On Monday Jess and I woke up from a our nice night of camping and headed straight to Cummins Falls State Park. A destination I found by googling the best swimming holes in Tennessee. It doesn't get more touristy than that, does it? This is relatively new state park (2012?) and apparently used to be a favorite spot for the locals when it was privately owned. I think everyone used to scale down a really steep bluff right by the falls but the state park created a long trail down and then make you hike upstream about a half mile to the falls. We didn't know any of this before arriving but it made for a great adventure! We also learned that a few days prior to our visit a few people had died from a flash flood. Thinking about getting caught around that waterfall during a flash flood is terrifying. It seems like they're still trying to figure things out and how to safely allow access at this park. There were a lot of people (not as bad as some photos I've seen) but it was a pretty place and we thoroughly enjoyed the modest trek.

The whole reason we travelled to Tennessee was to visit the Lookout Mountain Conservancy. In October I had the privilege of hearing Umar Muhammed share his story of how the organization and its leadership intern program changed his life. I was truly touched and inspired by his story and insisted that I come visit with the whole group.

I emailed Director Robyn Carlton in January and we slowly made plans for our visit in July to coincide with their annual shrimp boil fundraiser. Robyn is a busy lady and I never actually spoke with her on the phone, and making our plans were always vague at best. Shortly before our trip I basically said, "Ok, we'll be there to work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. See you soon!"

Tuesday morning rolls around, we suit up in our work wear and head to the mountain. As we're driving up to the property I see several of the kids walking up the road and I sort of tell Jess "They they are. This is it." I had been waiting a long time for this opportunity and it was finally happening. We park in an empty lot and across the street is a small log cabin choked full of these kids wearing gray, blue, and red shirts. We step out of the car and meet Robyn for the first time. She informs me that she didn't tell the interns we were coming in case anything came up. Jess and I try and gather the rest of our things while we can hear Robyn meeting with all of the kids and tell them they have some visitors coming to work with them. They knew nothing about us. We were just two strangers.

​As we start walking to the cabin all the kids start coming our way and introducing themselves, shaking our hands. I specifically remember how cheerful they all were. It was such a warm welcome (plus a ton of names!). After the introductions we gather by the porch and Robyn wants to tell group why Jess and I are there. She calls to Umar and says that it's because of him, and his story. I didn't know Umar was going to be there and as Robyn continues to speak I am almost overtaken by the same emotions that I felt hearing him tell his story on stage to thousands of people. She gives me a chance to speak and I tell them a little about myself and Jess. That I work for a land trust in Texas but we don't have any programs like theirs. That I was inspired by Umar's story at the conference and just wanted to come meet everyone and see the work they do.

With the sappy stuff over, we start the day with an exercise for the kids to practice introducing themselves to strangers at the shrimp boil. We form two circles and essentially do "speed dating" of introductions. It doubled as a great opportunity for me to start learning some names. It wasn't until later that I realized how much this program is about building life skills and this exercise just being one of the countless examples. The volunteer groups show up and Jess and I just blend in with crowd as we watch the interns lead group stretches and break down into smaller groups for the lopping, cutting, and hauling needed for the day.

The rest of the day was pretty much a blur. We worked hard, sweated, and just soaked up our surroundings. After the work was over Robyn took us for a hike through their ~50 acres and all of the work the interns have done. We were totally impressed. LMC's trails are the gateway to Lookout Mountain which is a very prominent and important part of Chattanooga, which means "rock rising to a point". They have a traversing network of trails first highlighted by a series of boulders cleaned up for rock climbing and then leading to their new vegetable garden which they built entirely themselves. The upper section is old (like 19th century) lots that are still being converted to proper trails as they make their way to the guild trail, which is an LMC trail system on abandoned railway and connecting various park areas. 

Day two with LMC was a lot of the same. We start with practicing the cupid shuffle in preparation of the shrimp boil and then back to lopping and hauling. We know half of the kids names by now and they begin to notice. Things were a little more quiet and we had some good opportunities to talk more one on one with the kids. We sit in on all of the lecturers by Robyn just like we're interns. She has an incredible way of speaking to these kids and keeping them grounded. She's direct in her message, she listens to their thoughts, and she respects them. Robyn needs to reel them in every now and then but they listen. They've all earned each other's respect and it shows.

