Chickamauga Trip- July 16, 2011

The weather forecasters said 40% chance of showers here and in Chickamauga so we weren't sure what the day would have in store for us. Scott called from further south to say the rain had picked up but he had his gear on and was headed to meet us at exit 27. Given the drizzle that started we all put on rain-gear and headed out...next stop Resaca.

A few showers but nothing too wet by the time we got to Resaca. It was clear enough that most took off their rain-jackets hoping for the best. It was not to be. A short way out of Resaca approaching cars with headlights on and windshield wipers going told us more rain was on our path. Rain-jackets went on again. About this time, Dan, who had been experiencing rough running of his Royal Enfield decided to turn back as it seemed to be getting worse. See the article Sucked at Resaca for details of that side adventure.

After a few more showers the skies brightened for the rest of the day. We arrived at Chickamauga about 10:30 a.m. in time to take in a thirty minute video that gave a sketch of what happened back in September 1863. The museum had additional information, time lines and story boards that gave further details and displayed some of the artifacts from that era, including a fine collection of vintage rifles.

We opted to take in the eight station "driving" tour that visited the more famous battlefield sites. The battlefield has been preserved and closely resembles the terrain as it existed in 1863. Markers and monuments were erected at specific points in the battle in the late 1800's and that, with the recorded descriptions available at each site, allowed us to imagine what it was like to have been there those many years ago. There was just too much to take in in a short visit and all of us thought a longer exposure would be necessary to understand all that went on (maybe a trip to Lookout Mt. and Missionary Ridge would be a good idea).

When  late lunch time rolled around we went into Fort Oglethorpe for a bite at the Park Place restaurant then took off on SR 2 through Ringgold (where some tornado damage was still evident), north Dalton, and Chatsworth where we picked up Sullivan's Secret Freeway (US 411) down to SR 140 then home.

In spite of the early showers a good time was had by all, and we are thinking of our next ride, perhaps to Mountain City and the Foxfire area. We'll talk about this and other potential rides when we meet on July 30th (circle the date).

For a short video of our trip see: