Jungle Jim's International Grocery Store

    Normally we wouldn’t consider a supermarket an attraction but this isn’t an ordinary supermarket. It’s huge and filled with food imported from Africa, Asia, Germany, Spain, India, Poland, Norway and many other countries. We didn’t recognize most of the items and were planning on trying some of them but the most exotic thing that we bought was a bag of chocolate covered Jelly Bellies   :- ).

   Part of the fun is looking at all of the decorations – boats, a fire engine, parts of planes, big fiberglass animals, a monorail, all kinds of things. Jungle Jim’s started in 1971 as a parking lot produce stand and expanded to include 180,000 items and 300,000 square feet of store. This is the second location which opened in 2012.

  The parking lot is huge too so no matter what you’re driving it’ll fit. Store
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Boone County Arboretum

   This park was built in 1994 as a baseball and soccer complex with a walking trail winding around the outskirts of the playing fields. Over 1,100 trees and 1,700 shrubs have been planted throughout the park. There are a few picnic shelters but no other picnicking facilities. The trail is about 3 miles long round trip.

  The trail is wide and paved, in fairly good condition but very hilly. Most wheelchair users will need to have some help.

  The trail can be accessed from any of the playing field lots. RVs will fit either backed up over the grass or parked lengthwise across the spaces.  Park
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Homesteads Tower Museum

  During the depression years of the 1930s one of Roosevelt’s New Deal programs was a experiment in cooperative living called Subsistence Homesteads. Each family was provided with a house, outbuildings, and enough land to grow food for themselves. An outside job was necessary. It was hoped that businesses would located near the communities. The community of Cumberland Homesteads was made up of distressed farmers, unemployed miners, unemployed textile workers, and a small number of struggling professionals. The men contributed “sweat equity” by helping build the houses and public buildings. Successful businesses never developed and by the end of WWII the government ended the experiment. Most of the original 251 houses are still in use today.

  A small museum and gift shop are housed in the old Homesteads offices which had an octagon water tower in the center. A winding stairway leads to lookout on the top. A restored house, located about a mile away, is opened to tour.

  The museum is accessible. The tower is not. The house is not accessible due to steps.

  The are seven parking spaces directly in front of the museum. This is the only parking. RVs will  fit but when the spaces are filled there’s no other parking for either cars or RVs.  Museum
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Rhea County Museum - Scopes Monkey Trial

  Seeking to challenge the Butler Act of 1925, which made teaching human evolution illegal in Tennessee state-funded schools, the ACLU offered to defend anyone accused of violating the law. The little town of Dayton saw a chance to get some publicity for their town and asked 24-year-old John Scopes, a Dayton high school science and math teacher, if he was willing to test the law. The trial attracted famous attorneys, received press coverage around the world, and was the first US trial to be broadcast on radio. John Scopes was fined $100 but the verdict was overturned on a technicality. The law wasn’t repealed until 1967.

  The courtroom has been restored to its 1925 appearance. A small museum with many photographs of the trial and town is located in the basement of the courthouse.

   An entrance with a ramp is located on Court Street. An elevator accesses the courtroom and the basement museum. Sidewalk curb cuts are steep and uneven so use the little ramp on Court Street that leads to the entrance sidewalk.

  RVs can be parked along 3rd Ave. Museum
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Cherokee Removal Memorial Park at Blythe Ferry

   This is a stop along the Trail of Tears, the route followed by the Cherokee who, in 1838, were forced to leave their homes and travel 800 miles to Oklahoma territory because white settlers wanted the land of their reservation.The seven panels of the memorial, which radiate out from a center point, are etched with the name of the head of household for each family. 9,000 people followed this route, camping at Blythe Ferry while waiting to cross the Tennessee River. 16,000 in all traveled to Oklahoma. A quarter of them died before reaching their new home.

   In addition to the memorial the park has a history wall and a visitor center which is primarily to assist people who want to trace their ancestry or research Native American history but there are a few artifacts on display. A boardwalk trail leads to an overlook of the crossing site which is now under the water of the Chickamauga Reservoir.

  Everything at the park is accessible.

  The main parking lot has long RV/bus spaces. There’s enough room in the lot at the overlook trail for RVs to be parked.  Park                 Trail of Tears - National Historic Trail
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Chief Vann House Historic Site

   By the 1830s over 90% of the Cherokee were living in log houses and farming, having adapted to the settled life of white men. A few, like James Vann, adapted so well that they became successful businessmen and plantation owners with slaves working the fields. But even this success didn’t prevent them from losing their property and being forced to move to Oklahoma. The mansion that James Van built 1804 had 17 different owners over the years and was in a state of disrepair when the state of Georgia bought it. It has been restored and is opened for guided tours. A typical log farm house and outbuildings are also located on the property. The visitor center has exhibits and a short video.

