Tennessee
Trains, Cherokee and Culture in the Southern Appalachian Mountains
Program No. 21267RJ
Ride historic rails across scenic mountains as you learn about Appalachian culture, Cherokee heritage, traditional music and regional cuisine.
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Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date.
Read More.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
6 days
5 nights
What's Included
11 meals (
5B, 2L, 4D
)
2 expert-led lectures
8 expert-led field trips
3 performances
An experienced Group Leader
5 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
Day
1
Check-in, Registration, Orientation, Welcome Dinner
Location:
Chattanooga, TN
Meals:
D
Stay:
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Chattanooga Downtown
Activity Note
Hotel check-in from 3:00 p.m.
Afternoon:
Program Registration: 3:00-5:00 p.m. After checking in and receiving your key at the front desk, please go to the conference room located near the lobby area to register with the program staff, get any updated information, and confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please locate your Group Leader and let them know you have arrived. Orientation 5:00 p.m. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Day
2
Chattanooga History, Chickamauga, Choo Choo
Location:
Chattanooga, TN
Meals:
B,D
Stay:
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Chattanooga Downtown
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 30 miles, approximately 2 hours riding time. Walking about 3/4 mile, standing up to an hour at a time during field trips; pavement, grass, dirt, uneven terrain.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll be joined in our hotel meeting room by a local expert for a presentation on the history of Chattanooga. Next, we will board a motorcoach with our expert for a field trip through the downtown area of Chattanooga. We’ll become acquainted with the area and get a look at the local revitalization as we hear a brief history of the city.
Lunch:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to have what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Afternoon:
We will board a motorcoach with our historian for a field trip to Chickamauga Battlefield, where we’ll learn what happened September 18-20, 1863, and how it impacted the Civil War. Chattanooga was a key rail center and gateway to the heart of the Confederacy. The Battle of Chickamauga was fought for this prize and is essential to understanding Chattanooga’s history. Only the Battle of Gettysburg was more lethal but, unlike that notorious conflict, Chickamauga was a huge Union defeat.
Dinner:
We will ride a short distance to a popular local restaurant.
Evening:
For our next expert-led field trip, we’ll explore Terminal Station — better known as the home of the Chattanooga Choo Choo — that includes a presentation on the history of renowned Track 29. Terminal Station is now part of the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel. We’ll then ride back to our hotel.
Day
3
Cherokee Trail of Tears, Rock City & Ruby Falls
Location:
Chattanooga, TN
Meals:
B,L
Stay:
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Chattanooga Downtown
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 15 miles, approximately 3/4 hour riding time. At Rock City, walking 100-foot trail; 35 stairs in sets of 4-5 stairs with handrails; uneven, inclines. Ruby Falls building entrance handicapped accessible, cave not wheelchair accessible. Elevator down to starting point of cave walk, approximately 4/5 of a mile each way; hard packed dirt, uneven paths, no seating. Participants must be able to remain comfortably on their feet up to 90 minutes.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
Before the arrival of the Europeans, the land where Asheville now exists lay within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation. We will be joined by a local expert for a presentation on Cherokee legends and a performance. Our expert plays the Cherokee flute, rattle, the Native American drum, the five-string banjo, guitars, and the Appalachian dulcimer. Through this presentation and performance, we’ll delve into centuries of Cherokee history and culture that will address one of America’s darkest tragedies. We’ll learn about the Indian Removal Act of 1830 that forced tribal people out of their homes to lands in the West and on into the present. We will then take a short drive to Lookout Mountain. The mountain was the setting for two historic battles. The so-called “last battle of the Cherokee” took place in August of 1794. The 1863 Battle of Lookout Mountain —also known as the Battle Above the Clouds — sounded the death knell of the Confederacy when Union troops prevailed. As we ponder its history, we can marvel at the panoramic view of seven states.
Lunch:
At a Rock City restaurant.
