Chattanooga and Memphis

So, we've yet to tell y'all about spending a few days in Chattanooga and Memphis.

We stayed in a State Park campground about an hour outside of Chattanooga after leaving Doubletree Farm. After setting up camp and getting groceries, we noticed a huge smoke cloud coming off the side of the mountain next to our campsite. As the night progressed, we could see the blaze of a growing forest fire through the woods.  Though the park ranger assured us that fires always move upward, Christy was a little nervous going to sleep that night. From inside our tent, we could hear the trees falling and bulldozers working on clearing a firebreak. By morning, things had calmed down, but we could still see a big burnt clearing on the side of the mountain. Such excitement!

As for the city itself, it seems like a pretty cool town. We enjoyed hanging out in the North Shore district, which has it's share of cutesy stores and coffee shops. Across a pedestrian bridge over the huge Tennessee River, you come upon the museum area. We spent our afternoon at the world-class Tennessee Aquarium, which blew our minds. Highlights: They had a really great jellyfish and seahorse exhibits, we got to touch stingrays, and we enjoyed learning about cuttlefish. Cuttlefish are SO smart, they make facial expressions with their tentacles, and change colors to express themselves, and can make eye contact through the glass. They were so curious,  coming up to the glass to look at each new aquarium visitor. That was definitely one of the coolest parts of our visit. The aquarium also did a great job with displaying different river systems of the world, and had an impressive array of really interesting organisms.

Also at the aquarium, we watched an IMAX 3D movie about the Hubble space telescope. It was pretty cool; both of us got to learn about our favorite topics that day.

As for Memphis, we were a little less impressed. We were hoping to find a city still alive with a vibrant music scene, but instead, found the city celebrating it's musical past. As far as we can tell, there is virtually no youth culture here, and the only real places to visit are Beale Street (a 24/7 party zone) and Graceland (which charges a ridiculous admission). But, let's stay positive. We stayed in a really nice hostel in a decent area, and enjoyed a long walk through downtown one day. Yesterday, we went to the Memphis Zoo and had a great time learning about all the animals. We were happy to see that the animals were well taken care of and stimulated. Highlights: a 16-foot boa constrictor, very active bonobo community, acrobatic gibbons, really interesting gorilla interactions, and a sea lion show.

So, now we're headed further west to Little Rock, Arkansas. Our plan is to explore that area for the next day or so, then check out Hot Springs National Park, then go to our next farm, which is in Fayetteville, AR.

The scenic Maggie Valley, between Asheville and Chattanooga,

In the butterfly house & hatchery at the Tennessee Aquarium.

Sea nettles.

Some kind of spider crab, over two feet wide!