Home on the Holidays….

Beat the winter break blues with family expeditions

By CP

It’s here.  It’s coming.  Winter break is just around the corner and for nineteen days (counting weekends) families in Hamilton County will have children at home.  If the holiday break isn’t when your family takes its vacation the days can be daunting as parents balance work and children, hoping for some happy memories from the holiday season.

The Families and Work Institute reports that the number of dual-earner couples has increased over the last 25 years, estimating that now 78% of couples both work.  Predictably those same couples are working longer hours now than their counterparts in 1977 and today 26% of American children live in single-parent households.

Surprisingly, today’s hard-working parents also are spending more time with their children than families surveyed thirty years ago, up to 6.2 hours a day now.  Chattanooga area families have a resource of museums, attractions, adventures and natural beauty that can make quality time with children exciting every day.  There is seldom a day that there is “nothing to do” here in Chattanooga.

However you run the numbers and whichever category matches your family these weeks of winter break can make the strongest parents quake.  The cry of “I’m bored” can reduce a strong adult to tears and the best weapon is an arsenal of activities, day trips and family adventures.

Fall Creek Falls has hiking, boating, horeseback riding, camping, cabins and something for everyone in a family to enjoy.

Fall Creek Falls for fun, fantastic views and exciting outdoor adventure

Fall Creek Falls State Park is a 20,000-acre park with some of the most unique geological formations and majestic waterfalls in the Cumberland Plateau.  There are over 34 miles of hiking trails lacing throughout the Park, horseback riding rentals, picnic facilities, the 345-acre Fall Creek Falls Lake and 18-hole golf course mean that there is something for everyone to do.

The cascades, gorges, thick forests, waterfalls and streams are a perfect family playground and, at less than a one-hour drive from Chattanooga, is close enough for a day trip adventure.  Whether you pack a lunch, eat at the Fall Creek Falls Restaurant or one of the local establishments it is easy to spend a day making memories and tired children at Fall Creek Falls.

Wear comfortable shoes, pack extra socks, snacks and water and watch nature come alive as the fall colors dance and the water crashes from the mighty 256-foot high waterfall made famous in movies like The Jungle Book and King Kong Lives. A swingbridge spans Cane Creek near the nature center and enthralls adventurers with views of the man-made lake, plunging waterfalls and thick forests.  Fishing, horseback riding, swimming, biking, hiking exploring cave chambers puts the adventure of a far-away vacation a short drive away from home and hearth.

2009 Village Camp Road  |  Pikeville, TN 37367

Office: 423-881-5298

Inn & Cabin Reservations: 1-800-250-8610

Inn & Cabin Local: 423-881-5241

Camping: 1-800-250-8611

GPS Coordinates:  35 39 244 3N 85 l  20 259 3W

http://www.tn.gov/environment/parks/FallCreekFalls/

A boat trip 300 feet beneath the surface is something every child will remember.

Sweetwater, Tennessee where the caves are deep and the ice cream is sweet.

Is it too cold to go outside?  Have your children played with their holiday haul already?  If so, pack up your munchkins and some car toys and head North on I-75 toward Knoxville.  Sweetwater, Tennessee is a little over an hour from Chattanooga but the adventure is one that you will all remember for a lifetime.

Craighead Caverns is an enormous cave system in Sweetwater that has been used for centuries, first by native tribes for council meetings and ceremonies, during the Civil War as an important source of the saltpeter necessary for gunpowder and later by bootleggers and mooonshiners.   The Lost Sea attraction celebrates the history of the region and the fascinating phenomenon of the largest underground lake in the United States.

Talk to your children about the fish in this amazing lake and the science of their differences from fish in our above-ground world.

The Lost Sea is a 4-acre body of water 300 feet below the surface of the historic town of Sweetwater, Tennessee.  Families can walk through caves that were once home to a 500-pound Pleistocene jaguar over 20,000 years ago.  There are few places that teach science, geology, technology and engineering lessons as vividly as this attraction and an afternoon of adventure becomes a wonderful lesson without your children even realizing it!

Visit the Lost Sea online at www.thelostsea.com and contact them by phone at 423-337-6616.

