2022 Feb 1, Day trip to Lake Guntersville Birding Guntersville, AL

 Today, we rode to Lake Guntersville, stopping at Lake Guntersville Park on Sunset Drive. 

We stopped at McDonald's in Decatur for a couple of apple pies and drinks before heading to Guntersville. 

We sat down on a bench near the water's edge, and then I heard this pecking sound, I looked up, and to my surprise, I saw a red-headed woodpecker pecking on a rotten tree. He flew from the rotten tree to a Sweetgum tree. I followed it from tree to tree. Then I spotted a sparrow scratching in the dirt for food when it saw me, it flew up into the trees.

Red-headed Woodpecker 

Another of my favorite birds, the downy woodpecker, was aimlessly pecking away on a rotted stump. It was hard getting a picture because the downy was in a shadowed area. I did get a couple of good pictures.

Downy Woodpecker 

We also saw several Canada Geese, white and spotted ducks, and lots of white terns.

We could hear several fish crows above in the trees.  Also saw and heard several bluebirds. 

We rode to Marshall County Park, where we saw several ducks and a great gray heron. We also saw a marker of Major Paramoris Federal Bombardment of Guntersville. 

Major Paramores Federal Bombardment of Guntersville. 

The hill to the immediate left was the site of the 1862 shelling of Guntersville during the War Between the States.
On July 28, 1862, a Federal force under the command of Major J.W. Paramore placed two Parrots guns on the hill and shelled Guntersville from 7 a.mm to 6 p.m. Captain Cyrus Loomis' First Michigan Battery carried out the shelling, which sent more than one hundred of Guntersville's women and children to the ravine south of town for protection.
The rifled Parrots guns fired six-pound projectiles greater distances than older smooth-bore cannons and enabled the Yankees to reach across the Tennessee River. Trenches had to be dug to steady the Parrot's guns, and they can still be seen on top of the hill.
Most of the shelling concentrated on cotton warehouses and boat construction facilities south of Henry Island, now inundated. The Federals attempted to send an attractive force across the river but failed. 
As a result of the bombardment, several homes near the riverbank were burned, and many other homes suffered damage from the shells, including the Nickels and Gilbreath residences. 

Fortunately, both these houses still stand today.
The Chattanooga Daily Rebel reported that the shelling resulted in only two deaths. One was the wife of military General Samuel King Rayburn.

We left Guntersville and rode to Hartselle, stopping at Krogers Grocery for some bottled Mountain Dews and other items. 

We ate a late lunch at O'Bryan's, where I ordered a sirloin Steak with sweet potato and diet coke.

We came home by way of the old paper mill road, where we saw a red-tail hawk.

We also stopped at Wheeler Dam, where we saw several American White Pelicans floating down the Tennessee River. We also saw a couple of Gray herons flying overhead. 

American White Pelicans 

It was a great day for birding. 

2022 Feb 1, Day Trip to Guntersville, Alabama

Today, the hubby and I are going on an adventure to Guntersville. 

I had been told that there was an eagle nest along Lake Guntersville Park on Sunset Drive. 

We stopped at McDonald's along the way for a couple of apple pies and Diet Coke.

We saw several people at the park with their cameras with large lenses sitting on tripods, watching and waiting for the eagle to leave the nest. 

I had to use the restroom and went in search of one, but I did not find one, so we left.

We rode further down into the park, and there we found restrooms. Along the way, I spotted several ducks, geese, and seagulls along the waterfront, so we stopped. 

Ducks

People were walking, jogging, and feeding the waterfowl. 

I started taking pictures of the seagulls, geese, and ducks.  I spotted several sparrows scratching in the dirt, looking for food. 

One of my favorite birds is the Downy Woodpecker. 

Downy Woodpecker

I  heard a pecking, and this downy woodpecker was going to town on the side of a rotten tree. It was hard to get a good picture because he was in the shade most of the time, but I did get a couple of good pictures when he stopped pecking right before he flew away.

Hubby spotted a red-headed woodpecker. I was super excited to see a Redheaded Woodpecker, for I had only seen one in the wild. 

Red-headed Woodpecker 

I took pictures of the colorful Bluebirds.

You will not see a bluebird at your backyard feeders. 

Bluebird 

I took many pictures today, but I didn't get one of the bald eagles. 

That was okay because I got one of the red-headed woodpeckers. 

We rode to O'Bryan's in Hartselle for a late lunch. I ordered steak and sweet potato. 

