Exploring Ruby Falls

Since I was a little kid in the early 80’s with big glasses and big imaginations, Ruby Falls has always been one of my family go to’s for a quick weekend trip. Since my daughter went to Chesapeake, Virginia with my mom and sister for winter break, my husband and I decided to take my mini me son, Isaiah and explore this well known cave in the heart of Chattanooga. The trip down there is fairly short from Nashville and we lost an hour due to being in eastern time. When we get to Ruby Falls, we immediately notice they are building a new building which is suppose to be done by spring of this year. I look forward to seeing the new entry way to Ruby Falls when we take our kids to see Lookout Mountain (right beside Ruby Falls) this spring. When we walk in, my 9 year old self is being relived through my son who is only experiencing his first trip to Ruby Falls, this is my fifth time. He is amazed and curious all at the same time. The building has not changed in the 20 plus years since I have been and they added a cart of freshly made German roasted nuts which instantly sparked a nostalgic moment for me and created a new one for my son. My husband instantly buys 3 bags to eat while we wait. The line isn’t too terribly long considering it was 20 degrees in the mountains on a chilly Saturday in January. I pay around $50 for three of us and we immediately get in line. It takes about 20 minutes for us to make our entrance to the elevator that begins the 260 ft journey down into the mysterious Ruby Falls. We stop a lot and have to wait for other groups going out, but I must say it is always worth going. The founder of the cave, Leo Lambert wanted to build an elevator shaft to access the cave that he explored while he was a child and wanted to open it up to tourist. The story continues on as one of his workers discovered a void in the rock with his jackhammer when a hush of air came out from the opening. Mr. Lambert and his small crew explored this tiny opening and was gone for 17 hours, when they found the beautiful and breath taking gem inside the cave, a waterfall in which he named after his wife, Ruby Falls. There are many natural formations and beautifully shaped rocks within the cave. Ruby Falls is highly recommended by myself and just a beauty to see God’s wonderful creations. No one quite knows where the source of the water fall comes from which adds to the very mystery of this cave. Included are pictures which does no justice except to see if for yourself. Can you spot the behind side of the donkey?

Afterwards we went to this local burger joint called Urban Stack. Amazing burger selection along with some good Ale. Since I am trying to watch what I eat, I indulged in an All-America chef salad with homemade sweet onion vinaigrette and David had a Strauss turkey burger with avocado, bacon, and a good ole fried egg with a blue cheese spread. We also shared their Urban Nachos, but substituted the house chips for fries and it came with jalapeños, their in house 3 Little Piggies Chili(amazing), black olives, sour cream, green onions and cheddar cheese. Isaiah had mini sliders with all the fixings and we were stuffed and satisfied and ready to go back home. Urban Stack, Chattanooga, TN