 The visitor center is accessible and the theater has movable chairs. The Vann mansion is not accessible due to steps and no ramp but a book with photographs is available. A paved path leads to front and rear of the  mansion and to the log house. The log house has a slightly high threshold but is accessible.

  Parking for RVs and buses is along the edges of the loop road in the parking lot.  Park
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New Echota Historic Site

   New Echota was the capital of the Cherokee Nation for 13 years, from 1825 until 1838. The Cherokees had adopted a government similar to the US government and every year several hundred Cherokees would gather in town to settle tribal matters. During this time the Georgia state government was attempting to force all Cherokees living in the state to emigrate west. The discovery of gold in Georgia and Andrew Jackson’s  presidential win doomed the tribe. A treaty, not approved by the Cherokee National Council, was signed in 1835 at New Echota and ratified by the US senate. This became the legal basis for rounding up all Cherokee in 1838 and forcing them to walk to Oklahoma, a journey known as the Trail of Tears.

   The site has a visitor center with exhibits and a video. The only original building left on the grounds is the house of Samuel Worcester, a missionary who lived in the village. A tavern and a log farm house with outbuildings have been relocated to the village. Other buildings have been reconstructed on their original sites. A self guided walking tour wanders through the village.

  The visitor center is accessible but the sidewalk to the entrance has a section with a very steep incline. The walking tour around the village is a combination of uneven, grassy ground and gravel road – difficult for visitors in wheelchairs. All of the buildings have steps and none have ramps.

  A few long bus/RV spots are located at the far end of the parking lot.  Park
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Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park

 
   During the Civil War Atlanta was a major supply center for the Confederate army with train tracks radiating out in all directions. To protect the city from Sherman’s army, which was advancing south from Chattanooga, the Confederate army dug in on top of the Kennesaw mountains. After fierce and bloody fighting in late June 1864 the Union army was able skirt the mountain, cross the Chattahoochee River and siege Atlanta, leading to the end of the war.

  The visitor center is accessible. The theater has room for wheelchairs at the ends of the aisles but the floor is slanted steeply downhill.  None of the trails are paved and most are hilly so accessibility is very limited. With help it’s possible to take the trail at Cheatham Hill far enough to see the Illinois Monument and view the hillside that the Union soldiers ran up to storm the “Dead Angle”.  The shuttle bus that runs on weekends to the overlook on Kennesaw Mountain Drive is accessible.

  The visitor center parking lot has long RV/bus spaces. Kennesaw Mountain Drive is closed to all vehicles, except the shuttle bus, on weekends. The Mountain Drive is narrow and winding and I would not recommend driving it with a large RV. The other park roads are fine for any RV.  Park
33.98326, -84.5789

Gone with the Wind Museum

  The movie “Gone with the Wind” is, in my opinion, a glamorized portrayal of a ugly and brutal period of our history so I’m not a big fan but since we were visiting  Atlanta where the book was written and the plot was centered we decided a visit was in order. The museum is small and the collection is mostly movie posters and various personal tidbits from the actors and actresses including a dress worn by Vivian Leigh.

  The museum is accessible – use the side entrance on Whitlock Ave.The parking lots are located on the other side of the train tracks which are hard to cross with a wheelchair. The pay lot has a steep hill up to street level.

   A free public parking lot is located across the tracks to the west. Small RVs may fit if parked to overhang the grass. A pay parking lot – $3.00 a day per space – is located across Mill St.
Museum
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Marietta Museum of History

The building that houses the museum was a cotton warehouse built in 1845 and then converted to a hotel in 1855. In 1862 disguised Union soldiers spent the night in the hotel and caught a train the next morning to Kennesaw where they stole a locomotive leading to the Great Locomotive Chase. The hotel was also used as a hospital for wounded Confederate soldiers. The museum covers these stories along with the general history of Marietta. Local residents have contributed many items for the exhibits.

  The museum is accessible – use the entrance by the railroad tracks. The admissions desk and gift shop is up a few steps. It’s not necessary to have access to them because the elevator that goes to the second floor museum is on the same level as the accessible entrance. The parking lots are located on the other side of the train tracks which are hard to cross with a wheelchair. The pay lot has a steep hill up to street level.

  A free public parking lot is located across the tracks to the west. Small RVs may fit if parked to overhang the grass. A pay parking lot – $3.00 a day per space – is located across Mill St.  Museum
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