Old view of See Ruby Falls barn on Interstate 24

This photo was taken in 2005. Since this photo was taken, it has been updated with the newer Ruby Falls Color Scheme which relies more on various shades of Ruby.

This Rusty barn is an ad for Ruby Falls, a cousin to Rock City in the painted-barns-that-advertise-a-Lookout-Mountain-tourist-spot. The Ruby Falls barns have simpler messages that the Rock City Barns, but have a more complex Color Scheme. This uses their trademark colors of Ruby Red and Turquoise. The "Ruby Falls" is painted in Pink, but outlined in a darker red and white to give it a 3D look.

This barn faces I-24, which connects Nashville to Chattanooga and is either in Rutherford or Cannon County. Monteagle Mountain is in the background.

Post Card Tuesday: The Bachman Twin Tunnels - Chattanooga

Here's what the tunnels look like today:



Built in 1929, the Bachman Tunnels (or Bachman Tubes) Connects Chattanooga on the west to East Ridge through Missionary Ridge. The tubes are 1,034 feet long, are the third oldest tunnels in town and carry highways US41 and US76. On the east side where this photo was taken, the city in 2001 added a roundabout in hopes of diverting Semi trucks (which easily get stuck) during times of high interstate congestion.

For the full story, read here:
www.chattanoogan.com/2003/8/17/39834/Remembering-The-Cons...

Terminal Garage Inc. neon sign - Knoxville, TN

24 Hour Service / AAA
Terminal Garage Inc. / Auto Parts Co.
Everything in Automotive

Prehensile-tailed porcupine - Nashville Zoo

Charlie is a Prehensile-Tailed Porcupine at the Nashville Zoo. Charlie is not on exhibit but is instead used in shows and tours.

The Prehensile tail means that it is able to grab with the tail. In mammals, is it rare for a species to have this and not be a primate.

George Jones Memorial

Legendary Country Music artist George Jones died in 2013. Later that year, his memorial was unveiled at his final resting place at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Melrose / Berry Hill area of Nashville.

Atop the monument is an arch with his last name Jones atop the title of his most famous song "He Stopped Loving Her Today." Down the left side is Jones story where the right side is blank for his wife. In the middle is an acoustic guitar above his nickname "the Possum." At the foot of the monument covering his burial site is a large metal plaque with multiple etched likenesses of him.

The Oliver Hotel sign - Knoxville

Hotel St. Oliver is located in the 1875 Kern Building in Knoxville's Market Square.

Baillet House & Tullahoma Fine Arts Center

This home on Jackson St. (US41A) in Tullahoma was built in 1868 for the Baillet Sisters. 100 years later, in 1968 it became the Tullahoma Fine Arts Center.
www.tullahomafinearts.org/past/

Here is the text of the Tennessee Historical Comission Marker:
Jane (Jennie) Baillet 1834 - 1918
Emma Adell Baillet 1838 - 1926
Affa Ann Baillet 1850 - 1934
This house was the home of Jane, Emma, and Affa Baillet whose family purchased the property in 1868. From around 1870 to 1913 the sisters, businesswomen and artists, owned and operated J. & E.A. Baillet Millinery Shop where they created original fashionable ladies wear and hats. Their legacy of Tennessee landscape and genre paintings date from 1870 and include estate portraits and historical sites of Tullahoma.

Here is the text of the Tullahoma History Trail Marker:
Now the city's regional Fine Arts Center, sisters Jennie and Affa Baillet and their parents lived and worked here beginning in the 1870's. Jennie was an artist and the family operated a millinery store downtown. They watched much of what happened in Tullahoma during its prosperous years between 1875 and 1925.

Video: Gatlinburg's Abandoned Chair Lift

While the Sky Lift has been around for decades and Anakeesta has been opened for a few years, there's a third chair lift in Gatlinburg which has been abandoned for over 20 years. Fun Mountain was a small theme park which opened in 1993 and closed in 2000. All the other rides were removed about a decade later, but the chair lift has remained in disrepair. The machinery is all rusted and the chairs are still overhead but trees have grown through them. This place is now a parking lot.

Post Card Tuesday: Fisk University Library

From the historic marker:
This neo-Gothic structure first served as the Erastus M. Cravath Memorial Library. Named for Cravath, the university's first president (1875-1900), it was designed by Nashville architect Henry Hibbs and built in 1929-30. The interior walls depict several murals by Aaron Douglas, the leading Harlem or Negro Renaissance painter and founder of the Fisk Art Department.

