RiverRocks 2017: Family Fun Day at Greenway Farms

River Rocks is a multi-day event that brings world-class and amateur athletes to Chattanooga each October to compete, celebrate Chattanooga outdoors lifestyle and enjoy live music.

Since moving here, we always seem to talk about participating in some of the family friendly events, but October always seems to be a bit crazy for us. In the last four years the only events we have managed to attend are the Three Sisters Concert and a Lula Lake Open Gate Day. 

There are so many great activities to participate during the month (not just competitions), that I have a growing list of things I would love to be able to do some day... including the Family Fun Day, Fireside Concert Series, the Family Fall Camp Out, Ciclovia, Mountain to Town Bike Adventure, Sunset Night Hike, and the Urban Nature 10K.

This past Sunday we finally made it to a Family Fun Day, and we hope to make it to one of the Fireside Concerts before the end of the month. The Family Fun Day takes place at Greenway Farms with free activities like archery and nature hikes, and the option to rent a canoe for $25 (we skipped on this since we can paddle whenever we like).

We decided that Jack was old enough to try his hand at archery, and he really loved it. The guys overseeing the activity were really friendly and let us go as many times as we wanted. I don't know how busy during the entire event, but we were able to take several turns without having to wait.

Once we felt like Jack seemed to know what he was doing, Daniel and I also gave it a go. This was a fun activity because I don't think any of us had ever shot a bow and arrow before. I was surprised to discover that I have really consistent aim. I didn't get a bulls eye, but I hit three arrows almost on top each other, just slightly left and high of the bulls eye.

We had to drag Jack away from the archery to go for a hike. We really enjoy Greenway Farms and decided to go down to the quarry. We have viewed the quarry from above but had never gone all the way to the bottom. 

Jack really wanted to just stick with the archery, so we told him we would go back if he had a good attitude during our hike. He kind of dragged his feet at the beginning, but was pumped to actually go down and see the quarry from below. I don't know what it is about our kids and water, but it is a game changer... even if they aren't swimming.

We would definitely recommend the Family Fun Day at Greenway Farms, and we plan to be back next year. We may also find some more opportunities to do some archery in the future.