We also stopped at Krogers, where we purchased a few groceries, a bouquet of flowers, and a potting plant.

The flowers that we bought at Krogers

We looked for hawks and bald eagles along the powerline near the old Papermill. We spotted a couple of red-tailed hawks. Didn't see any bald eagles. 

We stopped at Wheeler Dam, where we saw several Pelicans, cormorants, and a gray heron landing at the substation. 

Gray Heron 

2021 Feb 2, Day trip to Guntersville, Alabama & Ground Hog Day

Hubby and I rode to Guntersville via Hartselle. We were in Muscle Shoals, so we took 72 to 157 through Moulton, turning 36 into Hartselle. We saw Oh! Bryans is my hubby's favorite place to eat. We had planned to eat at Libby's in Priceville, but since we had taken a different route and would not go past Libby's, we decided to stop in Hartselle. The food was great at a reasonable price. We like to take the back roads when traveling because you never know what treasures you may find. I loved the way that they had decorated Oh! Bryans. At the front where you check out was the front of an old car(57' Chevy), and not far away was the backend of two other cars used for waiting benches. If you ever are in Hartselle, you need to check out OH! Bryans.

 O'Bryan's Hartselle 

Eating steak, sweet potato, and toast

Salad Bar food

I ordered the sirloin steak with sweet potato and a glass of water with lemon. Hubby ordered a Delmonico steak and baked potato with salad. After lunch, we rode to Guntersville State Park, where we saw several deer. Stopped at the pier in Guntersville, where we saw hundreds of Double-crested Comomorants and Sea Gulls. We stopped at Ollie's in Madison and bought a couple scissors. We stopped at Russell Stovers in Athens, where hubby and I both ordered a small waffle cone with ice cream. (Rockie Road). Then on to Aldi for a few groceries, then home. The sun came out, but the temperature hung around 42 degrees all day. After a long cold outing, I was ready to warm up, so I climbed into my warm bed and fell asleep.

flock of birds

Deer

2020 Jan 28, Day Trip to Guntersville, Alabama Parks, & Harbors

Hubby and I rode to Guntersville, stopping at the Guntersville Dam and looking for waterfowl, but we did not see any.

We stopped at Guntersville Harbor & Guntersville Municipal Park, where we saw hundreds of seagulls,& double-crested Cormorants.

We stopped at Dollar General for sweets.

It was getting near lunchtime, so we rode to Winzell’s Oyster House, where hubby and I  split a Sea Food Broil. $26.69 meal, which consisted of premium white fish, oysters, shrimp, stuffed crab, and scallops.

After a delicious meal, we rode to Guntersville State Park.

Double-breasted Cormorants 

Double-breasted Cormorants 

Seagulls 

Lunch at Winzell's  

Seafood Boil

 (12 shrimp, 4 oysters, 1 fish, 1 crab cake, & 5 scallops) 

A couple of deer come in for a closer look.

Lazy Billy goat

We rode to Lake Guntersville, which is located on the banks of the Tennessee River, where we saw hundreds of American Coots.

We saw a herd of deer grazing on both sides of the road near the campground area. 

We also saw an area with a small enclosed pond along with friendly petting animals such as donkeys, emus, and goats. 

We were hoping to see an eagle or two but saw none. 

The park at Guntersville was desolate, too cold for swimming, but a few were camping.

My sister-in-law had a transmission put in her car, so hubby and I rode to Decatur, and hubby drove the car home. 

I stopped at Jack's, on my way home, in Decatur for a couple of strawberry cheesecake pies. 

Had a pleasant day in Guntersville.

2019 Jan 7, Day Trip to Guntersville, Alabama State Park

Hubby and I rode to Guntersville, but before we started our trip, we stopped to purchase our lottery tickets for the week and to get our weekly B12 Shots. We stopped at Foodland and purchased two canned drinks and again at McDonald's in Rogersville for two apple pies. 

What a way to start the day!

We traveled US 72 E to I65 S to I565 E to US 431 SE to Guntersville. 

We arrived in Guntersville around 11:30 AM, stopping at Lake Guntersville to take pictures of 100s of Cormorants and seagulls that were perched on the piers. 

Gulls

Cormorants

At 12:40PM, we stopped at KFC and ate from the buffet. 

I chose a chicken leg and wing, fried okra, and collard greens

After a hardy lunch, we began our adventure to Guntersville State Park.

