Laura Ignored Us

We didn’t do much but cook, talk, and take walks while we watched the Weather Channel non stop.  We vacillated between worrying about home and concern for us here in the aftermath. 

Ted and I located all 4 storm shelters and I had a “go bag” on standby just in case we needed to leave in a hurry.   But that never happened. We watched in horror as Cameron and Lake Charles, neighbors to the east at home, took a tremendous pounding. The storm surge did not materialize and that is something to be thankful for. 

What did become a concern was the onward  march of this powerful storm. The prediction was continuing north and a sharp turn to the east.  If it stayed to the west we would be ok and if it turned east far enough north, it would go above  us.  The staggering remnants of Laura swirled all around us.  But our weather remained fine. It wasn’t until Friday night that the final tail swept across us depositing a tremendous amount of rain and she was gone!

The work was finished in Tommy’s motorhome, our coast was clear and we made plans to head for home.  We spent way more time than planned here in Red Bay so we decided to forego Montgomery, Foley and Breaux Bridge and head for home on Sunday.

But we had one more thing we had wanted to see and that was the Dismal Canyon.  The map and unmarked trails were dismal but the name comes from little glow worms that can be seen at night called dismalites.

Susan chose to go with us and what a workout it was.  There was a hill down from the parking lot to the start of the illusive trail and 5 sets of steps to the canyon floor after that.  Then the fun began.  There was a general consensus among ourselves, and most others, that the map was useless.  It showed a trail up one side of the creek and down the other with landmarks with names.  Sounds simple enough!  

The trail is not marked and tree roots and slippery rocks are the norm.  Having no idea where to go was next.  We ran into people coming back because they couldn’t find a trail to continue on without having to walk in the water.  And the landmarks were anyone’s guess!  And there are no signs or markers.  Except one that said Private Property marked off with red tape and two yellow rods forming an X that said Do Not Enter Snake Pit!! 

The area is beautiful and we certainly enjoyed seeing it.  We had a lot of fun and laughs in trying to navigate but it wasn’t easy.  Three times we had to walk in water to continue because we could not find a trail to continue from where we were.  We were all dead tired by the time we returned home to Tommy and the dogs.

Company Coming!

On Friday we moved to Red Bay, AL, also known as Tiffin Country, to meet up with Tommy and Susan.  In a park of 60 units, 58 are Tiffin motorhomes, one is a Pinnacle 5th wheel for the camp host and one Ventana, that would be us.  On a good note, we are the only motorhome in here NOT here for any kind of repair!

We have just been hanging out in this lovely park.  We have driven around town but that didn’t take long. We did eat at a Mexican restaurant for lunch one day.  AL can’t hold a candle to TX in that department.  We have cooked dinner the other nights and have eaten together.

Tommy got his drone out and made a video of the park (video-1597423355.mp4) on You Tube and took some still photos, particularly our roof so Ted could see what it looked like.  

Their motorhome has been in the bay both Monday and Tuesday.  They had most everything done the first half day but Tuesday was an entire day!  But they are now good to go ... but we can’t!  

Here are some photos around the park.

We are now stuck here until Laura passes to the north of us.  We can’t head home into the storm.  We can’t go south to the coast, we can’t go north because she is going to double back and pass right over the top of Alabama and heading East just takes us further from home.  Flooding, traffic clogs, parks open (?) - too many possibilities to take a chance.  Our friend Barry went to our house and battened down the outside hatches.  There isn’t much in either fridge because we brought most with us.  There is not much else to do.  

There won’t be much to talk about (I hope) but by the weekend we should have a plan.  

Our Last Day in Tuscumbia, Alabama

I have to say for what we we thought would be sleepy little circa 1950 towns, Tupelo, Tuscumbia, Muscle Shoals and Florence proved us wrong.  There was lots to see and do, nice people, great history, beautiful nature surroundings.  

We chose to go to Rattlesnake Saloon for a really late lunch after first stopping to visit the Coondog Cemetery!  Where else can you find such an unusual thing to visit.  We were surprised to find the "guest book" had been signed by six others before us and two other couples came as we were leaving!  

I know people love their dogs and it was touching to see plain rocks up to impressive granite gravestones for so many coon dogs.  

 

We drove on Coondog Cemetery Road (original right?) to Rattlesnake Saloon.  It is under a rock shelf along a small stream.  At night they have music and dancing but no dancing is allowed right now, just listening.  Several people told us to get the Rustler Burger because it was voted the Alabama food you have to eat before you die!  

We pulled into a riding stable establishment and had to ride in the back of a pick up down to the restaurant!  The burgers were great but not earth shattering.  The ambience was terrific though.  I wish we  had gone later to hear the music.

We pulled out Friday morning in the rain and proceeded to Red Bay to meet up with Tommy and Susan.  We arrived and backed into our spot, down one from them.  I immediately did a load of clothes because I had wet towels from wiping down the slides as they came in.  The floor was messy too because of the rain so I swept it for the second time and then used the Swiffer.

They followed us in within the hour and got set up and then immediately left to get their name on the Tiffin list for his awning.  He had run over a tire tread that got thrown right in front of him in the way up and he was unable to avoid.  It shot out the back, bending his rock shield/mud flap so now he has two things to get fixed!  

