2025 Dec 5-7, Christmas Tour of Homes Trip to Eufaula, Al with Backroads Tours LLC

 Day 1: Friday, December 5:

Today we traveled to Scottsboro, a two-hour drive. 

We stopped at McDonald's in Huntsville for breakfast, where we bought a sausage and Biscuit, and a Sausage, egg, and Biscuit, and spent $6.74.

We traveled US 72 to Huntsville and then to Scottsboro. We stopped at McDonald's in Scottsboro to use the restroom. 

We boarded the Eagle bus out of Rome, Ga, number 1031 at 7:15 and were on the road by 7:30 A.M. 

We pick up passengers in Fort Payne (8:10 A.M.)and Springfield (9:15 A.M.)

We stopped for a Restroom break at a Travel Center.

We arrived at the Old Mill Kitchen in Opelika at 12:07 P.M.

Old Mill Kitchen Opelika 

Key Lime Pie 

Baked Chicken, creamed potatoes with gravy, Peas, and cornbread.

I ordered baked lemon pepper chicken breast, with field peas & snaps, Mashed potatoes & gravy, cornbread, and for dessert, Key Lime Pie. 

The bus was too tall, and it was raining, so we just stopped for a look at the 

drive-thru Museum of Wonder in Seale. 

Drive-thru Museum

We checked into the Hampton Inn by Hilton Hotel around 3:30 P.M. in room 206. 

At 5:30 P.M., we were served a private welcome dinner at the Shorter Mansion.

Table setting 

Homemade  bread pudding with white Chocolate Sauce 

Salad Spring Mix with fresh fruit and a raspberry vinaigrette 

Smoked pork tenderloin with Jezebel Sauce, green beans, and creamed potatoes

The meal consisted of a salad, pork tenderloin, roasted haricot vert (green beans), baked loaded potato, and chocolate bread pudding. 

Before we sat down to eat, we toured the Shorter Mansion. 

We returned to the hotel around 7:30 P.M., took a hot bath, and went to bed. 

Iphone photos

2153-2157 Old Mill Kitchen Opelika @ 12:07 P.M.

2158-2169 Downtown Opelika at 1:40 P.M.

2170-2177 Drive-Thru Museum of Wonder @2:17 PM

2179-2188 Eufaula @2:50 PM

2192-2248 Shorter Mansion Tour @7:05 PM

2249-2253 Meal at Shorter Mansion @6:05 PM

2272-2274 Hampton Inn at 7:32 P.M.

Steps 8,298, Zone 32, 3.11 Miles, Cal 1,555

Day 2: Saturday, December 6:

I walked to Walmart to buy Hubby a couple of diet Mountain Dews and a white top for myself. And spent $25.47. 

At breakfast at the hotel, I had scrambled eggs with cheese, a biscuit, cream cheese, grape jelly, and apple juice.  

We boarded the bus around 8:30 A.M. and began our tour of eight homes decorated for the holidays.

We had lovely weather up until noon. 

We toured the Stinson House, Fendall Hall, and Gatty-Arnold Home and Kendall-Utley before returning to the Shorter Mansion for a boxed lunch. It contained chicken salad, pasta, broccoli salad, and a cookie with water to drink. 

Getty-Arnold House 

Fendall Hall 

The Stinson House 

It had begun to rain, so everyone returned to the bus to get their raincoats and umbrellas.

We had two more homes to tour. The two homes were close by, but it was pouring rain.

We toured the Martin Cottage and the Bray-Bennet Home, then returned to the hotel to change clothes and rest before heading downtown to shop.

Bray-Benton House 

Martin Cottage 

Kendell- Utley House 

Later that day, we loaded onto the bus and headed to the Church Bazar and downtown shopping. 

The rain had stopped by now.

I bought a small bag of White chocolate pretzels at the Big Mouth Store. 

We returned to the Shorter Mansion for entertainment, hors d'oeuvres, and wine.

It was dark when we returned to the hotel. I took a hot bath and wrote in my journal. 

Iphone photos

2275 Breakfast @7:15 AM

2276 Hampton @ 7:33 AM

2277-2291 Downtown Eufaula @8:50 PM

2297-2328 Toured the Stinson Home @9:13 AM

2329-2379 Toured Fendall Hall @9:54 AM

2380-2381 rode passed the Holy Redeemer church @10:42 AM

2382-2410 Toured Gatty-Arnold House @10:48 AM

2411-2425 rode passed old building with windows out and more homes @11:222 AM

2424-2447 Toured the Kendall-Utley House @11:29 AM

2449-2453 We stopped for lunch at Shorter Mansion at @12:20 PM

2455-2497 Toured the Martin Cottage @1:16 PM 

2498-2518 Toured the Bray-Bennett House @2:06 PM

2519-2525 We rode downtown to the Christian Bazar and downtown shopping at @4:05 PM

2526-2537, we toured Eufaula at 4:22 P.M.

2530-2533 We stopped at Large Mouth Store @7:27 PM

2534-2535 Martin Theatre @5:04 PM

2536-2537 Lights @5:06 PM 

11,169 steps, zone 60, 4.11 miles, cal 1,728

Day 3, Sunday, December 7:

I ate white chocolate pretzels with a Diet Coke for breakfast, which I had bought the night before.

I walked to Walmart, where I bought three Christmas soaps and a large bag of hot chocolate, and spent $29.89.

I gave the soaps to Angie to give away during Bingo.

We loaded onto the bus at 8:15 and were on our way at 8:30 A.M.

Our first stop was a Travel Center in Montgomery, where we spent $10.64.

We stopped to see the town of Spectre, which is a movie set on a private island on Jackson Lake.

During the rainy season, you cannot reach the town of Spectre. We crossed over onto the island after paying an entrance fee. 

Several of our group were trying to throw a pair of shoes on the pole where other shoes were hanging. 

The Movie Town of Spectra, Shoes hanging on line, and goats 

I began walking around, taking pictures, and was returning from the lake when a truck pulled up next to me. I said I was with the bus tour, and he asked me if I wanted a couple of bags of carrots to feed the goats. 

When the goats saw that we had food, they came running. They loved the carrots but would not eat any that were dropped onto the ground. 

We ate lunch at Copper House Deli in Wetumpka, where we bought a Hoogie with a moggie two chip and two diet Cokes, and spent $22.40. 

It was a small restaurant that was usually closed on Sundays but opened just for us. 

After everyone finished eating, we walked around Wetumpka.

The Grinch & Max 

Santa and Reindeer 

Bought 10 silver charmsnand a bottle ottle of Necked Bee lotion, spent $18.48.

I took photos of the historic and Military markers at the courthouse. Took pictures of the town, the Santa and his two reindeer, some metal art, and the Alleyway murals full of art, culture, and the history of Wetumpka. 

Alleyway Murals 

Wetumpka has been the film location of "The Grass Harp" (1995), "The Rosa Parks Story" (2002), and 

"Big Fish"(2003), "Sons of the South" (2019), and HGTV Hometown Takeover (2021). 

The Big Fish 

The Big Fish House used 

Big Fish Movie 

The Rosa Parks Story was filmed at this location 

We played bus bingo on our ride home. 

We began our journey home, stopping in Springfield to drop off several passengers, then in Fort Payne to drop off more.

Finally, we arrived in Scottsboro, loaded everything into our car, and began our journey home. 

We stopped at Krystal in Athens for some Krystal Cheeseburgers and fries.

We ate then on the way home. 

It was late when we arrived home. 

Iphone Photos

2538-3541 Bus and Hampton Inn @6:57 AM

2542-2543 Traveling at 10:31 A.M.

2544-2552 Coosada @11128 AM

2553-2567 Town of Wetaumpka 12:36 P.M.

Canon EOS R6

6636-6686 Town of Spectre @ 12:18 Bigh Fish Movie 

6689-6849 Town of Wetumpka @1:25 PM

8,045 steps, zone 79, 3.01 miles, 1,589 cals 

There were six governors from Barbour County

1. John Gill Shorter

2. Willima D. Jelks 

3. Braxton Bragg Comer 

4. Chauncy Sparks 

5. George C. Wallace

6. Lurleen B. Wallace

The Homes we toured:

1. Shorter Mansion 340 E Eufuala Ave 

2. Bray-Bennett 413 N Randolph St 

3. Wilde-Gray House 703 N Randolph St 

4. The Martin Cottage 119 Shorter St 

5. Fendall Hall 917 W Barber St 

6. Gatty- Arnold House 125 Cherry St 

7. Kendall Utley House 238 Sanford Ave 

8. The Stinson House 148 Anderson Dr.

🚗 2016 June 28, Tuesday, Day Trip to Scottsboro, Stevenson, Menton, Fort Payne , Section, Alabama

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.

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

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."

Stevenson Hotel 

Stevenson Train Depot 

The sign outside said 'open Monday-Friday, 8–3:30 P.M.,' but it was closed.

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.

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.

100-year-old Cabin 

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.

Desota Falls

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. 

Mayfield Ice Creamery 

We saw the Junkasorus along the way, then rode through Fort Payne without stopping. 

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.

Train Depot in Fort Payne 

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

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.

Hamburger

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.

🚗 2009 ~Sunday August 9, Fort Payne Historic Markers, Alabama Museum, Ruby Falls

We started the day by eating breakfast at Steak & Shake in Huntsville. We were on our way to Fort Payne when we stopped along the road to take pictures of Historic sites and markers.

Alabama's Music Fan Club & Museum, which houses memorable items once owned by Randy Owens, Teddy Gentry, Jeff Cook, and Mark Herndon

Crow Town in Stevenson
One of the Five Lower Towns was established by the Chickamauga Cherokees in 1782 under Dragging Canoe's leadership. Territorial Governor William Blount reported to the Secretary of War in 1792 that: "Crow Town lies on the north side of the Tennessee (River), half a mile from the river, up Crow Creek, 30 miles below the Suck. (It) is the lowest town in the Cherokee Nation and contained 30 huts in 1790. The Creeks and Northward tribes cross (the river) here." 
All of the Five Lower Towns were on the extreme Cherokee frontier. Running Water and Nickajack were near Chattanooga, Tennessee. Long Island Town was twenty miles below the Suck, east of Bridgeport, Alabama. Lookout Mountain Town was near Trenton, Georgia.
(Continued on another side)

Crow Town in Stevenson
Crow Town encompassed several miles by the early 1800s as increasing numbers of Cherokee families settled there. With the creation of Jackson County in 1819, many Cherokees moved to the south side of the river – some 19th-century maps placed Crow Town near the southeast end of Snodgrass Bridge, which carries Highway 117 across the Tennessee River east of Stevenson. The 1782 site of Crow Town, one-half mile from the confluence of Crow Creek and the original channel of the Tennessee River, was flooded with the closing of the spillway gates at Guntersville Dam in 1939.

Trail of Tears Bridgeport
In May 1838, soldiers, under the command of U.S. Army General Winfield Scott, began rounding up Cherokee Indians in this area who had refused to move to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. About 16,000 Cherokees were placed in stockades in Tennessee and Alabama until their removal. Roughly 3,000 were sent by boat down the Tennessee River, and the rest were marched overland in the fall and winter of 1838-1839. This forced removal under harsh conditions resulted in the deaths of about 4,000 Cherokees.
In late June of 1838, a party of 1,070 poorly equipped Indians was marched overland from Ross' Landing at Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Waterloo, Alabama, because of low water in the upper Tennessee River. Following the general route of present-day U.S. Highway 72, they camped at Bellefonte, where about 300 escaped between Bellefonte and Woodville. On June 26, the remainder refused to proceed. Consequently, the militia, under the command of Army Captain G.S. Drane, was tasked with mobilizing the group and escorting them to Waterloo. Arriving in miserable condition on July 10, 1838, the Cherokee were placed on a boat to continue their journey West.
The "Trail of Tears," which resulted from the Indian Removal Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1830, is one of the darkest chapters in American history.

Alabama Welcomes You, the 22nd State

Alabama's Fan Club and Museum, Randy Owens and Teddy Wayne Gentry

Alabama's Fan Club and Museum Mark Joel Herndon & Jeffrey Alan Cook

Alabama's Fan Club and Museum 

Alabama's Fan Club and Museum 

Fort Payne City Park

At Fort Payne City Park, we saw several historical markers and the individual statues of Teddy Wayne Gentry, Jeffery Alan Cook, Randy Yeuell Owen, and Mark Joel Herndon, all members of the group Alabama.

Fort Payne's Fort
The fort, consisting of a log house and an enormous stockade, was built in 1838 by order of General Winfield Scott, commander of military forces responsible for the removal of Cherokee Indians.
Soldiers occupying the fort were commanded by Captain John C. Payne, for whom the fort was named.
Indians in the DeKalb County area who refused to move westward voluntarily were gathered and held in the stockade pending their forceful removal to the Indian territory.

Willis Town Mission
The mission was established in 1823 by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to promote education and Christianity among the Cherokee. The mission operated until the Indian removal in 1838. 
Gravesite of Reverend Ard Hoyt, the first superintendent, marks the location of the mission near the corner of 38th Street and Godfrey Avenue.

Sequoyah 1760-1843
Born in Tennessee, Sequoyah moved to the Wills Town (DeKalb County, Alabama) area of the Cherokee Nation in 1818.
Here, in 1821, he invented an 86-symbol alphabet providing the Cherokees with the only written Indian language in the United States.
(Sequoyah, Maker of the Cherokee Alphabet)

Confederate War Marker

Fort Payne's Train Museum.
The Fort Payne Depot Museum was erected in 1891. 
It is housed in a unique Richardsonian Romanesque building of locally quarried pink and white sandstone. It served as a depot for the Alabama-Great Southern Railroad for approximately 85 years. The Gussie Killian Collection, housed in the north room, contains extensive examples of Native American basketry, pottery, and artifacts. Our south room displays the L.A. Dobbs exhibit, along with memorabilia from the Civil War, World War I and II, and the Vietnam War. 

Boom Town Historic District
Around 1889-1891, Fort Payne experienced a major industrial boom, driven by New England investors who speculated heavily on the area's mineral deposits. During this period, several highly ornate commercial and civic buildings, along with the planned park, were constructed along Gault Avenue. The Fort Payne Opera House and other buildings in the same block been built by the Fort Payne Coal & Iron Co., together with the Sawyer Building, the Alabama Great Southern Railroad Depot & Union Park, which retain the integrity of the boomtown era and comprise a historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, the year of Fort Payne's centennial.

Fort Payne Train Museum.

Lookout Mountain Ruby Falls

Lookout Mountain Ruby Falls

Inside Ruby Falls, we saw Potato Chip.

Ruby Falls

Inside Ruby Fal, we saw Steak and Potatoes.

Lookout Mountain Ruby Falls

Relaxing after the long trip into the cave

My trip to Ruby Falls

My trip to Ruby Falls

Our last stop, Oga at Ruby Faons in Lookout Mountain. 

We watched a movie, went down an elevator, and then were taken on a guided tour through the caverns to a thundering underground waterfall. 

Cost $18.95 each 

Lookout Mountain Welcome to Ruby Falls

Lookout Mountain
The Chattanooga area was firmly under the control of the Chickamauga Indians at the time of the American Revolution. The Cherokee Indian chiefs had signed peace and land treaties with the Colonial settlers. However, a small group of rebellious Cherokees were not in accord with these treaties and continued unabated warfare with the expanding settlers. They were called the Chickamaugas and were led by Chief Dragging Canoe. They were actively supported by the British through local agents and traders. The Government of North Carolina authorized a Military Campaign against them in the summer of 1782, pledging Support from the Continental Congress. Colonel John Sevier organized a force of some 250 "Nolichucky Riflemen" to pursue the Chickamauga and rescue captives. On September 20, 1782, after several minor encounters, Sevier and his men engaged the Chickamaugas in a battle high in the Palisades at the north end of Lookout Mountain. The Frontiersmen's accurate rifle fire soon overcame their foes. This was an official Revolutionary War engagement and is considered by many to be the LAST "VER-MOUNTAIN" BATTLE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
The preliminary signing of the peace treaty ending the Revolution was on November 30, 1782.

Lookout Mountain 

We rode to Fort Payne, Alabama, to visit the Group Alabama Museum, the Train Depot Museum, and the city park to see the statues of Teddy Wayne Gentry, Jeffery Alan Cook, Randy Yeuell Owen, and Mark Joel Herndon of the Group Alabama.

The historic markers I took pictures of were: Payne's Fort, Battle of Wauhatchie, Boom Town, Crown Town in Stevenson, Decatur County, Fort Payne City Park, Sequoyah Marker, The Trail of Tears at Bridgeport, and Willis Town Marker.

We ate lunch at Cracker Barrel in South Pittsburg, rode over to Chattanooga, and went down into the cave to see Ruby Falls. 

Ruby Falls is an underground waterfall that is 145 feet high and has been named one of the most Incredible Cave Waterfalls on Earth.

It is America's deepest commercial cave and largest underground waterfall.

We went down an elevator shaft to the cave's floor, where we were given a tour. We talked about the rock formations, and the grand finale was the colorful Ruby Falls, a small hole where water was coming out.

Some of the rock formations that we saw were Totem Pole, Crystal Chandelier, Donkey Formation, 

tobacco leaves, elephant's foot, Steak and Potatoes, Potato Chips, Leaning Tower, Dragon's foot, Beehives, Angle's Wings, Niagara Falls, Weight Watchers Lane, and Leo's passage.

Another great day of sightseeing!