Today we took hwy 72 east through Scottsboro, stopping at Taco Bell for lunch, which was not a good idea. Made both of us have stomach problems later that day. I ordered the Nachos Supreme and Tea. Hubby ordered the $5 meal deal.
We rode on to Stevenson, Alabama, to see the Stevenson Train Depot and Hotel, but the museum was closed.
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| Stevenson Depot and Hotel
Reverse:
After the war, the depot and hotel continued as the center of life in Stevenson. Trains stopped here at mealtimes, and passengers ate in the hotel dining rooms. Other passengers spent the night here; the hotel is so close to the tracks that it was said the trains "opened the hotel windows and pulled the covers off the beds." Generations recalled the final passenger
Departures and arrivals here are often sad and poignant, especially during wartime.
A group of citizens saved the depot from destruction during the Bicentennial in 1976 when the last railroad office closed. The depot was renovated for use as a community museum, which opened in June 1982.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places 5/13/1974
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| Stevenson Depot and Hotel
A one-story depot building was constructed here in 1853 when the railroad was first laid through Stevenson. That building burned after the Civil War and was replaced by the present brick depot and hotel in 1872.
During the Civil War, Stevenson was a hub of activity. Union and Confederate troops skirmished here, and the town changed hands more than once, though Stevenson mostly lay under Union control. Troops occupied the city, and a large refugee camp sprang up between the depot and Ft Harker, a quarter-mile east.
Tens of thousands of soldiers, horses, wagons, prisoners of war, refugees, wounded men, and others passed through Stevenson during the late summer and fall of 1863, before, during, and after the Battles of Chattanooga and Chickamauga. Harper's Weekly, an influential newspaper of the time, noting the juncture of East-West and North-South rail lines here, called Stevenson "One of the seven most important cities in the South."
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| Stevenson Train Depot |
The sign outside said 'open Monday-Friday, 8–3:30 P.M.,' but it was closed.
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| Stevenson Depot Museum Hours: Mon-Fri, 8:00 A.M.–3:30 P.M. |
I took a few pictures, and we stopped at the Co-op next to the depot for some more seeds and supplies to deter the groundhogs and rabbits.
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| Co-Op |
We rode through Stevenson Park, where we saw an old cabin, a steam engine, birding trails, a ballpark, and a mural about the Tornado of April 27, 2011, that hit the surrounding areas.
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| 100-year-old Cabin |
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| Steam engine |
We took hwy 117 to Desoto Park, stopping in Menton. We stopped at
Desota Falls, where we walked down the steps that led to the large boulder near the falls, but we were very disappointed because the falls were almost dried up. Water was falling, but not in significant quantities. The damned area was full of people swimming, and two men were trying to push a log over the dam.
Several people came to see the falls, and a few walked further down the walkway, but we stopped at the top.
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| Desota Falls |
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| Swimming at Desota Falls |
We rode to Fort Payne, stopping at Mayfield Ice Creamery for one scoop of Rocky Road and one of Cherry Vanilla, which we shared.
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| Mayfield Ice Creamery |
We saw the Junkasorus along the way, then rode through Fort Payne without stopping.
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| Junkasorus |
We took Hwy 35 back to Scottsboro, stopping at a park overlooking the Tennessee River, which was a beautiful sight. The park was next to several large homes.
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| Train Depot in Fort Payne |
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| Weathington Park is dedicated to the perpetual Public use of the citizens of the Town of Section by Scott & Patty Weathington and gratefully received on behalf of its citizens by Bob Matthews, Mayor of 2012 |
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| Weathington Park overlook |
We crossed the bridge at Section, where we could see the Bellefonte Plant.
From Scottsboro, we traveled to Kroger's in Huntsville to fill up with gas. They usually have the best mid-grade gas prices.
We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Athens for dinner.
My husband ordered a bowl of soup and a hamburger, but he was unable to finish either. I ordered a child's vegetable plate of pinto beans, turnip greens, chow chow, and cornbread. I ate the crust off of one of the cornbreads, finished the beans, and left about half the greens.
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| Hamburger |
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| Pinto Beans, Turnip Greens |
We were home by 7 P.M.
My stomach hurt all night, but I'm not sure if it was the Nachos Supreme, the beans, or both.
Visit a small town in Alabama!
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