Our final day rolls around. Jess and I show up to work just like everyone else and we're presented with gray shirts. We were welcomed to the family. Robyn makes it very clear that not everyone earns a shirt and I am completely honored. I put the shirt on immediately. Gray shirts are for first-year interns. Blue shirts for 2+ year interns. Red shirts for leaders. And maroon shirts for college interns.

Our three days with LMC are hard to describe. It was an exceptional experience and I felt truly honored to be welcomed by this family. If you didn't know any better, you'd assume LMC only hires top of the class students but the reality couldn't be any different. These kids are accepted into the program in order of who needs it the most. These kids come from a high school with 50% graduation rates and already have all of the odds stacked against them. LMC gives them a second chance. Guarantees graduation. Teaches them life skills. Gets them off the streets. Gives them a paying job to support themselves and their families. This program is the most beautiful use of land and the environment I've ever seen. My hat is off to Robyn for developing this program and to all of these kids for pushing themselves. For bettering themselves. I know each and every one of them will succeed in life. They've already proven they have what it takes. They're role models in their schools and they'll be leaders of their generation. At the end of the Shrimp Boil I gave each and every one of them a farewell hug and I intend to do whatever I can to visit again.

The rest of this doesn't compare to our experience with LMC but we had a really nice evening one night on top of Lookout Mountain at point park. It had gorgeous views and a lot of civil war history. We rounded that night off with a super tasty dinner at Cafe on the Corner. The company couldn't have been better!

Before the Shrimp Boil on Thursday Jess and I snuck away to a sweet swimming hole recommended by LMC staff Sarah. It reminded us of the greenbelt in Austin where you just sort of pick any spot that looks nice. It was called North Chick Blue Hole.

Thank you all so much for reading. This one means a lot to me.

Jess and I drove all day from Austin to Memphis on Saturday to break up our drive to Chattanooga. Neither of us had ever been to Tennessee and we didn't have much for expectations. We crossed the Mississippi into Memphis at the perfect time. We parked right next to the river and wandered around a few of the river walk/park areas and watched the sun go down. There were great breezes, lots of people out n' about, and a nice sunset. After the sun went down we walked over to Beale Street and got a nice little taste of their live music scene and had some bar food. We didn't plan our lodging ahead of time but thankfully airbnb pulled through for us with a nice little room on a moment's notice at 10:30 pm.

I decided not to post a picture of the ridiculously gaudy Bass Pro Shop pyramid but we were told there was a good view from the top. We went inside first thing in the morning and it was just a glorified retail store with a hotel overlooking the fake swamp setting inside. You had to pay $10 to go up the elevator but thanks anyways! We decided to check out the Mud Island River Walk which is a humongous, yet miniature scale model of the Mississippi River. It was a free exhibit but you could pay for a little suspended rail car to take you to the peninsula if you didn't want to walk across the bridge. Are you kidding me!? We ended up finding a huge school of fish by walking the bridge. Definitely worth it. The exhibit ended up being super cool and I'd recommend it to anyone. It's a must see if you appreciate watersheds and hydrology. Before we walked back across the bridge I had one little epiphany where I looked across the Mississippi River and imagined that the river I was seeing was the model version and that I was merely the size of ant  and could imagine giants bounding across the landscape like I had done over the model.

Some friends of mine (Wander Like Water) just started a bike tour to share the story of water along the entire Mississippi. I knew there was no way they'd pass up the river walk exhibit so I decided to cache a treasure under a rock for them to retrieve when they make their way down in a month or two. Let's hope it's still there when they show up!!

We read great reviews about the civil rights museum and decided to head there after the river walk. Jess and I both had a moment of shock when we walked up and quickly realized that this museum is located at the motel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. I recognized the balcony instantly and it was pretty eerie. There is an energy surrounding that place. There is so much to see and experience at the museum and you really need a lot of time to thoroughly enjoy it all.

For lunch we went down the street to an oyster bar where Jess treated me to my first raw oysters. It was quite an experience to say the least! After lunch we drove to Montgomery Bell State Park to spend the night. Driving into the park was gorgeous. It was our first chance to take in the beautiful forests of the southeast. We set up camp and found time for an after hours dip in the lake. That evening there was a pair of owls calling and perching right above our campsite! I'm pretty sure they were barred owls but they were making some screeching sounds I had never heard before. Hot dogs on the grill for dinner and day 2 of our trip was a great success!