I Drive Lookout Mountain

In 1970 I and a friend drove from Nashville to Chattanooga to be hippies for the weekend. We blew it, because we watched the film Woodstock when we could have seen The Who perform Tommy just down the street.

We had almost no funds, so we spent the night at campground at the top of Lookout Mountain.

I'd been up Lookout Mountain a number of times, but this time was different. We drive a good 15 miles on the level before we reached our destination-- AND WE NEVER DESCENDED THE MOUNTAIN!

Later I looked at a map and realized Lookout was a narrow, flat-topped escarpment that stretched more than one hundred miles from Chattanooga to Gadsden, Alabama.

That's the Moccasin Bend of the Tennessee River at top center. Chattanooga is just to its right.

Wow, I thought, if I could only drive the length of that mountain!

In 2003, I got the chance.

I left Pine Lake in my Izuzu pickup...

... stopped to visit my mother in Villa Rica, and drove west on I-20 until I reached Gadsden. I found the southern end of the mountain and headed north. Well, north northeast, anyway.

The top of the mountain was perfectly flat, and even though the escarpment was less than a mile wide, most of the time I was unable to see over the edge. I was driving through rural countryside.

For the first 70 or so miles there was little to see except for occasional views over the side of the mountain...

.. but the second half of the drive was interesting.

I stopped at DeSoto Falls...

... and at the magnificent Cloudland Canyon State Park.

I had heard there was a launch spot for gliders near Chattanooga; when I reached it, I pulled over-- but as it was a cold winter's day, I was the only one there.

The ramp at left is the launch site.

When the sun threatened to go down I found a way off the mountain and found a cheap motel in the Sequatchie Valley below.

The next morning was clear and cold and my Isuzu wouldn't start.

It was a problem that had been going on for a while. My mechanic had taken a stab at it, but new plugs and wires hadn't done it.

I knew from experience that it would start once the termperature went above freezing, so I put the truck in neutral, pushed it away from the building and into the sun, and went back in my room and took a nap until checkout time. The truck started right up.

When I reached the northernmost edge of the mountain, I did something I'd always wanted to do: I saw Rock City.

Next: Rock City