Jack and Amy's Anniversary Weekend Getaway
Day 3 - Monday, April 13th, 2015
Jack's 45th Birthday
Alabama Waterfalls and some
Chattanooga, TN Breweries
This waterfall is basically three stages. The first drop is over a man-made dam. The 2nd drop is a nice 20-ft tall cascade. The 3rd and main drop is an 80-ft free-fall into an awesome plunge pool area!
I had received a tip about an off-trail waterfall on Wolf Creek, not too far off the Little River Canyon Road that I wanted to check out. We parked right at the Hwy 176 / Hwy 255 intersection and I hit the woods heading downstream along Wolf Creek. There is some semblance of a path, but definitely not an established trail.
Wolf Creek Falls turned out to be nicer than I was excepting. Note: During my trip planning research, I also have seen this one called Gregg's Two Falls, but I prefer Wolf Creek Falls.
I was soaked to the bone, but the time I finished up this hike. Fortunately the last waterfall on my list was a roadside view of Grace's High Falls. The fog made for a cool photo of this already unique waterfall.
We continued our drive along the Little River Canyon before heading back to our cabin to shower up before continuing on to Phase 2 of my 45th Birthday. A few more Chattanooga Breweries.
1. McHale's Brewhouse - I thought the beer here was excellent, but the fact that they allow smoking inside was a big detraction for me
2. Big River Brewing Works - This is a small chain with (4) locations, including (2) in Chattanooga. We went to the one on the East Side of town because we didn't feel like dealing with downtown parking in the pouring rain. The beer was good, but very generic. We had dinner here and the food was excellent!
3. Moccasin Bend Brewing Co. - This was by far my favorite of all the Chattanooga Breweries we visited. The beer was awesome and the location is very unique. Craft Beer lovers should mark this place down as a must visit destination!
We finished up the day with a relaxing evening at our cabin.
The complete set of photos from Day 3 are posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/sets/72157652101401411/
I had a few options planned for potential stops along the way home on Tuesday, but the radar showed no rain relief along any of they potential routes home. Therefore there are no photos or reports from Day 4.
Alabama Waterfalls and some
Chattanooga, TN Breweries
Amy and Jack at DeSoto Falls, AL
The weather forecast for the day called for almost certain rain for Monday and Tuesday. There are plenty of things to do in Chattanooga to avoid the rain like several museums, the Chattanooga Aquarium, and the IMAX theater. Since it was my birthday, Amy left the decision as to what we would do for the day up to me.
So I decided to skip all that indoor touristy stuff and instead go hiking in the rain! There were several Alabama waterfalls that I really wanted to get to, so hopefully I could check them out before it started raining too hard.
First up was DeSoto Falls. This one was pretty spectacular.
DeSoto Falls, AL
Since it hadn't started raining yet, Amy made the short stroll to the viewing area with me.
Amy and Jack at DeSoto Falls.
This waterfall is basically three stages. The first drop is over a man-made dam. The 2nd drop is a nice 20-ft tall cascade. The 3rd and main drop is an 80-ft free-fall into an awesome plunge pool area!
The 1st and 2nd Drops of DeSoto Falls
The main drop of DeSoto Falls
Next up would be DeSoto State Park. The rain was fairly steady by now, so Amy elected to sit this one out.
I started with an easy 2-mile loop hike that would take me to Laurel Falls and Lost Falls. Both of these were small and unimpressive. Fortunately they were rather scenic and photogenic. I also pretty much had the park to myself on this rainy Monday morning making for some enjoyable solitude!
Laurel Falls - DeSoto State Park, AL
Lost Falls - DeSoto State Park, AL
Amy was enjoying her book when I returned and perfectly content to continue doing so. So I went ahead on another short and easy loop hike to Indian Falls and Lodge Falls.
Indian Falls was the most impressive of the (4) waterfalls in this area of DeSoto State Park. Unfortunately the Sewage Treatment Facility just upstream detracts from the appeal of this waterfall. And I would have preferred the pedestrian bridge to be located somewhere other than right at the top of the falls!
Indian Falls - DeSoto State Park, AL
Indian Falls - DeSoto State Park, AL
Lodge Falls, located just downstream from the parks lodge is unimpressive and not very photogenic.
Lodge Falls - DeSoto State Park, AL
I was actually a little disappointed with the waterfalls of DeSoto State Park. Fortunately our next stop made up for it!
Little River Falls!
Little River Falls, AL
The hike was so short and easy that I returned to the vehicle to fetch Amy. I told her to grab an umbrella and follow me to this beauty!
We returned to our vehicle and took a drive along Hwy176 along the North-West Rim of the Little River Canyon stopping at a few of the overlooks along the way.
Little River Falls, AL
Amy at Little River Falls
We returned to our vehicle and took a drive along Hwy176 along the North-West Rim of the Little River Canyon stopping at a few of the overlooks along the way.
The Little River Canyon
I had received a tip about an off-trail waterfall on Wolf Creek, not too far off the Little River Canyon Road that I wanted to check out. We parked right at the Hwy 176 / Hwy 255 intersection and I hit the woods heading downstream along Wolf Creek. There is some semblance of a path, but definitely not an established trail.
Wolf Creek Falls turned out to be nicer than I was excepting. Note: During my trip planning research, I also have seen this one called Gregg's Two Falls, but I prefer Wolf Creek Falls.
Wolf Creek Falls (aka Gregg's Two Falls) - Little River Canyon, AL
The Lower Drop of Wolf Creek Falls
The Upper Drop of Wolf Creek Falls
I was soaked to the bone, but the time I finished up this hike. Fortunately the last waterfall on my list was a roadside view of Grace's High Falls. The fog made for a cool photo of this already unique waterfall.
Grace's High Falls - Little River Canyon, AL
We continued our drive along the Little River Canyon before heading back to our cabin to shower up before continuing on to Phase 2 of my 45th Birthday. A few more Chattanooga Breweries.
1. McHale's Brewhouse - I thought the beer here was excellent, but the fact that they allow smoking inside was a big detraction for me
Amy outside of McHale's Brewhouse - Chattanooga, TN
Me enjoying a flight at McHale's Brewhouse
2. Big River Brewing Works - This is a small chain with (4) locations, including (2) in Chattanooga. We went to the one on the East Side of town because we didn't feel like dealing with downtown parking in the pouring rain. The beer was good, but very generic. We had dinner here and the food was excellent!
The Big River Grille and Brewing Works - Chattanooga, TN
Me enjoying at flight at the Big River Grille and Brewing Works
3. Moccasin Bend Brewing Co. - This was by far my favorite of all the Chattanooga Breweries we visited. The beer was awesome and the location is very unique. Craft Beer lovers should mark this place down as a must visit destination!
The Moccasin Bend Brewing Company
Me enjoying a flight at the Moccasin Bend Brewing Company
We finished up the day with a relaxing evening at our cabin.
Night Sky Panorama from the back deck of our cabin
Night Sky from the back deck of our cabin
The complete set of photos from Day 3 are posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/sets/72157652101401411/
I had a few options planned for potential stops along the way home on Tuesday, but the radar showed no rain relief along any of they potential routes home. Therefore there are no photos or reports from Day 4.
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