A Family Vacation Outside Of The Midwest Day 3

Tuesday September 13th 2016

Today we woke up in Memphis Tennessee and headed out for our daily vacation adventures.  The first stop we made was an unplanned detour to take a relaxing stroll along the Mississippi River.  I managed to show my children that their old dad was still able to outdo them at some of the different exercise stations along the walkway.  

Mississippi River At Memphis

After taking our walk, we headed a couple of minutes down the road to the Memphis Pyramid.  This is one Bass Pro Shop that no outdoor enthusiast should miss seeing. The main floor has a water feature like no other Bass Pro Shop I've seen.  I won't go into too much detail as I would hate to spoil it for anyone who wants to go see it for themselves.  I will say that the upstairs features a museum like area that covers the history of Ducks Unlimited.  Our children loved the whole experience.

The Memphis Pyramid

Having finished looking around the Pyramid, we headed out to the car and were caught by surprise when the window hinge for the glass on the back door of our Escape decided to come apart on us.  This presented a slight problem as I didn't want to have the glass fall out while driving down the road.  I managed to get the window latched good enough to limp it over to a Ford dealership where I was told that this problem was not a common problem at all.  I decided to inform them that they would probably be a much more profitable company if they did some research when deciding which parts they would keep in stock.  My brief research on the subject of hatch-glass hinges told me a completely different story in which this issue is all too common.  I wasn't about to spend a couple of days in West Memphis Arkansas waiting on a part so I did the next best thing.  I headed down the road to the closest hardware store I could find and bought the widest roll of transparent Gorilla Glue brand tape they had on the shelf.  With a little effort to keep the glass in the correct position my wife and I managed to run a couple of strips of tape around the entire window and we were back on the road.  Hot Springs Arkansas.....here we come!

- Any day in the outdoors is a good day

A Family Vacation Outside Of The Midwest Day 2

Monday September 12th, 2016

After having finally arrived in Chattanooga Tennessee, we made our way to the hotel and got some much needed rest.  When the morning of the 12th arrived we headed out for our next big adventure.  This day was to be one our children would never forget (and I'm pretty sure they won't).

Our first stop of the day was a place called Rock City Georgia.  If you ever have the chance to get out there and check it out, you definitely should.  It is beautiful!  We ended up spending several hours exploring the twists and turns along and through the many different passes these amazing bluffs had to offer.

Some Of The Amazing Sites At Rock City Georgia

Along these pathways there are some amazing views, beautiful trees and almost too much too take in in one day.  The swinging bridge pictured below is one of the alternate paths that can be taken to a scenic lookout area (Yes I faced my fear of heights and crossed over it although it took nearly everything in me to get it done).  For those who are afraid of heights, there is a stone bridge that gives you an alternate route to the other side.

Swinging Bridge At Rock City Georgia

This area also features some beautiful trees.  The picture below is of one of the trees I found to be a photo worthy specimen.

A Beautiful Tree At Rock City Georgia

After we had finished exploring all the nooks and crannies in Rock City, we headed to our next destination - Ruby Falls.  If you are like me and enjoy a good cave, this is another place worth visiting.  There are many different formations inside of this amazing cave and yes I had my camera with me to capture many of them.

A Column Inside Of The Cave

Some of the various formations have been named after our favorite foods such as the one below.

The Steak And Potatoes At Ruby Falls

Of course every outdoorsman loves fish.  I'm no exception to this rule so when I saw the formation below, I had to capture it with my camera.

The Fish At Ruby Falls

At the halfway point on your journey through the cave you will come upon a natural wonder that is awe inspiring.  The photo below is one of many pictures I snapped of the waterfall for which this cave is named.....Ruby Falls.

The Ruby Falls Waterfall

After viewing the waterfall, we headed back to the elevator that had lowered us into this cavern for our 260 foot return trip to the surface and headed on our way to the next stopping point of this vacation....Memphis.  Why Memphis you ask?  Well I guess you'll have to check out the next post to see what could possibly attract a sportsman to such a crazy city.

- Any day in the outdoors is a good day