Shoals and Dams

 

We slept in – and it was most refreshing!  We got up around nine and sat out on the deck, drinking coffee, checking emails and Skypeing with grandkids.

 

There was a guy in the marina, up the mast on his sailboat, but other than that, there was not another person in sight. 

We went to the lodge restaurant for breakfast, and the other three couples were there, too, sipping coffee and enjoying the view.

We packed up the Model A, and started out of the park.  Deer wandered about the side of the road, and didn’t pay a lot of attention to us as we rattled by.  We crossed over Joe Wheeler Dam, heading south, then turned west toward the Quad-Cities.  Roaming around in Sheffield, Muscle Shoals and Tuscumbia, we came to a park that had lots to offer.  Water wheels, narrow gauge railroads and merry-go-rounds, surrounded a very large stage suitable for concerts.  The park included the world’s largest man made water fall,

and an impressive, chainsaw carved statue of Chief Tuscumbia..

I thought it neat that the tree was still trying to survive, putting out new growth on the left side near the base.

We followed signs to the visitor’s center at Wilson Dam, but the sign on the fence was not promising.  I picked up the phone next to the gate and dialed “0” and asked what time the dam would be open for tours.  The maintenance worker who answered replied “sadly, never”.  He explained that it had been closed since 911, and he didn’t foresee it opening in the future.  So sad.  It is a shame that our society has been affected in so many ways.

We crossed the river, heading north across Wilson Dam and stumbled around Florence, looking for the Wright- Rosenbaum House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was not easy to find, and we arrived at 4pm, exactly when it closed to the public.  We walked around the outside, took a few photos, but both decided that we were not impressed enough to return the next day at 10am. 

We had supper at Ricatoni’s Italian Grill on Court Street.  It had been recommended by several people, and it did not disappoint.  We found an older hotel in downtown Florence that just fit the bill of our “no chain hotels”.

One photo I found amusing:  Sara in the navigator seat:

  Day three, approximately 60 miles.