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.

The Mooresville Brick Church with Greek Revival architecture was built in 1839.  It was of Presbyterian denomination.

 

A few of the other homes in Mooresville.

For our faithful followers back home, it was 90F here today!

Our Adventure–First Leg

Saturday September 13

Our first day was spent driving toward Louisville.  We had a slightly late start because it was raining until about 8AM.  I have got to comment on Michigan’s crappy roads.  I-75 south of Detroit is terribly bumpy and pocked with half filled potholes.  You really notice it when you cross into Ohio, which is pretty smooth.  The difference…they were rebuilding close to 100 miles of I-75, oh, and did I mention, gas there was $3.14/gal, 40 cents cheaper than Michigan.

The destination tonight is Camp Wal-Mart off I-265 south of Louisville.

Along the way was the big hill as you enter Kentucky.  In 2006 when we had the GMC 454 van and the Prowler trailer, it was 40 mph, 2nd gear, and 250F coolant temp.  Today it was a non-event, 4th gear 50-55 mph. We love the way this Ford tows, and almost 11 mpg!  On I-265 we saluted as we passed the Truckie’s birthplace.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Today’s destination is Cullman, Alabama.  The 300 miles or so went pretty well except in Nashville where road construction and traffic created a big back-up.  We are at the Cullman Campground, a smaller campground really back off in the boonies, but seems pretty nice.

After getting situated’ we went into Cullman to see the Ave Maria Grotto.  It is located on the grounds of the St. Bernard Abbey.  It consists of a collection of miniature replicas of cities, churches, and biblical scenes all hand carved or cast from sand, stone, cement, and various discarded materials.  They were all created by Brother Joseph Zoetl from Landshut, Bavaria from 1892 until his death in 1961.  The collection was moved to it’s current site in 1934.

These sculptures are amazing!  There are hundreds of items.  Considering they were built in his free time, Brother Joseph put in some very long days.  A few pictures follow.

Amazing aren’t they!  This last one is a statue of Brother Joseph. 

Hartwick Pines State Park

Saturday August 2, 2014
From Cadillac it’s about 70 miles to Hartwick Pines, located off I-75 north of Grayling.  This is lumber country.  White pine was logged from northern Michigan from mid-1800s to early 1900s.  The state park lies on a track of virgin pine bought by Karen Hartwick in 1927 to protect it from being logged, although some of the area was logged.

She donated the land to the state to honor her late husband Edmund, who died in WWI.  In 1934 the Conservation Corps built the logging museum.  What attracted us here is the relatively modern full hookup campground, one of only three FHU CGs in Michigan; and the logging history.  Probably to compare to what we learned in Tillamook, OR last year.

The park is really nice.  Our site was asphalt with a good deal of growth separating us from our neighbors.  After the zoo at Mitchell, it is appreciated.
After getting setup we visited the logging museum and walked a 1 1/2 mile trail through some virgin pine.  A big tree here is a white pine about 2 to 3 feet in diameter.  Unfortunately many of these virgin trees are dying, in distress, or have fallen.  It appeared to us that maple, hemlock, and beech were taking over the area.

 

By comparison, in Tillamook, little of the virgin Douglas Fir trees exist due to logging and forest fires.  Oregon has been reforesting for the last 40 to 50 years, and these trees are in the 2 to 3 ft diameter.  However, a few stumps and snags suggest the virgin trees were 4 ft and up in diameter.

The logging museum did a good job of interpreting the life of a logger in northern Michigan during 1850 and 1915.  Note that the time frame is about 50 years before Oregon’s logging heyday.  There is no doubt this was dangerous work.  Medical help was nonexistent and the winters here are brutal.  They logged year round.

 

Sunday August 3, 2014

Today we started out on a “scenic drive” within the State Park which took us into areas that were logged but also still contained some virgin pine.  Well as you can see in the picture, it was a single lane dirt road.  We were praying not to encounter another vehicle.  The stuff we put the truckie through!

The “road” or more like a trail was not as nifty as we have seen, but guess we have been to too many places.  We did encounter what we think was an old logging camp.  When logging stopped in an area the men gathered their equipment and left.  Sometimes they would dissemble their buildings, but often not.  This one did not stand the test of time very well.

Back on the main road, we drove over to the two small lakes inside the park, Bright and Star.  They are unique in that they are very small and very deep, about 30 feet; and the water is crystal clear.  They were formed by the Wisconsin Glacier and have no feed or drain streams.  The State Park plants trout in these lakes.  From the fishing pier Dan tossed a couple spinner baits; no luck.



Some other pictures follow:

As you know we are attracted to natures details, and love to take pictures of them.

Monday August 4, 2014

One of the reasons for visiting the Hartwick Pines area was to learn more about the Civilian Conservation Corps.  Dan’s father was a member of the CCC in the early thirties, and was assigned to a camp in northern Michigan.  The logging museum was built by CCC, and we learned of a museum in North Higgins Lake State Park that had many photos and records about the CCC, so that was today’s destination.

