More Adventures and Misadventures in Alabama
Birmingham, AL - Tuesday, May 31. 10pm.
It's been another long and tiring (but in a good way!) day in Alabama. We started off the day where we left off yesterday in Fort Payne in the northeastern corner of the state. We started with a revenge trip to Desoto Falls. This time we tried a different trailhead to get to the elusive base of the falls... and were foiled yet again! Yet again the trail led to a rocky perch high up on the canyon rim. We had a great long-distance view of the falls, just no plausible way down to the sandy edge of the bowl below.
Once back at the car we spotted what was probably the right trail to take to get to the bottom of the canyon. It forked off a different side of the small trailhead parking lot we were at, disappeared through a grass thicket, and reappeared on the other side before disappearing back into the forest. We were too tired to try the same falls a third time so we headed off in search of the next adventure.
Our next adventure took us to Russell Cave National Monument, in northern Alabama just a whiff south of the Tennessee state line. This park is home to an extensive cavern system were remains of native people have been found. As such it's an archaeological site so we couldn't go hiking any further into the caves than the entrance. Instead we took a gratuitous hike up the mountainside in the oppressive midday heat.
Even with two hikes under out belt it was still early in the afternoon. We had no need to be in Birmingham until about 7- our primary plans were to enjoy a nice dinner there after checking in at the hotel- so we decided to take a scenic drive via Huntsville. Because, why not? Plus tiny Huntsville is one of the homes of the U.S. space program and currently the location of Space Camp.
En route to Space Camp we found lost luggage. Y'know how when your bag doesn't appear after a flight you wonder if it's gone to the moon? Well, likely it will end up an hour from Space Camp, at the Lost Baggage Center in Scottsboro, AL.
LBC is a private company that buys unclaimed luggage turned over by the airlines. They buy it bulk, by the bag, and turn around and sell the contents. Basically they're like a really consignment store, except that none of the items were put there on purpose by their former owners. And it's weird what kind of things people have lost. I mean, it's understandable to find kinds of clothing there: suits, dresses, shirts, pants, shoes; for people of all ages. That's a lot of what you lose if you lose your suitcase. But TVs? First of all, who packs a TV in their suitcase? And then second, forgets to claim it?
Some people rave about the LBC as if it's a great place to find amazing bargains. I doubted that going in.... It looked too much like a pawn shop, where the people running it almost always know more about the value of the items than the people shopping. And likely there is an ecosystem of local shoppers who scoop up the best deals by knowing the schedule for when new deliveries arrive and being there to pick through them the moment they appear. We did find a few small bargains, though. Hawk bought a few small pieces of jewelry. I bought a pair of backup sunglasses for $5 and a few books at $1.50 to $3 each.
Once back on the road we drove to Huntsville... and straight past Space Camp. If we'd planned better in advance we would've made time to visit the NASA museum there, but we didn't.
We did roll in to Birmingham more or less on schedule. Not that we really even had a schedule, anyway. We simply wanted to get there in reasonable time for dinner. Which we did. We checked in at the historic Redmont Hotel downtown, tossed our bags in the room, and took showers to wash off the heat and sweat of the day.
Birmingham is a pleasantly walkable city. ...If you don't mind walking in the oppressive heat and humidity, that is. Fortunately there was a Mexican restaurant with awesome reviews 4 blocks from our hotel, so it wasn't a long walk. And the food lived up to the raves. We ate well, strolled around town a bit more in the warm evening, had a few nightcaps, and turned in.
It's been another long and tiring (but in a good way!) day in Alabama. We started off the day where we left off yesterday in Fort Payne in the northeastern corner of the state. We started with a revenge trip to Desoto Falls. This time we tried a different trailhead to get to the elusive base of the falls... and were foiled yet again! Yet again the trail led to a rocky perch high up on the canyon rim. We had a great long-distance view of the falls, just no plausible way down to the sandy edge of the bowl below.
Once back at the car we spotted what was probably the right trail to take to get to the bottom of the canyon. It forked off a different side of the small trailhead parking lot we were at, disappeared through a grass thicket, and reappeared on the other side before disappearing back into the forest. We were too tired to try the same falls a third time so we headed off in search of the next adventure.
Our next adventure took us to Russell Cave National Monument, in northern Alabama just a whiff south of the Tennessee state line. This park is home to an extensive cavern system were remains of native people have been found. As such it's an archaeological site so we couldn't go hiking any further into the caves than the entrance. Instead we took a gratuitous hike up the mountainside in the oppressive midday heat.
Even with two hikes under out belt it was still early in the afternoon. We had no need to be in Birmingham until about 7- our primary plans were to enjoy a nice dinner there after checking in at the hotel- so we decided to take a scenic drive via Huntsville. Because, why not? Plus tiny Huntsville is one of the homes of the U.S. space program and currently the location of Space Camp.
En route to Space Camp we found lost luggage. Y'know how when your bag doesn't appear after a flight you wonder if it's gone to the moon? Well, likely it will end up an hour from Space Camp, at the Lost Baggage Center in Scottsboro, AL.
LBC is a private company that buys unclaimed luggage turned over by the airlines. They buy it bulk, by the bag, and turn around and sell the contents. Basically they're like a really consignment store, except that none of the items were put there on purpose by their former owners. And it's weird what kind of things people have lost. I mean, it's understandable to find kinds of clothing there: suits, dresses, shirts, pants, shoes; for people of all ages. That's a lot of what you lose if you lose your suitcase. But TVs? First of all, who packs a TV in their suitcase? And then second, forgets to claim it?
Some people rave about the LBC as if it's a great place to find amazing bargains. I doubted that going in.... It looked too much like a pawn shop, where the people running it almost always know more about the value of the items than the people shopping. And likely there is an ecosystem of local shoppers who scoop up the best deals by knowing the schedule for when new deliveries arrive and being there to pick through them the moment they appear. We did find a few small bargains, though. Hawk bought a few small pieces of jewelry. I bought a pair of backup sunglasses for $5 and a few books at $1.50 to $3 each.
Once back on the road we drove to Huntsville... and straight past Space Camp. If we'd planned better in advance we would've made time to visit the NASA museum there, but we didn't.
We did roll in to Birmingham more or less on schedule. Not that we really even had a schedule, anyway. We simply wanted to get there in reasonable time for dinner. Which we did. We checked in at the historic Redmont Hotel downtown, tossed our bags in the room, and took showers to wash off the heat and sweat of the day.
Birmingham is a pleasantly walkable city. ...If you don't mind walking in the oppressive heat and humidity, that is. Fortunately there was a Mexican restaurant with awesome reviews 4 blocks from our hotel, so it wasn't a long walk. And the food lived up to the raves. We ate well, strolled around town a bit more in the warm evening, had a few nightcaps, and turned in.