Steve’s Retirement Trip to Tennessee June/July 2024: Part 4: Chattanooga fun & BATS!

Rock City, The Incline Railway and Nickajack Cave Bat Kayak

Sasquatch Farm, Site #17

Tuesday, 7/2

Today was a BUSY day! We had three excursions planned across two different timezones.  Unfortunately, Auntie’s foot was starting to show the wear of the day before and she chose to stay at the camper for the majority of the day and only joined us for our evening excursion. The pups were excited about a day laying around with one of their favorites!

As we headed out of Sasquatch Farm on Brown Trace Rd, among the “deer!” and “horse!” exclamations that Kaety shared along the way, we also came across a small box turtle sitting in the middle of the road. I yelled “turtle!” and Steve steered the truck over so I could run out in the middle of the road and help the poor guy over to the edge/woods on the other side of the road where he appeared to be heading. It felt like a good deed for the day and started my day off in the right way!

We headed out on the highway toward Chattanooga and Rock City on Lookout Mountain.  As we exited the highway, I noticed a sign for “Naughty Cat Cafe” and exclaimed that would be someplace Grace would like to visit.  Steve started making fun of me that it was probably NOT a cat cafe (I am known for getting all excited about seeing “Bad Kitty” in Charleston and thinking it was a cat cafe … let’s just say that is NOT a cat cafe!), but it turns out “Naughty Cat” IS!  We didn’t get to go in, but may need to come back to see it :)

We arrived at Rock City, not exactly sure what to expect, but it was the #1 recommendation I had found when researching other things to do near Sasquatch Farm.  It turns out, we were NOT disappointed. 

Rock City is a GORGEOUS natural geologic and botanical garden with 4,100 feet of walking trails, over 400 species of plants and huge rock formations. AND…there are lots of gnomes all over the gardens - part of the charm is to look for them as you walk through and across some of these amazing rock formations. 

 

The gnomes are only a part of the charm of this place.  The gardens are meticulously designed and showcase local artist sculptures and fanciful decorations.  Each new area of the gardens has a door you walk through that is a piece of art unto itself.  Honestly, I would LOVE to come back here and see this place in multiple seasons!  

Kaety the gnome :)

Within the gardens is an area known as “Fairyland Caverns,” and Mother Goose Village, which is a series of back lit fairytale scenes.  This part of the garden is completely in a cavern and was created by garden founder, Freida Carter, who was enchanted by fairytales and gnomes from her home country of Germany. Grace was SO excited to go in and see this part of Rock City. 

 

These fairytale scenes have clearly been here a LONG time and are definitely a little creepy if not fascinating…

The pathway to Fairyland Caverns is a fanciful artistic fence of insects and garden creatures.  It is really cool!

Within the gardens, there are several areas where waterfalls flow and water flows throughout the rocks.  It’s charming and enchanting and they have named them all with various names 

 
Throughout the gardens are sculptures and art pieces nestled among the gorgeous flora and fauna.

 

Each doorway takes you on a new adventure!

This was one of my favorite doors and the cavern it took you into had stones and gems embedded in the walls.

  
There were stone bridges that looked down on waterfalls and across the gorgeous valley…

 
Gnome!

There are several areas where the walkway narrows and you are walking amongst these HUGE rocks - the skinniest one by far was “Fatman’s Squeeze”!  I wasn’t sure we would make it through but it was surprising how you could fit!

 

This was the doorway to “Fatman’s Squeeze”…isn’t it GORGEOUS?!

More art along the walkway…this one was fun!

More art around every corner.  This was one of Steve’s favorites!

This is Swing-along Bridge.  It is suspended over the canyon and definitely swings!  This was NOT Kaety’s favorite part of the gardens!

So many fun areas to explore throughout these gardens!

This was my favorite artistic piece.  It is representative of Freida Carter’s way she built the pathways through the garden…by stringing red string along behind her to find her way through and back.  It represents discovery and adventure.  I LOVED the symbolism in this…

At the top/halfway through the gardens pathway is the view from Lookout Mountain where you can see mountaintops/ranges in 7 different states and each state has their flag represented.  It was really windy but really inspiring!

This art statue is “Villa Ariana” and is meant to look like what a bird house of natural material found amongst the garden might look like!

My girls among the rocks…

We were greeted by this plaque on our way in.  Cool.

After touring the gardens, we ate at the Rock City cafe (it was just so-so) and then headed out to the bottom of the mountain and a ride on the Incline Railway!  The ride is done in a glass topped rail car that is designed at an angle.  You go up the side of the mountain 3 miles and start out horizontal and end up vertical in the car!!!  There is not a lot to do at the top, but it is an incredible view and a fun experience.

 

After the Incline Railway, we headed back to Sasquatch Farm to check on Auntie and get ready for our final adventure of the evening, a kayak tour to Nickajack Cave where we were to see thousands of bats exit at sunset.  On the way back down Browntrace Rd., we had a rabbit run across the road right in front of us…thus the day became the day of the Tortoise and the Hare :)

Auntie did want to come with us to our sunset bat cave kayak tour.  She figured less walking might make it something she could do.  I know she was REALLY glad she came.

Gracie was finally old enough to take her own kayak!  Kaety and Steve took a two-person kayak and Auntie and I each took our own.  

Our guide, Thomas took us around the small man-made lake and showed us an osprey nest with babies in it!

He then took us under a bridge where tons of swallows had nests and we got to see them flying in and out and then watch an INCREDIBLE sunset before we headed back to the other side of the lake to experience the bats come out by the thousands.

When the bats came out, I really expected Kaety to freak out a little, but she did not.  She would not stop talking to them, saying “hi!  I’m Kaety!  I’m a bat expert!  Hello my friends!”  She was thoroughly adorable…

We had intended to eat out this evening, but, as luck would have it, they roll up the sidewalks at 9 in South Pittsburgh, TN so we improvised and made dinner at the camper and had an end to an amazing (LONG!) day :)