Sweetwater, Tennessee is a lovely example of a small, Southern town with neat opportunities for shopping and outdoor expeditions.  The quaint historic district is a glimpse into the charming past of the South and a fascinating museum, the Sweetwater Museum, will entertain everyone.

The Duck Park and the Recreation Park offer more opportunities to explore history and enjoy nature in Sweetwater and for adventurous outdoor families Watts Bar Lake, the Cherohala Skyway and Bald River Falls offer miles of hiking, exploring and natural excitement.

4 Mayfield Lane, Athens, TN

1-800-MAYFIELD

A visit to the Mayfield Dairy Visitors Center is the cherry on top of the sundae as far as adventures go.  The drive home to Chattanooga via 1-800-MAYFIELD will thrill children of all ages and whether you take a tour of the facility or just partake of the newest flavors it’s hard not to smile at the huge cow that marks the entrance to ice cream heaven.  A picture with the huge cow or the metal bull sculpture makes the memories complete but remember to pack a cooler if you plan to take home any ice cream souvenirs.

A new council at New Echota? These Normal Park students enjoyed an adventurous day learning about local history.

Georgia on your mind

New Echota Historic Site

There is wonder amid the green pastures, historic buildings and interpretive exhibits at New Echota.  In Calhoun, Georgia, off I-75 near Dalton the New Echota Historic Site tells the tale of the Cherokee.  The capital of the Cherokee nation, New Echota saw the birth of their written language, marked their achievements in self-government and the newspaper office that made them a learned nation within a nation and which would launch a U.S. Supreme Court case.

Visit the press room of New Echota, the first capital of the Cherokee nation.

The story ended with the beginning of the Trail of Tears and the removal West of the men and women of the Cherokee Nation.  That story continues today in the New Echota Historic Site and the replica of their glorious town honors the Cherokee and teaches today’s children lessons of tolerance, understanding and respect.  Touring the site is an exciting outing, the 1-mile nature trail winding amid the 12 original and reconstructed buildings that represent the Council House, Court House, Print Shop, homes and stores of a culture lost to the greed of gold and property.

The gift shop has Cherokee bracelets, instruments, documents and tools that entertain and educate in the visitor’s center where a film traces the history of the Nation and its people.   The contrast of natural beauty and the stain of the Trail of Tears offer a great family outing with a powerful message of tolerance, acceptance and the power of people who believe.

New Echota Historic Site

1211 Chatsworth Highway NE

Calhoun, GA 30701

1-706-624-1321

GPS Coordinates: N34.540433 l  W 084.910033

The 54-square mile site is a wonderful adventure for any Chattanooga family, traveling back in time makes Etowah a great destination!

Etowah Indian Mounds Historic Site

Walk with your children amid mounds built in the 1000 A.D. and talk about time.   Children who have never known a rotary dial telephone can have a hard time grasping the timelines of our world and the Chattanooga area is rich with opportunities to have fun while teaching these lessons.  Learning about science, technology, geology and the history of our people isn’t a class when it’s an outing with family.  Students who experience those lessons in a fun, family setting can approach the classroom with an understanding of the topic that builds confidence and excitement in learning.

Near Carterville, Georgia (a little over an hour from Chattanooga) is the most intact Mississippian Culture site in the Southeastern United States.   Over one thousand years ago people began building the six earthen mounds that tower of the historic attraction.  Walk with your children up the 63-foot high mound and imagine the home and the life of the priest-chief who ruled from there.  A visit to the museum illustrates what life was like in the community that was a political and religious center of the region.

A two-hour tour of this site is a rich family expedition that will enthrall, the representation of the tattoos, hair-dos, feather and copper ornaments, effigies and artifacts painting a vivid picture of life in our valley so long ago.  The entrance fee is $2.50 – $5.00 and picnic tables, riverside benches are a perfect venue for a family picnic, pondering pre-history over peanut butter and jelly.

Etowah Indian Mounds Historic Site

813 Indian Mounds Rd., S.W.

Cartersville, GA 30120

1-770-387-3747

GPS Coordinates: N 34.127816 I W 084.806550