Nearly 60 years after first visiting Ruby Falls as a small child, Paul Pickens returned this week to the underground waterfall beneath Lookout Mountain and brought his family from Michigan City, Indiana.
“This is a beautiful area, and the mountains are a lot different from where we live in Indiana,” Pickens said after visiting Rock City on Tuesday and Ruby Falls on Wednesday during a weeklong trip through Tennessee. “I wanted my family to see what I saw as a kid here.”
Gas prices are at the highest levels ever for a Labor Day weekend. But Pickens and millions of other motorists are hitting the road to take advantage of the three-day holiday weekend that marks the end of summer for many people.
“Gas prices are higher, but I only get one vacation a year,” Pickens said, “so I determined we were going to go no matter what.”
Paul’s wife, Melinda, said the underground Ruby Falls “was truly amazing” and offered a welcome respite amid the 100-degree temperatures reached this week.