ALABAMA

SERVICES
●Kaiser Realty – 1557 Gulf Shores Parkway; 251-968-6868; kaiserrealty.com.



BARBOUR COUNTY
Eufaula
Sights & Sites
●Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge – 367 Alabama Highway 165; 334-687-4065; fws.gov/eufaula; located in Barbour & Russell Counties (in Alabama), as well as Stewart & Quitman Counties (in Georgia); located on Walter F. George Lake (also known as Lake Eufaula) along Chattahoochee River; 11K acres of managed property; protects several endangered & threatened species such as bald eagle, wood stork, American alligator & peregrine falcon; provides shelter for migratory waterfowl, as well as deer, turkey, quail, dove, hawks, owls, rabbits, squirrel, otters, coyote, bobcat and beaver, not to mention other reptiles, amphibians, insects & fishes; 7-mile auto-tour trail, 2 observation towers & walking trail.



COLBERT COUNTY
Cherokee
Sights & Sites
●Rock Spring Nature Trail – Natchez Trace Parkway milepost 330.2 (from Cherokee, at US Highway 72 & Natchez Trace Parkway junction, go north 9.8 miles to Rock Spring Nature Trail parking area); scenictrace.com; just north of Tennessee River; idyllic wooded area traversed by 20-minute nature trail that follows Colbert Creek to Rock Springs; creek intermittently dammed by Beavers, creating impressive wetland; abundant orange jewelweed, attracting 100s Ruby-throated Hummingbirds every fall.



DALLAS COUNTY
Selma
Sights & Sites
●Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail – Highway 80; nps.gov/semo; 54 miles; starts at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in Selma, crosses Edmund Pettus Bridge, and ends up in Montgomery.



DeKALB COUNTY
Fort Payne (includes Mentone)
Sights & Sites
●Desoto State Park – 7104 Desoto Parkway NE; 256-845-5075; alapark.com/desotoresort; developed in 1930s by CCC & named after explorer Hernando de Soto; more than 3K acres forest, rivers, waterfalls & mountain terrain.
●Little River Canyon National Preserve – 4322 East River Trail NE (Mentone, on Lookout Mountain); 256-845-9605; nps.gov/liri/index.htm; 14K-acre preserve protects nation’s longest mountaintop river; deepest canyon east of Mississippi River.



HALE & TUSCALOOSA COUNTIES
Greensboro
Restaurants
●Pielab – 1317 Main Street; 334-624-3899; pielab.org; motto is “pie+conversation=ideas”; apple pies are excellent.

Moundville
Sights & Sites
●Moundville Archaeological Park – 13075 Moundville Archaeological Park; 205-371-8732; moundville.ua.edu; Mississippian culture site on Black Warrior River (Hale County, near Tuscaloosa); regionally-organized, Mississippian culture chiefdom-polity’s ceremonial-political center (between 11^th-16^th Centuries; 29 platform mounds around rectangular plaza; museum and archaeological laboratory.



JEFFERSON COUNTY
Bessemer
Bars & Nightclubs
●Gip’s Place – 3101 Avenue C (from downtown Birmingham, I-20/59 toward Tuscaloosa, then Exit 112 & turn left on 18^th Street, then 1 mile, cross railroad tracks, and left on Carolina Avenue, then 1 block & right on 19^th Street, then 4 blocks & left on Dartmouth Avenue, then 1.2 miles & after white cinder block building with “Used Tires” painted on side, right on 33^rd Street, then 2 blocks to stop sign, then left, & then immediately right to stay on 33^rd Street, then up hill & right on Avenue C, then about block, at big curve, is Henry Gipson’s house on left & Gip’s Place is down driveway in tin shed in his backyard); 205-601-9738; gipsplace.org.
Restaurants
●Bright Star – 304 19^th Street North; 205-426-1861; thebrightstar.com; Greek restaurant, famous for “red snapper throat.”

Birmingham (includes Fultondale)
Bars & Nightclubs
●Parkside – 4036 5^th Avenue South; 205-595-0920; facebook.com/ParksideCafe; great bar in old home (patio and all) across from Avondale Park; live music upon occasion.
●Redmont Hotel – 2101 5^th Avenue North; 205-324-2101; theredmont.com; fun, rooftop bar.
Hotels
●Redmont Hotel – 2101 5^th Avenue North; 205-324-2101; theredmont.com.
Restaurants
●Chez Fonfon – 2007 11^th Avenue South; 205-939-3221; fonfonbham.com; country French.
●Highlands Bar & Grill – 2011 11^th Avenue South; 205-939-1400; highlandsbarandgrill.com; on tree-lined central street; Frenched-up Southern cuisine; famous for baked grits; worth special trip.
●Pine Bowl – 2015 Highway 31 North (Fultondale); 205-841-4353; facebook.com/pages/Pine-Bowl/165849410095606; good food.
●Trattoria Central – 207 20^th Street North; 205-202-5612; trattoriacentrale.com.
Sights & Sites
●Pine Bowl – 2015 Highway 31 North (Fultondale); 205-841-4353; facebook.com/pages/Pine-Bowl/165849410095606; bowling.



