Adventures of Lynn & Dan: Sweet Home Alabama

Monday, September 15, 2014

The weather was a bit unsettled today so we decided to head down to Talladega to see the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (IMSHoF), and take a track tour. On the way we made a couple of stops, the first was the Kymulga Grist Mill and Covered Bridge in Childersburg. The Mill was closed but we walked around the grounds. It was built in 1864 by a Confederate Army Captain who died before completing it, so his wife hired a contractor to finish it. There is no water wheel typical of grist mills. Instead it uses 3 underwater turbines to power the grinding stones. Until recently, grits and corn meal made at the mill were sold at local stores in Childersburg.

The covered bridge was renovated in the 60s, so it lacks the character we saw in the Vermont bridges in 2007.

The next stop was the “Walk of Fame”, in Talladega honoring Davey Allison. The park has plaques of drivers, and others who impacted stock car racing, It was OK, but not a destination.

The Museum and Hall of Fame, along with the track tour, were the highlight of the day. The museum had a large collection of early to late model year stock cars. The one thing that stood out to us was the difference in cockpit safety and driver protection from the 50’s to now. Those guys were nuts to drive those older cars. The following is a car driven on the Daytona Beach track in 1948. It’s a Mercury 8 driven by Sam Packard.

There was a late model Jeff Gordon Monte Carlo for sale, $18K. It could be raced in ARCA. It’s the one to the right. Hmmmm…

The track tour was interesting. The Talladega track is about 2.7 miles in length. Each straight is a mile long. The turns are banked at 33 degrees. To get an idea of what that is, the tour van could not enter the banking as it would tip over, rolling down to the center of the track. It would need to go close to 100 mph to create enough centrifugal force to stay on the track, When standing on the flat in the center of the track, the outside rail is 40 feet over your head.

Buddy Baker broke 200 mph in a Dodge in 1970. While speeds are in that range today, restrictor plates keep the cars from producing their maximum power, limiting (intended) speed to less than 200.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

There were three things we wanted to do today. The first was Natural Bridge, a rock formation created from erosion said to be the largest rock arch in the US east of the Rockies.

Some of the rocks had an interesting surface texture.

Our second stop was to be Dismals Canyon, a National Historic Landmark, with a hiking trail through a canyon with interesting formations and plant life. After a one hour drive searching for it. Garmin couldn’t find it and Mapquest took us to the wrong place. We finally get to the gate to find it closed!! Only open on weekends after Labor Day. All info we had indicated they were supposed to be open. A definite “Wally World” moment!

So we headed to Mooresville, not far from Huntsville. Billed as the “Williamsburg” of Alabama, it is a small town inhabited by maybe 50 people living in homes built in the early 19th century. Many of the resident’s families have been there for generations. The clocked stopped here around 1818.

Although you can’t tour these homes, a walk around town (its only about 5 square blocks) is an experience. They have the oldest operating post office in Alabama.