Historic cabin for rent at Tannehill
Slave cemetery. Paul's in the background rearranging flowers at a gravesite.
Hike to the cemetery. Look at the sign. The hike turned out to be 1.7 miles, not .7Maybe this is what is meant by a "country mile". They're a lot longer than city miles.
Dogwood, Daisy's favorite flower
Old general store moved to Tannehill along with the other buildings.
Camping at the creekside
Something's happening inside me. Something's getting large and I don't know what to do with it. Thanks, Maxiderm!
Dogwood, Daisy's favorite flower
Old general store moved to Tannehill along with the other buildings.
Camping at the creekside
Something's happening inside me. Something's getting large and I don't know what to do with it. Thanks, Maxiderm! During this endless road trip we have stayed in RV parks that have ranged from the resort-like with swimming pools, hot tubs and lush landscaping to the downright grim. Little more than low-end parking lots. But the park we stumbled upon after our tornado near-miss turned out to be the best of the lot.
Off I-20 a few miles west of Birmingham we pulled off the road last Friday night following a small sign that said, "Camping". We were desperate because it was getting late and dark but it proved to be a good move for once. We drove up a lonely country road to a spot called Tannehill, an Alabama state historic park.
This part of Alabama is rich in iron ore and at one time Birmingham was the capital of America's iron industry. Yep. In fact, you'll find the world's tallest cast iron structure in Birmingham--a 110-foot high statue of Vulcan, the god of fire. Or Vulcanized tires or something. We don't know what.
Twenty miles west of downtown Birmingham, Tannehill was the site of a huge foundry that produced pots, pans, skillets, cannons and cannon balls for the Confederacy. That is until Union troops attacked and destroyed it. Only fifteen days later the Civil War ended.
When the Tannehill foundry was up and running, most of the laborers were slaves. One of the more interesting sites here is a cemetery containing the remains of 400 slaves who literally died slaving in 15-to-18-hour days. What strikes you is the tragic irony of it all--these slaves forced to make the munitions that were being used to defend the south and keep them enslaved.
The original buildings at Tannehill ended up in the ash heap. But old authentic log cabins were moved to the park site creating a small town, like those you'd find in the hollers of Alabama. Don't have an RV or tent? No problem. Many of the cabins are for rent. This reminded me of camping next to historic New Salem, Illinois, a similar spot in the midwest.
Our RV site, like many others here, backed up to a creek that ran through the park and at one time provided the power for the foundries.
We discovered that these RV parks are something of a crapshoot. Even if you can find them in one of the campground directories, they will invariably describe themselves as very appealing when in fact some are far less than that. Word of mouth, asking other RVers before you set out, is probably the best way to find a pleasing park. But since the whole thing is a voyage of discovery, an adventure and a great way to see America, we ain't complaining.
After almost six weeks on the road, we could easily continue for six months. Which we may very well do after we straighten out our mail situation in Sedona.
One funny note about Daisy at Tannehill. We found her very quiet under the RV on the leash chewing something. She wasn't about to give it up. But when I pulled it from her mouth it was, as you can imagine, something she should not have been eating. Not a condom but something close to it: a package of Maxiderm, the "male enhancer". We don't know if it was full or empty but by the time we pulled it out of her mouth it was in shreds. Probably wouldn't have done her much good anyway since she's female. However, as we mentioned in a previous blog, she is hot to trot. That's our Daisy. And it's all about the damn dog.
Off I-20 a few miles west of Birmingham we pulled off the road last Friday night following a small sign that said, "Camping". We were desperate because it was getting late and dark but it proved to be a good move for once. We drove up a lonely country road to a spot called Tannehill, an Alabama state historic park.
This part of Alabama is rich in iron ore and at one time Birmingham was the capital of America's iron industry. Yep. In fact, you'll find the world's tallest cast iron structure in Birmingham--a 110-foot high statue of Vulcan, the god of fire. Or Vulcanized tires or something. We don't know what.
Twenty miles west of downtown Birmingham, Tannehill was the site of a huge foundry that produced pots, pans, skillets, cannons and cannon balls for the Confederacy. That is until Union troops attacked and destroyed it. Only fifteen days later the Civil War ended.
When the Tannehill foundry was up and running, most of the laborers were slaves. One of the more interesting sites here is a cemetery containing the remains of 400 slaves who literally died slaving in 15-to-18-hour days. What strikes you is the tragic irony of it all--these slaves forced to make the munitions that were being used to defend the south and keep them enslaved.
The original buildings at Tannehill ended up in the ash heap. But old authentic log cabins were moved to the park site creating a small town, like those you'd find in the hollers of Alabama. Don't have an RV or tent? No problem. Many of the cabins are for rent. This reminded me of camping next to historic New Salem, Illinois, a similar spot in the midwest.
Our RV site, like many others here, backed up to a creek that ran through the park and at one time provided the power for the foundries.
We discovered that these RV parks are something of a crapshoot. Even if you can find them in one of the campground directories, they will invariably describe themselves as very appealing when in fact some are far less than that. Word of mouth, asking other RVers before you set out, is probably the best way to find a pleasing park. But since the whole thing is a voyage of discovery, an adventure and a great way to see America, we ain't complaining.
After almost six weeks on the road, we could easily continue for six months. Which we may very well do after we straighten out our mail situation in Sedona.
One funny note about Daisy at Tannehill. We found her very quiet under the RV on the leash chewing something. She wasn't about to give it up. But when I pulled it from her mouth it was, as you can imagine, something she should not have been eating. Not a condom but something close to it: a package of Maxiderm, the "male enhancer". We don't know if it was full or empty but by the time we pulled it out of her mouth it was in shreds. Probably wouldn't have done her much good anyway since she's female. However, as we mentioned in a previous blog, she is hot to trot. That's our Daisy. And it's all about the damn dog.
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