay the night before & leave from in the morning. instead i left from townsend, which was a different route & that meant i had to find different stops along the way. although i was bummed, it ended up working iut & i was really pleased with the places i did visit.

after stopping for coffee outside of townsend, i drove to vonore to visit fort loudoun state park. the state park consists of a rebuilt british fortification along the little tennessee river. the fort was first founded in 1756 during the french indian war & was reconstructed during the great depression.

the beautiful view of fog along the little tennessee river (honestly i thought the view was better than anything i saw in the smoky mountains).

the park was such a pleasant surpise. i really enjoyed walking around and the views. it was so peaceful. other than a home school field trip, i was the only visitor. i ended up talking to the receptionist and had an insightful conversation about the area & the locals. this was only a couple days after hurricane helene. this area was not expected to get hit, though the river was drained 2 feet just in case. she talked about the lack of help from FEMA & TEMA to eastern tennessee & how against orders, the people from this area who did not get hit as bad were driving down closed roads to provide help in any way they could. i remember her saying "us mountain folk are stubborn." our conversation was very memorable.

the fort also provides information about the cherokee & tuskegee, the cherokee town that was near the fort. the park has a reconstructed cherokee winter house. sequoyah, a cherokee who created the syllabary for the language, was born there. 

the cherokee winter house,

i then drove down to ely. i was so confused why there were so many people selling second hand goods along the side of the road. i was thinking, man people must be really desperate. it turns out it was the annual highway 411 yard sale that runs through both tennessee & georgia. at certain places it was sketchy, but i enjoyed it. unfortunately i did not find anything.

in etowah is the l&n depot. the train depot has a free musem & is also the chamber of commerce. there was one woman working in there & she was the clerk, the gardener, & smoking cigarettes during my visit - a jill of many trades. what a character. small town vibes. for being such a small museum, there was quite a good amount of information & good quality interpretive signs.

the l&n depot was the first permanent building in etowah & was built in 1901 in the victorian style. passengers stopped here along the cincinnati & atlanta line. passenger train service was terminated in 1968 & in 1974 the station closed. a railroad still runs through the town, but is used for cargo. the depot was donated to the city in the 1970s.

i also stopped at a cute little antique store.

 i found a cute ty beanie baby ghost (i am a sucker for a friendly ghost).

before my next stop, i stopped at bojanges for the first time. it was very good. i first saw this chain when i drove through the carolinas & georgia in 2018.

my next stop was along the border with georgia; i actually had to drive to georgia and then back to tennessee to get to the entrance. because i was unable to go to cherokee & see their museum, i really wanted to make a point to learn more about the cherokee. close to chatanooga is the red clay state park. this was the location of the last cherokee seat in the 1838 before they were removed during the trail of tears. 

blue hole spring, a water source used during council meetings

there are several 19th century replica buildings in the park

the eternal flame of the cherokee nation. in 1984 the eastern & western cherokee bands reunited here for the first time since 1838.

after writing in my journal in one of the rocking chairs provided at the park, i made my way to the hostel. this would be my only hostel stay of my trip (they are not easy to find in the US, let alone in this region). you would think nashville would have them, but the only 2 closed down after the downtown bombing during covid. i was surprised to find one in chatanooga (as were the workers), but learned that they get good business from roadtrippers coming too/from atlanta & rock climbers (who knew). my hostel stay was enjoyable, though a little eerie. there may be a worker who stays on site, but i did not see one once it turned evening. the hostel is one giant room with walls breaking the room into sections with each section having 2 bunks, 1 on each side. it was me & one other dude on the far side of the room. there were no other guests (it was a weekday in october) nothing happened, but it did feel weird sleeping in a room with one other stranger on the other side. i feel safer sleeping with several people in the same room because you have more witnesses.

the hostel

by bed for the night

i did not have anything planned for chatanooga & was told by the front desk if i was interested in history, i should visit the chatanooga choo choo. i could not recall finding this place when i was doing my research. today the buildings house some food establishments & retail. it was walking distance from the hostel & i enjoyed strolling and admiring the architecture. some of the trains are now hotel accommodations, which is pretty cool. most shops were closed, but the food places were open. i was surprised they already had a christmas tree up in early october!

the chatanooga choo choo

i had dinner at the frothy monkey, a tennessee chain cafe. it is housed in the old train station. i wanted to go to one of the locations during my trip, but the timing never worked out. i had a salad, soup, & a decaf latte with star anise (hate black licorice, but love licorice root flavor). i really enjoyed the food & vibes.

the forthy monkey at chatanooga choo choo

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the next morning i woke up early as i would end my day in alabama. but first, as always, was coffee. i found a cute little place that was walking distance from the hostel. it was a nice walk with pretty brick buildings along the way.

latte, homemade bagel, & journaling :)

i then got on the road early to go to the chicamauga & chatanooga national military park over the border in georgia. here is where 2 civil war battles were fought. i am not someone who knows much about military history, but you feel the history in a battlefield. the battle of chicamauga had the second most casualties during the war, behind gettysburg.  

the park was established in 1890 & was one of the four military parks established. interestingly, the park was used as a training ground for troops during the spanish-american war. 

the visitor center. i ended up buying a reproduced handkerchief from the era.

i was surprised how large the park was. it is huge & it is very easy to get lost. i ended up doing the driving tour using the audio guide provided on the nps app. it was a pleasant drive with the changing colors of leaves. it felt like fall. the park was pretty empty & i got to enjoy most of the stops by myself. it seemed to be less tourists & more locals treating it like a park & taking their daily walk (kind of weird as this is a battlefield where a lot of people died). it was very peaceful with beautiful trees & fields.

the park has many, many monuments scattered throughout.

i then made my way to alabama, but that will be in the next post ;)