We are way watching these two storms coming next week.  One is headed toward home, the other toward the whole state of Alabama.  Saying our plans are really up in the air is an understatement.  

Still Sightseeing While Masked and Social Distanced

After the water falls, we chose historic homes and grounds for today.  First up was the Belle Mont Mansion built in 1828.  Built originally for Dr. Alexander Mitchell it was sold after a few years to Isaac and Catherine Winston.  After their deaths it was used as a family summer retreat before selling it to the Fennel’s who donated it to the state of Alabama.  It fell into disrepair and restoration stabilized the house and restored much of the interior.  

Built circa 1828, Belle Mont Mansion is one of the most outstanding Palladian-style houses in the Deep South. 

We had the docent all to ourselves and had a delightful tour.  She was knowledgeable and so proud of an archeological find that produced a piece of pottery with a name on it.  She was able to research it and found an entire piece she was able to purchase and put in the museum room.  

Next was a stop at LaGrange Village, site of a military academy and cemetery that has had period buildings added to create an historical site for the area.  Though the buildings were locked (virus?) we were able to walk the grounds and peer into the buildings.  Only 3 other people were there.

Frank Lloyd Wright Rosenbaum House

The Rosenbaums remained the sole owners and occupants of the house until 1999 when they donated the house to the City of Florence, AL. The Rosenbaum House was meticulously restored by the city and opened as a public museum in 2002. It is currently the only Wright house in the southeast that is open to the public.

Moving On

We had a pretty quiet weekend with a fair amount of rain.  It poured Friday night but it cleared by Saturday morning and did not interfere with Ted’s morning shoot.  He beat his competitor by one shot!  

We went to church in the afternoon and then to D’Casa Mexican restaurant for dinner.  It was excellent!  I had such a bad headache last weekend at a different Mexican restaurant that I didn’t enjoy the meal at all.  We both had two margaritas and I seldom even have one.  This caused me to fall asleep about 8:30, sound asleep on the couch.  

We left before noon Sunday heading south on the Natchez Trace.  We had traveled north earlier in the week and went far enough to have now traveled 1/3 of the Trace, right out of the middle.  To complete we would need to start in Nashville and drive to Colbert Ferry and then start in Natchez, MS and drive to French Town, MS but I doubt that will happen.

It rained hard off and on but when we stopped it wasn’t raining so that worked out fine.  We had dinner at home and fed the last of the carrots to the horses.

We left the next morning heading to Muscle Shoals, AL.  We traveled on Natchez Trace for awhile, and while it is a smooth two lane highway, the small dips and hills coupled with being curvy made Ted decide to get off and take a parallel highway.

We filled up with fuel just a bit down the road from our campground so we are ready to drive to Red Bay and on to Montgomery where we will once again be on an interstate with more facilities.

We left to eat at Rattlesnake Saloon but as I checked them on Yelp we learned they are only open on the weekend.  So we ate at Mamma Jean’s.  Nothing to write home about but Thursday we will try again.  It is a place to go for sure from what people have said.  

We decided to continue our outside sightseeing and visit three waterfalls in the area.  Our closest turned out to be closed!  The waterfall isn’t turned off but there was a gate across the road.  Open on weekends.  So on to Wilson Dam falls.  This was worth the trouble to find it!  We found the dam and the visitor’s viewing stand with a great view of the dam but no falls.  

We decided to leave but on the way out we saw Rockpile Road and decided to see what was there.  I found a directory which showed where we were and up in the corner was an orange line named Waterfall Walk.  We parked the car and took off along the river’s edge.  Sure enough we came upon the falls, in fact, a couple of them.

There was a small angel altar there.  It had a photo of a young girl and it appears that others have added tokens but I have no idea what it represented..

From there we headed to Spring Park and waterfall #3.  This was easiest to find because it was in Spring Park.  They have a lighted dancing waters show in front of the falls but “it was closed” so once again we miss something!

This bronze sculpture was erected in the memory of those that traveled the Trial of Tears.  She touches the cross in memory of those that died on the journey, her tears represent her sorrow, her readiness to go on shows her struggle and perseverance.  The baby represents hope.  

Finally! We visit Elvis

It took us five days in Tupelo before we found time to visit the Elvis complex.  Located here is the house he was born in, the church he attended where he heard black spirituals that influenced his singing style and a new modern building housing a museum, event center and chapel.  

Things were very sparse for the Presley family.  The house was built with a $180 loan for lumber.  His father Vernon later on altered a $4 check into $40 and ended up in prison.  Gladys lost the house in his absence.  Elvis’s first guitar was a $7.50 guitar bought as a birthday gift at Tupelo Hardware, a store still in business in Tupelo.  The rest is history.

This is the front room of the two room house and the room where Elvis was born.  His twin brother was stillborn at 4 am and Elvis was born alive at 4:25 am.  The wall paper in both rooms is original, or so they tell me.

The kitchen is a real throwback.  The icebox, stove and wall paper are original.  Notice the white high chair and pie safe.  I am old enough to remember both.

Outside there is a fountain, a statue and the entire house circled with markers for each year of his life.

It was interesting but we knew a lot about the King of Rock and Roll.  It saddens me that his career was cut so short by self destruction.  I am sure there were many songs left unsung in his heart.