Our new digs - Harrison Bay State Park on a reservoir of the Tennessee River. This is a modern campground with lots of playgrounds for kids. Some campsites are well spaced and some are packed together. Ours has decent elbow room.

Pardon Me Boys

Is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo

Track 29

Boy, you can gimme a shine

Can you afford to board a Chattanooga Choo Choo

I’ve got my fare and just a trifle to spare

You leave the Pennsylvania station ‘bout a quarter to four

Read a magazine and then you’re in Baltimore

Dinner in the diner

What could be finer

Then to have your ham and eggs in Carolina

When you hear the whistle blowin’ eight to the bar

Then you know that Tennessee is not very far

Shovel all the coal in

Gotta keep it rollin’

Woo, woo, Chattanooga there you are

--Chattanooga Choo Choo, Glenn Miller

We had a date with the Chattanooga Riverpark, a 7-mile biking/hiking path from the Tennessee River dam located upriver from town, to downtown Chattanooga. So, we quickly drove from the Parksville National Campground to Harrison Bay State Campground, dropped off V-Jer at our reserved site - A21, and B-lined for the dam.

The very first info plaque that we read, explained the origins of the Chattanooga Choo Choo. In 1880, the Cinncinati Southern RR opened a line from Cinncinati to Chattanooga. When the first train pulled out of Cinncinati, a reporter dubbed it the Chattanooga Choo Choo. The name stuck.

Glenn Miller immortalized the train in his 1941 song named Chattanooga Choo Choo. Although I was most familar with Bing Crosby’s version, you have to check out Glenn Miller’s rendition. It starts with a great instrumental horn ensemble, then vocals with tight harmonies come in, and it finishes with a rousing dance number. It’s a 7-minute visual and musical extravaganza. Check it out the following YouTube link:

https://youtu.be/bGBwmLRNLJ4

The RR drawbridge that the Chattanooga Choo Choo used to cross the Tennessee River just before entering Chattanooga. It is still in use today for frieght trains.

We unpacked the ebikes and “eased on down the road”, er, path. The Riverpark path follows the Tennessee River. Along the way, sculptures are strategically placed. There isn’t a theme or a style that I could discern. They were just fun pieces.

The route features bridges, boardwalks, pavilions, plenty of info plaques, gardens, wetlands, and river overlooks. It, sort of, ended at the Hunter Museum of American Art sitting on a bluff overlooking the river. Actually, from there, it ties into several different paths going off in all directions, including over the Tennessee River on a long pedestrian bridge. At this junction, there are biking/hiking overpasses and underpasses. It is surprisingly elaborate. Chattanooga is set up pretty well for biking or walking.

Outside of the Hunter Museum are some wonderful sculptures. The museum building is a sculpture in its own right. From this bluff vantage point, we could see that several buildings in Chattanooga were sporting unique shapes and forms. So far, it seems like Chattanooga embraces art.

The acclaimed Chattanooga Aquarium is easily accessed from the path. It too, is housed in an architecturally unique building. Make that two unique buildings. One is for salt water creatures and the other is for fresh water creatures. At $34.95, the Aquarium is expensive, so one would have to set aside a whole day for it. It may be one of those good rainy day explorations.

The weather was good and bad. The temperature was well into the 70s. That was good. The sky was drab and overcast. That was bad for photography. With a few side trips, we got in our 20 miles. It was a great introduction to Chattanooga.

The Tennessee Riverpark - Chattanooga.

Some of the sculptures along the way.

The real deal.

The sculpture.

Bamboo? I thought bamboo was more of a tropical plant.

Another info plaque depicting historic riverboat traffic on the Tennessee River.

Sculptures outside of the Hunter Museum of American Art.

The pedestrian bridge. The Tennessee Riverpark path ties into the bridge.

A biking/hiking overpass that leads to many other paths. Notice the modern architecture. The glass roofed building in the background is the Aquarium.

Just on the other side of the pedestrian bridge is a drawbridge for vehicles.

We ended the evening with a side trip to Amigos Mexican Cocina. We saw their advertisement for $4 margaritas and $5 32oz beers. It was time for chips, salsa, and drinks. Followers of our travelogue know that we love family-run Mexican restaurants and food trucks. Unfortunately, Amigos is not such a place. It is a nice sit-down Mexican restaurant, however, it isn’t a mom’n’pop establishment. But, there are those $5 32oz beers.

Well…… the $5 beers were all crappy light beers. The Dos Equis Amber was $7. Still, that’s a reasonable $3.50 a pint for a good amber beer. Wanda’s margarita was yummy. The chips and salsa were yummy. The evening was yummy!

Below Amigos is a marina. The reservoir was home to many giant yachts. However, the reservoir was low.

Back at Harrison Bay Campground, we discovered that there are roomy clean heated walk-in showers. We will take advantage of that. We love V-Jer’s shower, but how can one argue with the extra room at the nice campground showers?

Sunset at the campground.

SIDE NOTE: Again, we found ourselves booked into a handicapped campsite. The lady at the office didn’t laugh it off like the lady ranger at the Elkmont National Campground. I explained that the reservation website did not label A21 as a handicapped site. It didn’t. She relented and let us set up. I don't feel too bad because there isn’t any difference between handicapped and non-handicapped sites at this campground. We aren’t hogging any special kind of assessability at this site.

Glossary of terms used for newcomers: 1) V-Jer. The name of our camper. 2) Saturn. The name of our Van. 3) Duende. Our mischievous gremlin that breaks things. 4) Tata. The good gremlin that helps us fix Duende’s dirty work. 5) The Black Hole. This is what we call Walmart because every time we go in for just a couple of items, we come out spending way more than we figured. 6) QT. Quaint Town. 7) Little Buddy. This is what we call our Dyson cordless stick vacuum.

Dave and Wanda

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