Montgomery, Alabama–State Capitol…

With tropical storm Karen lingering off the Florida coastline we thought it best to stay one more day and watch developments.  It turned out to be a very good idea since Karen dumped a lot of rain in Montgomery and Birmingham but practically nary a drop in Decatur. The rains predicted for Decatur vaporized and we enjoyed a nice cloudy but cooler that normal day while it rained cats and dogs down south where we had originally planned to head.

The next morning we broke camp after spending 12 relaxing and enjoyable days in Decatur and drove about 175 miles south to the town of Montgomery, the state capitol of Alabama. We pulled into a passport America Park called The Woods RV Park and Campground.  It is mostly a large parking lot just off the highway but just right for us for three nights as it is close to Montgomery, a town we wanted to explore.

Interestingly although they are a Passport America park they do not accept reservations unless visitors agree to pay the full rate of $30 or the Good Sam's rate (10% off). Sigh.  Thus we decided to drive in and take a chance at a Passport America site with plan B in mind should there be no availability.  The normal rate of 30 per night which is high in my opinion considering there is little to no ambiance in the park.  Upon check-in we were told there were plenty of available 30 and 50 amp sites but their policy dictated we  couldn’t use the $15 passport America rate for 30 amp  site since they don’t allow reducers for converting from 50 amp to 30 amp. Gee whiz. As a result we were upcharged an additional $5 per night for 50 amp that we could have done without given the cool nights predicted. We found this to be a little cheesy on the part of the park but still for $20 per night this park is worth that rate since it also includes Wi-Fi and free cable TV including HBO…

We still had a little time left in the day when after settling up so we took a drive as we wanted to get our bearings.  Our route meandered through neighborhoods, then past beautiful Montgomery country club next to Huntingdon University.  Seeing some of the student athletes practicing softball and baseball,we decided to check out the university.  This small Christian university founded in 1897 had some neat early 1900’s buildings and lush green space so we lingered awhile as we always enjoy the vibe we feel on campuses.

From there we proceeded downtown and found some easy parking near the state capitol. Montgomery became the state’s capitol in 1847. The Alabama State Capitol has loads of history associated with it so we wanted to check it out. As we walked up the beautiful steps to the entrance of the building we came across a bronze star embedded in the walkway that pointed out that this was the location where the President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis spoke after his inauguration. Thus was born the Confederates States of America. Standing in that same spot invoked a bit of a historical flashback to times long ago…

And yet a mere century later the front portico was also the site of the famous Selma March led by Reverend Martin Luther King. The cause was about voting rights if it had slipped your mind… Pretty cool to be standing where so many significant historical events occurred. Since it was getting late we drove over to the only brewery in town called the Railyard Brewery. They have a pretty decent Alabama IPA on tap but the down side is that you have to pay to park out front just to go inside and buy a beer… But all in all a good start to our short stay here in Montgomery, Alabama…

Wheeler NWR, Town Hikes and Celebrating our Anniversary…

Well it looks like the Government won’t settle their dispute before we leave Decatur so we won’t be able to finish up our hiking in the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge.  Fortunately we did visit the Visitor’s Center before the shutdown. The visitor center at the refuge was very informative and welcoming. After checking out the exhibits we went just outside the center where bird feeders were set up and the goldfinches were partaking in the offerings.

This is a large refuge as it encompasses some 35,000 acres. The day we visited we decided to hiked a couple of small trails adjacent to the center to get a feel for the place. The first meandered through the woodlands and at the beginning of the trail was a healthy invasion of bamboo. The trail then took us through a nice Bald Cypress swamp complete with a boardwalk through its middle where we spied a red eared turtle that appeared to be stuck. I grabbed a piece of bamboo to free him from his confines only to watch it gleefully kerplunk back into the water… it just appeared as if it were stuck. There were many interpretive plaques identifying plant species making the walk all the more enjoyable.

The second walk took us to an observatory for viewing waterfowl. Sadly we didn’t catch a glimpse of any ducks as it is still a bit early for migration here but did see some Great Blue Herons wading and fishing the waters. We especially enjoyed the view from the upstairs windows of the scenic marsh although it did get a little stuffy up there. Next we drove the perimeter of the park enjoying the leaves just beginning to pick up their autumn hues of yellow and red. We figured we would surely be able to return in the coming days to get in some longer hikes but boy were we wrong!

Another day we stumbled onto Mooresville, Alabama which was the first town established in Alabama. We walked around this historic little town as it is quite small.  We enjoyed seeing interesting homes here that are mostly well kept and date back to the early to mid 1800’s. We also found a neat little church and the oldest operating Post Office in Alabama in this quaint little town.. As we drove on toward Huntsville, Alabama we saw Lyla’s Dance Hall and thought that there must be a story behind it. Sure enough there was…

 

Finally we spent some time strolling around the old downtown area of Huntsville taking in some of the interesting older buildings and enjoying some of the history presented on the historical markers. But the main reason we came to Huntsville was to end this day at another microbrewery called Straight To Ale Tap Room, clever name Eh? We especially enjoyed our happy hour brews as we were celebrating our 38th wedding anniversary... Good Beer, Great Life, Fantastic Wife... What more can I ask for…

NOTE: We chose to stay one additional day here in Decatur as heavy rains are predicted today due to the cold front colliding with tropical storm Karen so we will head to Montgomery, Alabama tomorrow…