We stopped at Guntersville State Park Birding Site #34 to take a few pictures.

Signs there said that we might see Signature Species, waterfowl, wading birds, shorebirds, and Birds of Prey sadly, we did not see a single bird at site #34.

We rode up the hill past the State Park Cabins and Lodge and down the hill to the Campgrounds, beach, and pavilion.

On our way down, we saw a doe hiding in the brush.

At the State Park Lagoon, we saw two goats and 3 Emus.

Five Donkeys 

The beach was desolate, but there were hundreds of American Coots and gulls. 

As we were leaving the beach, we saw these two do.
They came right up to the car and stopped for a picture
They were still there as we drove away.

We left Guntersville State Park around 2:30PM and headed to Bucks Pocket.
We missed our turn and rode 8 miles too far. 
Turned on our GPS, and it took us down several winding roads.

Waterfall @ Bucks Pocket State Park

We walked down to the overlook at Bucks Pocket State Park, where we saw a waterfall in the distance. 
We walked back to the car, and hubby plugged our home address into the GPS, which led us down this winding road that crossed the bridgeless South Sauty Creek. The creek water came from the waterfall we had seen earlier. Like so many backcountry roads in Tennessee, there was no bridge. There was only a poured concrete foundation where the creek flowed over the concrete. The road to the Ranger station was closed because of all the rain. Hubby said he saw tire tracks, so he felt the bridge was safe to cross. 

We stopped at Weathington Park Overlook Sections, Alabama
It overlooks the Tennessee River

The sun was setting as we entered Scottsboro, and a few clouds had drifted in, giving us a spot of rain.

It was getting dark when we stopped on the East side of Huntsville at McDonald's for dinner. 

We stopped at Dicks and Cabela's in Huntsville to look at Scopes.

We talked to a couple of employees at Dicks about scopes and camera lenses.

We watched an employee feed the fish at Cabela's.

We arrived home around 8:30PM. 

I was exhausted from all the traveling, took a shower, put on my PJs, climbed into bed, and was asleep in no time. 

On Feb 22, three young people drove across this South Sauty Creek, and their jeep was swept into the floodwaters two of the young people were rescued, and as of March 1, the third Koy Spears has not been found. 

Tennessee and Alabama have been flooded with rain. The ranger's station at this location was closed when we crossed South Sauty Creek in my opinion, the creek should have been closed. Thank God the creek was not roaring that day, but the creek was up, and you could not see the concrete. 

🚙2017 January 31, Tuesday, Day Trip to Guntersville

We left home around 9:00AM, stopping at Helping Hands Clinic for a B-12 shot.

We stopped at Foodland to get a Diet Coke and a Diet Mt Dew canned drink out of the vending machine.

Next, we stopped at Dollar General for a package of Fig Newtons made with real fruit and no high fructose corn syrup only 110 calories.

Being later in the morning traffic was not too bad as we rode north-west on I565 to 231 NW into Guntersville.

Our first stop was at the small Guntersville Airport to visit the Homer B. Wilson Vintage Museum but no one was there.

Glover Hotel
built 1933 by Campbell Wallace Glover sold in the 1950s and used as Dept of Pensions and Securities for 15 years.  In 1987 sold to George Kappler, and he opened a restaurant that now is for sale.

As we rode through Guntersville we noticed many of the old store buildings were remodeled and occupied. The Glover Hotel (built around 1950) was up for sale.

Abraham Lincoln Display Timeline

We rode to 1215 Rayburn Ave to the Guntersville Museum & Cultural Center (once the Rock Armory)

The museum is a unique historical setting with permanent collections as well as current exhibits. The museum is free to visit it is open to the public Tuesday-Friday 10-4PM Saturday & Sunday 1-4PM.

The door is locked from the inside and you have to ring a bell for service.

You are greeted by a curator of the museum, given a little history of the museum, and the location of each exhibit, and told you can visit all day if you want to.

Once inside the walls were covered with plaques about the history of Guntersville.

 There was a boat on display that represented all the activities that one can do on Lakes Guntersville. We saw Crusader, the Mechanical wonder Horse on which many a child had ridden. We saw a sign advertising "Bargains Days every Tues. and Wed. Adm "10 & 15 cents" including tax along with adjoining theater seats.

We saw an old spinning wheel, piano, trophy from Boat Race, wooden benches, a character readings machine, a fire hose cart, and a cardboard copy of Will Rodgers (He is the grandson of John Gunter, a namesake of Guntersville's).

