2009 October 18, Sunday, Maple Cemetery Stroll

Teresa and I went to the Maple Cemetery Walk, where citizens of Huntsville dress up as characters of some of the famous people from that area who were buried in the cemetery. 

Confederate flags were placed next to every CSA tombstone. 

There was a man dressed in his gray CSA uniform holding a musket and he was talking about the Civil War. 

We saw such characters as Gov. Clement Comer Clay,(governor of Alabama) Lady Grace Hinds Curzon, Moore and Lily Flagg,(won the 1982 World’s Fair trophy) Leroy Pope,(father of  Huntsville) Talula Bankhead,(Movie Star) Sally Carter, Gyspy Queen,(buried with her treasure) Albert Russel (first Lt twelfth Regiment of continental Line), Elbert Jones (CSA Army officer), and many more characters. 

The program lasted from 2:00-4:30PM.

There were bottles of water to drink, bands playing music, and storytellers all throughout the Cemetery.

It is impossible to hear everyone speak. You have to pick and choose who you want to hear and maybe next year get to hear from the character that you missed the year before.

The proceeds are used in the upkeep of the cemetery and all characters are volunteers.

There are many interesting people buried in this cemetery including four former governors.

Thomas Bibb

Clement Comber Clay 

Reuben Chapman

Robert M Patton

David P lewis
These pictures hang in Montgomery in our Capitol building. My settings were all wrong so I did not get any pictures worth posting.

I called Hubby at work and he met us at PF Changs where we ate dinner.

Afterwards Hubby went home and Teresa and I stayed to shop and take pictures.

🐘🐘🐘2010 February 1,Monday, Waiting and Watching the Elephants

I took Lora and her kids to Huntsville, and we parked next to the Train Depot. We had to bundle up because it was a cold February morning.

The streets near the train depot of Huntsville were lined with people of all ages waiting for the elephant.s

Waiting for the elephants

People lining the streets 

We went there to watch the Barnum Bailey Circus Elephants embark from the gray railway cars onto the streets and Parade down to the VBCC. 

The parade of elephants and their handler was escorted by the Huntsville Police Department.

Parade of Elephants

Parade of Elephants

The Box Cars that the elephants arrived in

Parade of Elephants

The Elephants wore leather headsets that encircled their head and down the front of their noses with a blue sign that read "The Greatest Show on Earth.

The elephants held each other's tails as they paraded down the streets.

There were at least ten elephants, each of a different size.

It felt perfect to be inside a warm restaurant after standing in the cold for over an hour.

We ate lunch at Cracker Barrel in South Huntsville. 

Waiting for food

Marcus and the Red Caboose

Taking time out for a picture after the parade

Breakfast All Day

Cracker Barrel Huntsville

2009 November 7, Saturday, Hiking in the Dismal Canyon

Lora, Marcus, Madison, and I went hiking in the Dismal Canyon in Phil Campbell from 12:00-4:4-PM PM.

We ate some snacks before we began our walk into the canyon.

We stopped at the entrance to take pictures, paid to enter the park, and began our journey down into the canyon.

Stopping for Pictures

Dance Hall

There was a sign posted that read:

Dismals Canyon leaves nothing…  Take nothing…

Dismals Canyon is a natural landmark registered with the Department of the Interior $ with a $1,000 fine for the removal or defacement of rocks, plants, or animals.

We started our descent down this wooden ramp and several flights of wooden steps into the canyon. 

Long walk down into the canyon.

Along the way, we saw Rainbow & Phantom Falls, Grotto, Pulpit Rock, Kitchen, Stovepipe, Indian Head Rock, Temple Cave, fishing hole, Champion tree, weeping bluff, Secret Falls, the Chickasaw Indian's for secret rituals used dance hall, fat-man's Misery, Witches cavern, and Burr's hideout. 

In 1925, the Girl Scouts built the small pool to your right for drinking water.     

Phantom Falls. There is no waterfall behind you, but the rock picks up the sound of the actual fall250'0’ downstream and throws the echo down to this spot, which is only 10' around.

Weeping Bluff. The water that seeps from this bluff is said to be tears shed by the canyon for the loss of its only true friend, the Chickasaw Indians.

SECRET FALLS: The water creating these falls flows from an underground mountain stream that opens onto the earth's surface about 3/4 of a mile upstream. 

The Chickasaw Indians, for secret rituals, used DANCE HAL, a well-camouflaged area protected from the sun and the elements. 

A tight squeeze

Witches Cavern is a strange and beautiful labyrinth of moss and fern-covered boulders, with a large colony of dissimilates residing.

Fat Man's Misery. The narrow opening, 1" wide", between the two boulders was the original entrance to the canyon floor.

Crossing the creek

We walked about three miles, and we met Steve Meiji (wearing a black Harley Davidson jacket & chaps) and two of his lady friends (one wearing an orange Haley Davidson Jacket and chaps, the other woman wearing a black coat and chaps) 

Steve helped Madison & others across the creek to the Dance Hall.

He gave me his email, and I sent him some pictures. 

We saw several small white mushrooms growing on the side of trees.

We exited the canyon by crossing a swinging bridge.

Crossing the swing bridge

Natchez traces the devil's backbone, a dismal canyon that serves as a hideout for many other infamous outlaws who robbed and murdered travelers on the devil's.    

When we finished our walk, we stopped in at the museum, where we saw 

A statue wearing a white, red, and black feather headdress. We saw a tan lamp with a pair of tan boots for a base. We saw a statue of a baker holding a basket with ready-to-eat mac & Cheese on top, and a blackboard sign that read Specialties Coffee $1.49, Brownies $ 2.89, and Brownie bites for fifty cents. We saw a wooden clown, a Totem pole with Indiana faces A red Drink coca cola machine, and a popcorn machine. There were all kinds of gadgets hanging from the ceiling. 

Indian Headdress, Boot Lamp

Totem Pole

Dismals Store

For supper, Hubby brought home barbecue from Thomas Pitt.