After a grocery shop and a fuel stop, we headed out of Chattanooga
on the scenic route through the Cherokee National Forest in the foothills of
the Appalachian Mountains. It was a lovely drive meandering along a river, and
through odd little owns with names like Turtle Town and Duck Town. Lots of
churches.
We stopped for lunch next to the river, looking through the trees at
the water.
We stopped at the Lost Sea, Americas largest underground lake.
The tour walks about ¾ of a mile down to a spectacular lake.
The caves were used in the past by Cherokee as meeting space,
by early settlers for refrigeration, and by the Confederates during the civil
war, for mining bat guano and turning it into gunpowder. In 1905 a 13 year old
boy called Ben Sands found the lake, but nobody believed him. In 1915 the
Cavern Tavern opened, complete with dance floor and live music, but there were a
series of drunken accidents on the way out of the caves forcing the tavern to
close after only 2 months. The caves were home to moonshine stills (one of
which is still there) and cock fights.
We boarded boats for a leisurely cruise around the lake. There
is a tunnel down to another water filled chamber below, that is at least double
the size of the lake cavern. The lake is stocked with rainbow trout (?) and
they came alongside the boat for a feed. The lake is about 4 acres, and we stuck to the
walls so we could see the formations and features.
Coming out was a bit of a hike, the equivalent of climbing
28 stories of stairs. You can do overnight stays in the caverns as well, and it
is popular with school groups.
We were only a few miles from Sweetwater, where we are now camped
up.
http://fms.ws/16gOqv/35.62230N/84.50635W
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