The next rooms were TVA and the making of the land, This one is for the birds, a view of the past with Native American artifacts, local art, and famous sons and daughters of Guntersville. 

The grand room was a display about the life of Abraham Lincoln with a cardboard life-size statue of Abraham and a sculptured head inside a glass case.

We stopped to visit the Culbert Cabin next door to the Guntersville Museum and across the street was the Guntersville Theater.

Guntersville Theater

Chicken Plate (3 chicken fingers, coleslaw, biscuits, Chocolate chip cookie, and a drink) 

I shared a chicken dinner with Colonel Sanders at KFC

We traveled along 227 into Guntersville State Park passing through Short Creek, Hurricane Creek, Town Creek, and Minky Creek. We stopped at the lagoon in the state park to visit the donkeys, emus, goats, and ducks.

We stopped along the waterways to take pictures of Mabrey's Rock of Ages, Guntersville Lake, and the waterfowl. (saw no Eagles)

Mabrey's Rock of Ages

There were hundreds of ducks bobbing in the water

We stopped to take a picture of a deer. He looked right at us turned around and began grazing. He knew we would not shoot him.

We continued climbing the mountain to the top stopping at the State Park Lodge, and chalets overlooking Lake Guntersville.

I walked down to a rest area to take pictures of the view below. There I meet a woman eating her lunch. She said her husband had gone fishing and she was going to enjoy the day at the park.

She said before the tornado came through this area that you could not see the RV Park or the camping Area below. I also saw a couple Zip-lining. 

View of Campground from the Guntersville Lodge atop the mountain

Our last stop before starting home was Bucks Pocket State Park which is located on Sand Mountain in the community of Oak Grove. 

The road and picnic area had seen better days. The fencing around the cliffs was well and the view was awesome  Right now the thousands of trees below are necked and bare but in the fall will be vivid with color.

Sunsetting over the Rocket at the Space and Rocket Center Huntsville 

The sun was setting as we traveled into Huntsville and before we reached Athens it was pitch black.

We could see the stars above and a crescent moon.

We ordered a to-go meal from Taco Bell.

It had been a beautiful day, not too hot or too cold, a perfect day for traveling and hiking in the State Parks. 

2004 ~August 24-27, Trip to Guntersville and Grant, Alabama

My granddaughter and I traveled with hubby to Guntersville, Alabama. 

Hubby worked at the TVA Guntersville Dam from Wednesday, August 24 to Friday, August 27.

We stayed at Holiday-Inn Guntersville 2140 Gunter Ave Guntersville, al 35976 256-582-2220. 

The hotel is on one of the largest fabricated lakes with over 949 miles of shoreline. 

It has an outside pool, playgrounds, restaurant, and a lounge with a deck. 

It has boat launches, charging stations, a pier, and boardwalk. 

Day 2: Thursday, August 26, 2004

My granddaughter and I traveled to Cathedral Caverns, Grant, Alabama. 

Cathedral Caverns is the world's greatest cavern with frozen waterfalls and is the golden gate to the stalagmite forest. 
It is the seven greatest cavern discoveries in the world. 
Located just off US 72 US 431 and Hwy 79.

We took highway 431 from Guntersville to Grant Al.
Cathedral Caverns State Park

Day 3: Friday, August 27, 2004

One night, we ate at Outlaw steakhouse 4641 Wyeth Dr. Guntersville, Al 35976. 256-582-4653. 

Each of us ordered a steak, baked potato, salad, and ice tea. 

Outlaw Steak House has a rustic, clean, neat setting inside and out; it has the old west look.  

The service and food were wonderful.
http://www.outlawsteakhouseguntersville.com

We shopped at Walmart and rode all around Lake Guntersville. 

Lake Guntersville is in the Tennessee Valley, overlooking the majestic 69,000-acre Guntersville Reservoir, this park ranges over 6,000 acres of natural woodlands. 

My granddaughter and I enjoyed walking along the boardwalk and the swimming pool at the hotel where we were staying.
We enjoyed several meals at Sunset Bar and Grille located inside the hotel.

At the restaurant, we were served fresh, tasty, seafood, prepared perfectly with friendly services.

Hubby did not take the full-time job offered by TVA and I was glad.

Guntersville would be fun if you enjoyed the water and hubby is not crazy about the water like me, 

 Guntersville is all about the water.