Chattanooga

I’m waaaaaayyy behind, but just have to get this in. (I’ll back fill later. Maybe). Thanks to a friend’s suggestion (thanks Kristy!), I put Chattanooga on the itinerary. Good move. I grew up in Memphis, but never been here. In 2 days I made up for lost opportunities, but there’s more to do. These few pix can’t do it justice, so see the drop box links if you want more. (WARNING: Redundancies!)

Audubon Acres (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lb4nm835o14u3nz/AAAWxvZE4d_8B4O7JOyV15Kza?dl=0) is a beautiful nature preserve but also part of the Trail of Tears historical blight on US westward expansion.
Lovely hikes, but many poor markings. I spent about an hour lost, wondering how to get back to civilization. At that point I stopped taking pictures and focused on getting out. All’s well that doesn’t kill you.
The Hunter Art Museum (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/c4pedl8i1x9ierl/AABMzITLJLN790doehiERDAra?dl=0) is on the banks of the Tennessee River. The building itself, including the views from it, is worth the visit, although admission is a bit pricey at $20 (unless you’re senior, student, etc.). Some decent art, esp in the contemporary dept if you like sort of whacky stuff hard to make sense of, but intriguing for some reason.
Fragmented self-portrait with mask
Riverpark and Walnut Street walking bridge are adjacent to the Hunter. The walking bridge just to its left as you look out from the museum. The Riverwalk passes in front and extends for miles, dotted with outdoor sculptures, picnic areas, benches, and calming views.
Lookout Mountain (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/x557iwxw4x20yqh/AAARbEmHmL6w-ktMjWbxUkgEa?dl=0) provides some of the most breathtaking sights EVER. Plus it has some important Civil War history—a Union victory that was important in its own right but also launched Sherman’s “march to the sea” that cut a devastating swath through Georgia. You can read about some of the military moves on signs in Point Park and the larger wartime context in the brochure provided by the National Park Service. Point Park is probably the best place to take in the view. There’s a lot of tourist hype for assorted sights such as the "Incline Train," which goes up (and down) the mountain at something like a 75º angle. These might be ok, but driving up and down the mountain (assuming you don’t mind switchbacks and driving down in 2nd or 1st gear) and going to Point Park seems to me the preferred option.
Gallery 1401 (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/71ehnsnvk8cmq13/AADcxPaK2U8OZxEmVBAl7LHza?dl=0) is another place to see contemporary art if you like sort of whacky stuff hard to make sense of, but intriguing for some reason. I happened by on an evening where a local artist was having a showing. It was a semi-fancy affair with an open bar (I declined, fyi), hors d’oeuvre (I had only 2 small ones), chat among the—I assume—local art cognoscenti, and lots of art on walls and horizontal spaces.
The place
The space (and people)
The art….
“The Hunter Becomes the Hunted"
“Jaxon"
“Central Park” (obvi. what else could it be?)
Falls Creek Falls (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/94ipxrd60ed3ttg/AAAIqEA6dJt2Y6ybBVt1jfM5a?dl=0) is about 90mins north of Chattanooga. Beautiful state park; beautiful waterfall that you can see from the top, then hike down to the base.

The final thing I saw in the Chattanooga area was the Children’s Holocaust Memorial at Whitwell Middle School in Whitwell, TN. That deserves a post of its own, so see next post if interested.

Children's Holocaust Memorial in Whitwell, TN

You might have heard about this, sometimes known as the Paper Clip project, which then led to the Paper Clips film. A middle school principal, teacher, and assistant principal joined with their students beginning in 1998 to study the Holocaust and create a memorial to the 6 million Jews who died at the Nazis' hands. Of course more than Jews suffered this fate, and by the time the project concluded in 2001, 30 million paper clips had been collected, enough to include the other victims and millions who were displaced and had lost loved ones. (Go to the Paper Clip project to find out why paper clips.)

Whitwell, TN, is small town about 40 minutes northwest of Chattanooga. It’s a pleasant drive through hilly, lovely East Tennessee,   
crossing the Tennessee River, which you do a lot if you drive through this part of the state.
Whitwell is in the Sequatchie Valley, part of the Cumberland Plateau region of the Appalachian Mountains. 
It’s a small rural town, not unlike its many neighbors and peers in Tennessee and beyond. To state the obvious, not an obvious place you’d think to find such a memorial.
The middle school is just outside of town, on Butterfly Lane. Right out in front, to the right of the main entrance as you face the school, enclosed in a fence with a gate that is open and accessible during school hours, is the memorial. 

It’s a startling sight... the hulking World War II-era wood and metal German railroad car parked there. Silent and impassive, it just carried the loads. 

Surrounding it are sculptures and installations testifying, simultaneously, to the cruelty and the humanity being memorialized. 



Inside the car there are millions of the paper clips the students collected, along with photos, artifacts, and memorabilia.

And messages of hope.

After the visit, I went into town to grab lunch before driving back to Chattanooga. I found one of those great local places you hope to find on a road trip, Johnny’s Hook & Grill (with a COVID twist out in front).
This lady, the server who brought me the catfish po’ boy and gator bites I ordered, turned out to be the mother one of the students in the original class that started the Paper Clip Project. She asked what brought me to Whitwell. Her eyes lit up when I told her. 
She told me the experience had been transformative for her son and the other students in the class. “They learned what really went on there,” she said, indignant and proud at the same time. “You know the history books sorta sugar coat it. But it wasn’t anything like what they let on. It was eye opening for those students to find out what actually happened, what people are capable of doing to others."

After I had paid and was boxing up next day's lunch, she came back to the table, looked into my eyes, and in a voice that communicated a connection was being made, said, “I noticed your name on your card. Are you of Jewish descent?” I told her that yes, I was Jewish. She looked at me with such warmth, put her hand on my shoulder, smiled, and nodded slightly before returning to the kitchen.

You can find more pictures (along with those above) and a very brief opening portion of the audio narration here.

Spots I skipped over

All right.. back filling now. For those who like geographic signposts, as I do, here’s the route before going to Chattanooga, in the lower right corner of the map (by way of Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg).


I skipped ahead to Chattanooga bc I was so intrigued by what I found there. But continuing on the Great Plains, between the Enchanted Highway in North Dakota and the drive across Tennessee, there was lots of good stuff to see and report: A bikers’ paradise/seat of vaxxing resistance and super spreader event (see next post), massive presidential heads, a real live anti-vaxxer trying to convince me that double masking (which I did throughout the trip) is more dangerous than getting the vaccine or even getting COVID, a memorial (one of many throughout the country) to the slaughter of Indians by the US Army, a fabulous stay on a permaculture farm*, a memorial to the destruction of “the black Wall Street” exactly a century ago. Plus beautiful scenery of course. And, as they say on the NewsHour, much more. 

So stay tuned.

*Now posted here: