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.