Outlook Mountain KOA (Dec. 7 – 10)
Outlook Mountain KOA is just to the southwest of Chattanooga, and is actually in Georgia. (Recall that from Outlook Mountain you can see 7 states.) The campground is about halfway up a hill and has a nice view of the mountains. Every time we left the campground, we traveled from Georgia to Tennessee.
We were surprised at how empty the campground is, especially since the attendant told me that the RV sites were completely booked for Thanksgiving weekend. However, it keeps things very peaceful. The campground is forested and is alive with birds. We are back into the vegetation and wildlife of the NE.
With the cold snap, it was clear that we would need to winterize. Basically, this means draining all water tanks and making sure that the pipes are filled with (non-toxic) antifreeze. Generally this is done by an RV service place, but Chuck decided this was something he could do. We bought a few gallons of RV antifreeze, and he followed the step-by-step instructions which seem straight forward.
If you are staying in one place and the RV is properly insulated, you can get a heater for the compartments that have the water pipes. This keeps them above freezing, so you can continue to pipe water into the RV – assuming that the campground also has insulated water pipes. Alternatively, you can fill the fresh water tanks on the warm days, and disconnect from the campground water system when it is below freezing.
However, since we are traveling, it seems risky to try to heat the plumbing compartments. Winterizing means that there is no water in the system to freeze and burst the pipes. Only the toilet is usable, and it is flushed using antifreeze.
We did not have water in the RV for the first week of the trip and we survived, although not comfortably. However, now that we are experienced campers, it is much simpler. We filled all of our water containers from the campground water. I mostly cook with foil, so the pan does not need to be washed. And we use paper plates and bowls. This means that there are only cutlery and cups to wash. (We could use disposable for that too, but it is not necessary.) I can wash everything with the plastic basin I brought, heating the water in the kettle. And when I am done, I just empty the water into the campground bathroom or dish sink. (Most campgrounds have a sink for use either by the tent campers or by fishers.) We use the campground washrooms whenever practical.
It snowed all morning. The snow stuck to the trees and grass, making the scene very wintery and lovely. Since the daytime temperatures were in the mid 30s, we were not too worried about road conditions. However, laundry and winterizing took most of the daylight hours and so we stayed tucked in to the RV.
On Saturday we ventured out for sightseeing. Chattanooga was on my mental “best of the trip” list from our previous visit. We had already seen the highlights (Ruby Falls, Raccoon Caverns, Walnut Street Bridge, Tennessee Aquarium and the Towing and Rescue Museum) so I wondered if we would find something to do. But for a small city, Chattanooga has a lot.
By taking a wrong turn, we ended up back downtown beside the aquarium and decided to have lunch there. We ended up eating at the Mellow Mushroom, a pizza chain with an Alice in Wonderland theme. The awnings over Chuck’s head are giant Coke bottle caps. We liked the seasonings on our pizza, but found it a bit too greasy and cheesy to make our “great pizza” list. (Did I mention the great pizza in Tucson?)
The Mellow Mushroom was right beside the outside climbing wall that I photographed on our last visit. 
Never mind the cold windy weather – Chattanoogans clearly love to climb outside. 
In fact, besides the climb up the outside of the parking garage, we discovered that one of the pillars of the Walnut Street Bridge has been made into a climbing well. But don’t come to Chattanooga expecting to climb the bridge just any day. The bridge climb is special event only.
After lunch we walked along the river bank near downtown. The first thing we saw was this great blue heron, which seemed to be in cahoots with the fisherman. In any case, it was not the least bit disturbed by our approach.
Part of the walk includes one of the embarkation points of the Trail of Tears. There is an walkway with a number of large tiles by Cherokee artists, sharing Cherokee culture in remembrance of this shameful piece of US history.
We then drove across to the other side of the river, which we had not done on our previous visit. It also has a bit of a shopping district, as well as a river walk. Perhaps it is the party or the musical side of town. In any case, embedded into the sidewalk are several dance lessons, like this one for the waltz. If you know an appropriate tune, you can learn to dance right there on the street!
The river walk has some interpretative signs, as well as some history of Black Americans in the Civil War. Chattanooga had a large refugee camp for slaves liberated as the war progressed. At the start, black volunteers were accepted only to contribute manual labor to the Union effort, but after some time they were also allowed to fight. Needless to say, many were enthusiastic soldiers, and they would rather fight to the death than be captured by the Confederates, who treated them as escaped slaves rather than prisoners of war.
The river walk also had a unique dog feature, which I thought was clever. Many parks have dispensers for plastic “poop bags”. On this walk, there were many recycling bins where people could recycle their plastic garbage bags for dog walkers to use. All the bins had bags, and all of the trails were clean, so it must work OK.
We also decided to see the “Chattanooga Choo-Choo”. We were delighted by what this turned out to be. 
Chattanooga was an important rail junction for almost a century starting in 1850. It was an important north/south connector, and because of this played an important (and to me confusing) part in the Civil War. In any case, after the war there was a rapid expansion of the rail lines and Chattanooga’s role as a rail hub. The current Chattanooga Choo-Choo Hotel is the 3rd reincarnation of the station and was built in 1909. Its life as a train station ended in 1970, and in 1973 it reopened as a hotel.. The station itself, which is large and ornate in the style of the day, is a conference center with hotels, bars and open space. The rail tracks into the station are filled with old passenger cars that have been converted into the hotel rooms. These are open only to guests, but we were intrigued and would like to stay there some time. There is also a more conventional wing that looks like a motel. Finally, where the main platform would have been, there is a long formal rose garden (although December is not the right month to enjoy roses in Chattanooga). A temporary and very well-populated ice skating rink had been set up between the platform and the station.
We could not resist the “Hot Chocolatier” across the road from the hotel. We both got hot chocolate (both excellent) and a dessert. Having had dessert first, we skipped supper. Getting back to normal life is not going to be easy!