LAUDERDALE COUNTY
Florence
Hotels
●Limestone House Bed & Breakfast – 601 North Wood Avenue; 256-274-3006; limestonehousebnb.com; where Thomas Edison & Henry Ford vacationed.
Sights & Sites
●Wichahpi Commemorative Stone Wall – in Florence, head northwest on Alabama Highway 20, turn north onto Natchez Trace Parkway, take Lauderdale 8 exit & turn right); msnha.una.edu/plan-a-visit/?a=57; Lauderdale County resident Tom Hendrix has spent over 30 years building stone wall in memory of his great-great-grandmother, Yuchi Indian who was part of American Indian removal to Oklahoma; largest, un-mortared stone wall in US.



LAWRENCE COUNTY
Danville
Sights & Sites
●Oakville Indian Mounds Education Center – 1219 County Road 187; 256-905-2499; oakvilleindianmounds.com.
●Jesse Owens Memorial Park & Museum – 7019 County Road 203; 256-974-3636; jesseowensmemorialpark.com.

Double Springs
Sights & Sites
●William B. Bankhead National Forest – 1070 Highway 33; 205-489-5111; forestcamping.com/dow/southern/bankinfo.htm; home to Alabama’s only National Wild & Scenic River, Sipsey Fork.

Moulton
Sights & Sites
●Lawrence County Archives – 698 Main Street; 256-974-1757; lawrencecoarchives.com.



LIMESTONE & MORGAN COUNTies
Decatur
Restaurants
●Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q – 2520 Danville Road; 256-350-0404; bigbobgibsonbbq.com; among country’s best BBQ joints; open since 1925; famous for its “white sauce.”
●Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q – 1715 6^th Avenue Southeast; 256-350-6969; bigbobgibsonbbq.com; among country’s best BBQ joints; open since 1925; famous for its “white sauce.”



MADISON COUNTY
Huntsville
Restaurants
●Cotton Row – 100 Southside Square; 256-382-9500; cottonrowrestaurant.com.



MOBILE COUNTY
Dauphin Island
Sights & Sites
●Audubon Bird Sanctuary – 109 Bienville Boulevard; 251-861-3607; dauphinisland.org/bird.htm.

Mobile
Restaurants
●Dew Drop Inn – 1808 Old Shell Road; 251-473-7872; roadfood.com/Restaurant/Overview/323/dew-drop-inn; introduced hotdogs to Mobile in 1924.

Sights & Sites
●Lower Dauphin Street Commercial District – bounded by Bayou, Conte, St. Francis, and Water Streets; mainstreetmobile.org; get information about Dauphin Street Historic District Walking Tour; make sure to see: 1860 Daniels, Elgin & Co. Building (2 South Water Street); 1904 Pollock & Bernheimer Building (5 Dauphin Street); 1891 Abraham Pincus Building (1 South Royal Street); 1906 Van Antwerp Building (101 Dauphin Street); 1875 Levy-Wolverton Building (102 Dauphin Street); 1875 Burke Building (1 North Royal Street); 1965 AmSouth Bank Building (31 North Royal Street); 1908 Battle House Hotel (26 North Royal Street); 2006 RSA Tower (11 North Water Street); 1906 1^st National Bank Building (68 St. Francis Street); and 1928 Merchants National Bank Building (106 St. Francis Street).



RUSSELL COUNTY
Seale
Sights & Sites
●Museum of Wonder – 41 Poorhouse Road; 334-855-9547; museumofwonder.com; world’s largest (perhaps only) drive-thru museum; features world’s largest gallstone; surprisingly high-brow; NPR did feature on it.



SHELBY COUNTY
Montevallo
Sights & Sites
●Orr Park Tree Carvings (Tinglewood Carvings) – 277 Park Drive; 205-665-2555, ext. 2; cityofmontevallo.com/288/Orr-Park; unique nature preserve & park, bordering picturesque Shoal Creek; 40-acre park features traditional amenities but cedar tree carvings throughout remain greatest local attraction; amble by gnomes, dragon or fish eating snake, carved by Tim Tingle, coal miner by trade, who took it upon himself to transform storm-damaged cedar trees into glorious works of art in early 1990s.



TALLADEGA COUNTY
Talladega
Sights & Sites
●Talladega College Savery Library – 627 West Battle Street; 256-362-0206; talladega.edu; Hale Aspacio Woodruff’s “Amistad Murals” consist of 3 panels: Revolt; Court Scene; and Back to Africa; Woodruff commissioned to paint in 1938; after studying and working with Diego Rivera in Mexico City, Woodruff came to Talladega and completed documentation through art of La Amistad and its cargo.