This building is part of the Fisk University Historic District listing on the National Register of Historic Places

Honey's Restaurant - Fayetteville, TN

Starting in 2015, the third Saturday in April brings the yearly Slawburger Festival to the Fayetteville, TN town square. A Slawburger is a hamburger where the patty is topped by a mustard-based cole slaw. This Slawburger is only prepared by a few local restaurants like Honey's Restaurant, Ken's Fast Foods and Bill's Cafe.

Bartlett, TN Veterans Park

The Bartlett, TN Veterans Memorial is located at W.J. Freeman Park. The memorial includes plaques with the text of the proclamation of two Bartlett citizens who were given the U.S. Medal of Honor by the President, Sgt. Walter K. Singleton in 1970 and Sgt. Vernon McGarity in 1952.

Hernando de Soto Bridge as seen from Mud Island

Hopefully, this bridge will reopen soon so traffic can get back to normal. Several weeks ago, one of the beams was found with a crack and all traffic has been suspended until it could be repaired.

The Hernando de Soto Bridge carries Interstate 40 across the Mississippi River and connects Memphis and Arkansas. The through arch bridge opened in 1973 and is a total of 9,432 feet including where it crosses Ark floodplains. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernando_de_Soto_Bridge

Farmers and Merchants Bank - Ethridge, TN

This old bank building in the small Lawrence County town was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Nov. 2017. Here is the description from the Tennessee Historic Commission:

The one-story brick building in the heart of Ethridge was built in 1927 after an earlier bank building burned. Many banks in the early 20th century were designed in the Classical Revival style, which was thought to convey security and stability to a community. The restrained detailing, seen in the brick and stone window details on the façade of the Ethridge bank, copies the more elaborate Classical Revival style seen in larger communities.

Goat at Lucky Ladd Farm

Capt. Jeff Kuss USMC Memorial - Smyrna, TN

Description of the memorial:
www.captjeffkussusmcmemorial.com/
On June 2, 2016, at the age of 32, Kuss tragically lost his life when his jet crashed a day before the Great Tennessee Air Show in Smyrna. A Blue Angel F/A-18C Hornet similar to the jet flown by Captain Kuss and on loan from the National Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL.

Although I wasn't home at the time, I live less than a mile from where Capt. Kuss crashed in Smyrna. This memorial is also nearby, located on TN266 Sam Ridley Pkwy and across from the Smyrna MQY airport. Parking is available at Lee Victory Park.

Post Card Tuesday: David Crockett Cabin - Rutherford, TN

Here is what this cabin looked like 10 years ago in 2011:



After being defeated in a re-election effort for U.S. Congress in 1834, Davy Crockett decided to move out to West Tennessee. About 10 miles away from where his mom and sister were living, he built a farm in Gibson County, which would eventually be his last residence. Soon thereafter, he went to fight in the Texas battle for independence and died at the Alamo in 1836.

About halfway between the location of his farm, and where his mom and sister lived is the town of Rutherford, TN. The townspeople took the remaining logs from his last house which had fallen apart, and assembled them to make "Davy Crockett's Last house and Museum." The home is located along old US45W on the north side of town.

Chero-Cola Bottling Co. - Winchester, TN

This building is a corner of what used to be the Hammer's block of the Winchester town square. Now that Hammers is out of business, they have tried to restore these buildings to original condition. This building was the post office until 1914. Then, in Feb. 1917 Chero-Cola Bottling Company (formerly Blue Seal Bottling Works) moved in.

In 1881, tightrope walker Monsieur LeRoy walked a tightrope connecting the roof of this building to the courthouse cupola.

See 7 States from Rock City

See 7 States from Rock City
atop Lookout Mt.

This well maintained Rock City barn is in Grainger County a couple of miles east of Rutledge along highway US11W. This visit was my third time to drive through the area and photograph this barn. However it was the first time for me to find the old highway alignment which goes on the south side of the barn.

Scenic Old Roads of Chattanooga 2: Highway 127 down Signal Mountain

This video is the second in a series of dashcam videos driving the scenic and historic mountain roads in the Chattanooga Area.

Pulpit Rock can be seen at 1:20 in the video.
The Flying Saucer UFO house can be seen at 2:55