Ken and Judy SEE ROCK CITY

When we departed from the Incline Railway Thursday afternoon, we followed the winding Lookout Mountain Parkway to Rock City. Known as a tourist destination for the last 75 + years, it was known as "The City of Rocks" by native Americans and early pioneers for centuries before. In the late 1920's, Garner Carter and his wife Frieda began to develop a large walk-through garden among the vast pillars and rock formations on their mountaintop estate. Carter was the quintessential promoter and came up with the idea of bartering with farmers to paint "See Rock City" on their barns. This was a stroke of genius in a day before billboards had become commonplace. I still recall seeing such barns all over north Georgia during my youth. Most signs told the mileage to Rock City. (For my North Carolina readers, do you think Pedro got his marketing stragegy for South of the Border from Rock City?)



Frieda marked the original path, which is now maintained by master craftsmen from the area. Aside from the dozens of aptly named rock formations, over 400 native plant species are preserved here. Judy and I made it through the Needle's Eye okay, and hoped we would be up to other ardors of the winding trail.
Tremendous dropoffs would draw a gasp from us at the most unexpected times. And the route was designed so that you were scarcely aware of other people ambling through, even though they might be just a few yards away behind a rocky barrier, or beneath your feet in a narrow passage. That added to the mystique.

The placement of my camera for the self-timer makes it look like we were perilously close to falling off this stone bridge. This attraction would be no place for small children or anyone less than sober. Trails were well marked, but hazards were just steps away at all times.

There was an alternate route to that stone bridge. It's called "Swing-along Bridge." You may have seen it in an Indiana Jones movie (joke).

And just so nobody can call me "chicken," I went across the swinging bridge as well. Of course, Judy led the way. She's not scared of heights like me. And just go ahead and call me "chicken." I was rather petrified, but I made it across.

There are many Lover's Leaps in America, but this is definitely one of the classics, with Indian legend and all. Old photographs show wealthy guests sitting in their fine clothes with legs dangling over. And NO RAILINGS!
From Lover's Leap we could see this lower overlook which had previously been hidden. We would wind our way to it later. It also afforded a splendid view of the Chattanooga valley and north Georgia.
Even many people who have never visited Lookout Mountain know that you can see seven states from Rock City. Well, Lover's Leap is the place, and here is the marker that details the distances to those states. It was during the Civil War that this fact was first realized.
Here in Seven States Flag Court, the states you can view are honored. Though it seems to me that the mountain itself deserves all the credit, not the states (Excuse my cynicism; I'm just kidding, anyway).

If you thought painting ads on barns was clever, how about birdhouses. Yes, that was Carter's idea, too. He was an entrepreneur, even though he was also a dropout. I figure he or his wife had some money even before all of this.

According to my guide book, Fat Man's Squeeze is not the name that would most likely be given to this passage today. It is both too critical and gender specific to be politically correct. It notes that most people are less concerned about being offended than worrying about whether the rocks might become dislodged at an inconvenient moment. Judy had no such fears, and after taking a picture of her descent, I followed and also survived.
In the latter part of our walk we had a "down-under" view of Swing-along Bridge. I didn't get queasy at all, but didn't want to cross it again.
Lover's Leap appeared just as spectacular to us from the lower observation point. From here we had a better view of the waterfall that pours from the cliffside.
Chivalry is not dead. Here, I held up the 1,000 ton rock so Judy could take my picture AND safely pass through.
Everyone would appreciate the natural beauty of Rock City. But not everyone would like the extensive imagery of woodland gnomes and fairy tale motifs. In a word-- tacky. But let me make a disclaimer. When we learned of Frieda's lifelong fascination with European mythology and fairy tales, and took into account the era in which these figurines were added, we could better appreciate why she chose to do so. Now it would dishonor Frieda's passion for this place to remove the things that might not suit our 21st century tastes. Most of this was confined to Fairyland Caverns and Mother Goose Village, which many artisans lovingly contributed to.

The guide book informed me that the picture below was not based on a fairy tale like most of the dioramas. Instead, it depicted an Appalachian moonshine still. And that was something that was still going on in those days in the coves and hidden places of Lookout Mountain.

Other unique sights within these grounds were Goblin's Underpass, Mushroom Rock, and The Hall of the Mountain King. I'm glad I finally got to SEE ROCK CITY.

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Now that I've persuaded you this is an "old people's vacation spot," let me share some evidence to the contrary. I've highlighted the things that appealed to me and Judy, but Rock City has added many family-friendly upgrades in recent years. Rock City Raptors offers seasonal birds-of-prey shows. There's a great rock-climbing wall near Seven States Flag Court. There are three gift shops, a fudge kitchen, a specialty ice creamery, and even a Starbucks. The Woodland Wonders shop is crammed with gnome and garden items for those interested. The Cliff Terrace at Lover's Leap features pizza, hot dogs, nachos, and more. (In case you need to bribe the kids-- it's at the halfway point of your trek.) And during the summer, Friday thru Sunday, there's a BBQ with music near the Flag Court. I have a feeling kids also love the things Judy and I didn't care for so much-- Fairyland Caverns and Mother Goose Village. If we had not arranged our trip for after the Labor Day crush, we probably would have seen mobs of happy kids everywhere.

Here's what some influential authorities on vacations say about Rock City:

• One of America's Top 101 places to visit. ~ National Geographic
• Best One-Tank Vacation Destination ~ Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• Named one of "America's Iconic Places" ~ National Geographic
• Editor's Pick "12 Ultimate Trips for Kids" ~ Southern Living
• "Natural Wonders Across America" ~ AOL Travel
• A "Best Scenic View" ~ Southern Living, Reader's Choice awards
• "America's Top Ten Great Pastimes" ~ USA Today

So, as Levar Burton says, "You don't have to take my word for it." Rock City is also featured the the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. But you might want to see as many of the others as possible first. You never know when someone will make one false step on the old Swing-along Bridge or Lover's Leap. : )

Believe it or not, I haven't even finished telling about Thursday. So visit again soon to find out what else this day held, as well as the two remaining days of our trip.