In the way of background, if not familiar with the CCC, it was part of FDR’s New Deal to get young men to work with the objective of restoring and preserving the US natural resources. It existed between 1933 and 1942.

About 100,000 young men between the ages of 16 and about 25 were employed in northern Michigan for reforestation and improving state parks.  Dan’s father joined to provide necessary income to his family.  The men were allowed to keep about $5 per month while the rest, about $30, was sent home.

 

Unfortunately, we were unable to find any information here about his service, but did find other resources to maybe help in our research.

The CCC museum was interesting, but a big part of the facility was the explanation of what these guys did to get these trees replanted.  We had no idea what was involved.  It is a multistage process to get from pine cones to seedlings and takes months to complete.  The seedlings are 2-3 years old before they can be planted.

 

The cones are roasted, seeds separated, “dewinged”, then planted in beds. They have to be watered and protected from birds and critters.  They are then packaged for shipment and then sent to areas for planting.  White, Red, and Jack Pine, and White Spruce are the primary types of trees.  Today it is the companies’ responsibility to reforest the areas they lumber.

 

Tomorrow we head home.  Stay tuned for our next adventure.  An email will be forthcoming to tell you when and where we’re headed.

Mitchell State Park

July 27, 2014 Sunday

We arrived here at Mitchell about 1PM and got setup.  The weather was sunny and warm.  We put the Bote together, launched it and docked it at the seawall.  Shortly after doing so the wind kicked up and the sky darkened.  A thunderstorm followed with big rain and lightning.  It stopped long enough to grill a couple hamburgers but then the rain started again.  It continued with on and off storms until dark.

July 28, 2014 Monday

Cold, cloudy and a brisk NW wind greeted us this morning,  Thought we would try a bit of fishing, but stayed close to the shore.  It was slow, and only managed a few pan fish.  We called it a day around 4:30.  Cooling down big time.  Had to use the heater to stay warm.

Following are a couple of sunsets over Mitchell Lake.

 

 

 

 

 

July 29, 2014 Tuesday

It was calm and quite cool this morning.  We bundled up and went for some more fish.  We ventured down toward some condos on the north shore of Cadillac Lake where we had some luck last year.  Other than a bitty perch, nothing, so at 1PM we gave up.  We travelled into town to visit the Cadillac Visitor Bureau for info about a trail along the Manistee River.  We finished off the afternoon at the Wexford Library for use of their WiFi to get email.

July 30, 2014 Wednesday

Since fishing was a bust, we decided to hike some of the Manistee River trail.  It is a total of 20 miles in length, but wanted to see a waterfall and suspension bridge at the northern 2 miles or so.  Both were below the Hodenpyl Dam.  The plan was to park near the dam, walk to the bridge then hike or drive to the waterfall. When we arrived at the dam, it was gated with “No Trespassing and No Parking” signs.

So we decided to drive to the access point for the waterfall.  This journey took us down about 4 miles of dirt road, actually a 2 tire track path.  We entered the trail through a gate.   After about a mile in, we came to the falls.  What a disappointment, this thing was really puny, not even the 8 foot the VB info touted.  Oh well, now we started our hike to the bridge, about 2 miles away.

The river is quite scenic.  It lies within the Manistee National Forrest.  Many people canoe/kayak down, but getting back is a problem, unless you have a friend willing to pick you up at the lower end.  You have to travel all the way to Red Bridge as there are no access roads close.  The area is closed to commercial use so canoe liveries and pick up are nonexistent.

The bridge was pretty cool.  It provides the only access across the Manistee to the North Trail.  From locals we spoke with we found it was possible to exit the trail through the “No Trespassing” gate and that we could actually park there; like next time???

 

 

That was good info as it cut our return hike in half.  So next time, forget the waterfall, unless you get here in spring, and park at the power plant for the short walk to the bridge.  Make sure you park away from the gate so as not to block passage through the gate.  The property is owned by Consumer’s. Power.  Round trip, about 6 miles!  We’ll sleep well tonight!

A couple of our favorite pictures follow:

 

 

 

 

 

July 31, 2014 Thursday

It looked like a pretty good day to try some fishing today, and we did pretty well catching a pike, bass, perch, some bluegills, and a rock bass.  After some fish cleaning and an early dinner, we headed into town for Cadillac’s Jazz in the Park.  The concert was enjoyable.  The quartet played some old classics, probably because of the white hair in the audience.

August 1, 2014 Friday

The place is getting zooey.  Starting last night and into this morning a steady string of campers were arriving.  By days end, there were very few sites open, and this place holds over 200 campers.  The wind was calm and the lake was dead flat so we thought we’d try our luck fishing.  We couldn’t get anything to bite, and as midday approached the boats and water skis activity were really churning things.  So we motored up to head back… except for a minor problem, Dan didn’t put gas in the motor…hmmm.  Yep, we rowed back the last mile.

August 2, 2014 Saturday

Time to go, and not too soon. We are not big on crowds, so we look forward to our next stop at Hartwick Pines State Park.