Thursday, October 13, 2005

There was a working fire in the Nashville suburban community of Brentwood last night. They were dispatched to the scene of a fire with a burned occupant on the front porch of the dwelling. It sounded like a bedroom fire. Four engines, one ladder truck and a chief were dispatched to the fire.

We got up this morning, checked out of the motel by 0900 hours and went to IHOP for breakfast. Then we hopped on I-24 and headed to Chattanooga for the day. It was very foggy in the Nashville area last night. As we neared Murfreesboro, Nashville dispatched E28-22-15, Trucks 28-29 and a District Chief somewhere in 28’s first due area. They had a working fire and sent a RIT assignment in addition to the three and two. We never heard what the fire involved.

We arrived in Chattanooga just before 1300 EDT and checked into our motel. We then headed for Lookout Mountain. We took the incline cable car up to the top of Lookout Mountain and took a number of photos. It was not a clear day and the photos were just OK. The cable car has been in operation since the 1890s. I can’t imagine how much work there must have been to initially build such an undertaking. At points the cars are at a 74-degree angle.

After coming down, we ate a late lunch and then headed to Rock City. It is also on top of the same mountain, but in Georgia instead of Tennessee. We drove up there and took the rather arduous three-quarter mile walk and clinb through caves, across bridges, between rocks out to the lookout point where, on a clear day, you can see seven states. There are some spectacular views, a couple waterfalls, a deer area and lots of interesting rock formations. Do not come with a wheelchair.

At the “Fat Mans Squeeze “ it gets real narrow between the rocks and you literally have to walk sideways to get between the huge rocks. When I sucked in to get my fat gut between the rocks, my pants came down (not all the way). Luckily it was dark enough so that no one else (other than Karyle) could see what had happened. I quickly pulled my pants back up and had to listen to Karyle’s smart aleck remark about there being a “stripper.”

We were both plenty tired when we got back. It was hot here today- at least 80 degrees. It was cool in some spots along the rock walk, but very hot in others. The Rock City walk is definitely not for someone who is claustrophobik. There are many very narrow passageways between huge rocks. I don’t know how somebody much heavier then I am could even get through some of those spots. They say the walk out is only three quarters of a mile, but it’s a hard climb up and down that wears you out.

By the time we got back to the car it was already 1600 hours and we were wiped out. We had purchased a three-event ticket, which also included Ruby Falls, but we both admitted we weren’t up to another long walk today. We drove through downtown Chattanooga on the way back. We were impressed at all the new buildings and the clean streets. We drove to a historic area where there is an old bridge that has been converted to a walking/biking bridge over the Tennessee River. We walked out and took photos of a strange looking museum, shops on west side and a couple neat-looking bridges.

We headed up the scenic drive along the river and then headed inland to the motel. We stopped briefly at CFD Engine 4 and I got shots of their pumper. We had dinner at one of our favorites- the Golden Corral Buffet. Tomorrow we will spend the morning here before heading back to Nashville. We can check into the timeshare after 1600 hours tomorrow.

That’s all for today. I’m afraid that most of today’s photos are scenic shots from the Chattanooga area.