Afternoon:
More than 200 million years of weathering have produced the massive, unusually shaped sandstone boulders in what is now known as Rock City, situated at 1,700 feet above sea level atop Lookout Mountain. During this self-directed exploration, we will be able to traverse a walking trail more than 4,000 feet long that features not only these ancient rock formations but caves and gardens with more than 400 species of native plants. We will walk at our own pace and see what interests each of us most. There are places along the trail to sit as well as easy access back to the starting point. Our Group Leader will be available to answer any questions about trail logistics. We’ll then hop back aboard the motorcoach for a short drive on the mountain top to Ruby Falls, where we will go on a walking exploration with a local expert. We’ll learn how this extraordinary geological wonder was discovered in 1928 by a team of excavators who came across it 1,120 feet beneath the surface. The waterfall is 145 feet high, falling through a cavern created by the same geological forces as Rock City and Lookout Mountain itself. When they say don’t drink the water, they mean it! The water in Ruby Falls contains high concentrations of magnesium.
Dinner:
On your own to have what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. This is an opportunity to enjoy dinner on your own or with new Road Scholar friends.
Evening:
At leisure.
Day
4
Missionary Ridge Train Turnaround, Hiawassee Murphy Museum
Location:
Hiawassee, GA
Meals:
B,D
Stay:
The Ridges Hotel & Marina
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 120 miles, approximately 3 hours riding time. Getting on/off a train.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll check out of the hotel and ride to the Missionary Ridge train station for our field trip by train to Missionary Ridge and the train museum there. Chattanooga was a railroad center for nearly a century and a hub of Southeastern U.S. travel. We’ll board the train and ride on one of the original rail lines into the city via either steam or vintage diesel locomotive. Along the way, we will witness two unique methods of turning a train around. We will also ride through Missionary Ridge Tunnel, notable for its uniqueness as a horseshoe tunnel, in which the top of the tunnel is wider than the bottom. After our ride, we will go backstage at the East Chattanooga Back Shop where the conductor will take you us through the process of restoring trains. After the train ride, we’ll have some time for independent exploration of the museum to learn about the role of railroads in the history and development of this region and see railroad artifacts in an authentic setting. We will then ride back into town at hop off at the hotel, which is in an area with a number of restaurants.
Lunch:
On your own to have what you like. There are lunch spots around the hotel.
Afternoon:
Next, we will reboard the motorcoach and ride to Hiawassee, Georgia. Along the way, we’ll see a video and enjoy the beautiful scenery. We’ll stop in the small town of Murphy, North Carolina, for a field trip to the Cherokee County Museum with displays of the rich history of Native American and pioneer settlers in the far-western corner of the state. The museum is housed in the historic Carnegie Library. We will check in to our hotel upon arrival in Hiawassee.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
We’ll have a delightful evening of musical entertainment at the hotel. Guest musicians will perform a wide range of music including folk, bluegrass, gospel, and country.
Day
5
Blue Ridge Scenic Railway Train Ride
Location:
Hiawassee, GA
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
The Ridges Hotel & Marina
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 80 miles throughout the day, approximately 2 hours riding time (one hour to Blue Ridge and one hour return). Getting on/off a train; riding about 44 miles, approximately 4.5 hours riding time. Walking from parking lot to motorcoach.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will board the motorcoach and ride to Blue Ridge, GA. Starting at the historic depot in downtown Blue Ridge, Georgia, we'll take a four-hour, 26-mile roundtrip journey along the Toccoa River through the North Georgia countryside. The first leg of the adventure takes us on a one hour trip to the quaint sister towns of McCaysville, Georgia and Copperhill, Tennessee, nestled deep in the mountains on each state’s line. We'll enjoy the small town atmosphere during a two-hour layover before taking the one-hour return trip through the scenic forest and back to the depot in Blue Ridge, Georgia.
Lunch:
Lunch in local area of train layover.
Afternoon:
We will have a relaxed return to the depot in Blue Ridge. We’ll then reboard our motorcoach and ride back to Hiawassee.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
We’ll gather with an expert musician who plays many different instruments and enjoy more of his music. Prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.
Day
6
Program Concludes, Return To Chattanooga
Location:
Hiawassee, GA
Meals:
B
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach by 8:30 a.m.; driving about 110 miles, approximately 2.5 hours riding time. Hotel check-out 11:00 a.m.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will board our motor coach by 8:30 a.m. with expected arrival back in Chattanooga by approximately 11:30 a.m. We will drop off first at the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA) and then at the DoubleTree Hotel. This concludes our program. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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