Understand this route will take longer, but you will be rewarded multiple times!
This year, from Birmingham, lets head south on I-59 in the direction of Tuscaloosa. Take the West Blocton/Centreville exit, which is also U.S. 11 and Alabama Highway 5. Many years ago, Alabama 5 was one of the “main drags” between Birmingham and Mobile, and it will play a big role in our journey south this year.
BIBB COUNTY: Go left onto U.S. 11/Alabama 5, and after about two miles you will turn left onto Alabama 5 where it forks away from U.S. 11 at Woodstock. After about 10 miles on Highway 5, turn left (at the blinking yellow light) onto Bibb County Road 24 and into the town of West Blocton.
Stay on Bibb County 24 past the high school and elementary school, and to the Cahaba River (about five miles from the schools).
Why the side trip to the Cahaba River? To see the rare Cahaba River Lily, one of the most beautiful and celebrated icons of Bibb County. Blooming only in the month of May, Bibb County is one of the few place this rare flower can be found in such abundance. The annual Cahaba Lily Festival, in fact, is this Saturday (May 27) at the Cahaba Lily Building on Main Street in West Blocton.
A couple of hundred yards before you can actually see the bridge, turn south (right) on a rough dirt road which runs along the west side of the river. Use your judgment about whether your vehicle can negotiate the road. There is a good stand of lilies just under 1 mile down the road, and the largest stand in the world just over 2 miles down the road. Be sure have have your camera ready... this is one of the greatest photo opportunities in Alabama!
See some great pictures of the lilies here:
http://www.jamesspann.com/bmachine/post/wxtalk/4573/
After enjoying a rare look at the Cahaba River Lilies, lets go back to West Blocton on Bibb County Road 24. When you reach Alabama Highway 5, turn left and we head south on our trip to the Alabama Gulf coast.
Highway 5 is pretty much a straight shot down to Brent, a town that was almost wiped off the map by a huge tornado on May 27, 1973. The tornado was 33 years ago, but many people still have a vivid memory of that Sunday night (I will write about it in a few days). You will go under U.S. 82, and shortly we will turn left onto Alabama Highway 58. After a mile or so, we will be stopping for the first great eating opportunity of the trip!
The Twix and Tween BBQ joint will be on the left; it is before you reach the Cahaba River bridge. I discovered the Twix and Tween in 1978 when I accepted a job at WSFA-TV in Montgomery, and burned up U.S. 82 between Tuscaloosa and Montgomery on a very regular basis. The food is great (lots of other options in addition to barbeque), and it ranks in the Spann “top five” BBQ joints in Alabama. Enjoy!
Once you finish the meal, head back north on Alabama 58, and we will be veering left on Alabama 25 (before you get back to Alabama 5), through downtown Brent. You will pass the Brent Baptist Church on the left, a church destroyed by the 1973 tornado. One man died in the church, Andrew Mitchell. I have worshipped there many times over the years; you won’t find friendlier people anywhere. There is a plaque near the main entrance about the tornado.
See pictures of the 1973 tornado damage here:
http://www.jamesspann.com/bmachine/post/wxtalk/4583/
Alabama 25 will merge back with Alabama 5 in a mile or so, and we will be heading south down Alabama 5. Along Highway 5, we see the scenes change as we move from the foothills of the Appalachians to the flat, fertile Black Belt region of central Alabama. Next up: the community of Marion.
PERRY COUNTY: We will continue down Alabama 5 to the Black Belt community of Marion,. While much has been said about the poverty in the Black Belt in recent decades, you can find lots of history and beauty here. You might want to turn off Alabama 5 and check out the town; you will find the campus of Marion Military Institute and Judson College. Judson is the nation’s fifth oldest women’s college in the nation, and is the home of the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame, which is on the first floor of A. Howard Bean Hall.
From Marion will continue south on Alabama 5, crossing U.S. 80 at Browns. When we reach the community of Safford, in Dallas County, staying on Alabama 5 requires a right turn. Safford isn’t much more than the intersection of Alabama 5 and 22, but you can see evidence of the days when this was a busy town on a main route from Birmingham to Mobile. Old gas stations and motels tell the story of better days in years past. Sometimes I wish those old buildings could talk.
WILCOX COUNTY: Several miles down Alabama 5, we come to the community of Alberta where we will be turning left onto Wilcox County road 28, which will take us to Gee’s Bend, a small community isolated by a bend in the Alabama River. This rural road makes a big loop on the north side of the River Bend, along the way you can stop at the Corps of Engineers picnic and playground area for a great view of the water. It is a perfect spot for a snack and a nice long walk. But, the best thing about Gee’s Bend is the people.
Quilts made in Gee’s Bend have become internationally famous; just stop and ask anyone in the community about them. You might even get to see one of them being made!
Here is a Pulitzer Prize article from the Los Angeles times on Gee's Bend published in 2000:
http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2000/feature-writing/works/
This article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution from a couple of months ago shows you how God has blessed the quilt makers since the L.A. Times story:
http://www.accessatlanta.com/arts/content/arts/stories/0319bendstory.html
If you take the time to talk with the wonderful people in Gee's Bend, you might even get to meet Mary Lee Bendolph or some of her friends. Gee’s Bend is one of the most peaceful places in the world, and an Alabama treasure.
Loop around and take Wilcox County 28 back to Alabama 5, where we turn left and head south. At the intersection of Alabama 5 and Alabama 28 near Catherine, we will turn left onto Alabama 28. That will take us across the Alabama River near the Millers Ferry Dam, and on into Camden.
It is interesting to note that downtown Camden is only a few miles from Gee's Bend, and a ferry used to connect the two communities. The ferry was removed during the Civil Rights struggle in the 60s, and there has been a big effort to get it back in service. To my knowledge, the ferry is still not running.
Read more on the ferry here:
http://geesbendferry.com/news.htm
In Camden, we will turn off Alabama 28 and onto Alabama 41 south, which is also known as Claiborne Street, and runs right through the middle of town. If you are hungry, J.B. Elliott and I strongly recommend Dallas Soul Food and BBQ, which is owned and operated by Luverne Dallas. We haven't been there in a few years; I hope to drop by on my beach journey in a week or so (yep, I do follow my own advice
.MONROE COUNTY: From Camden, we will stay on Alabama 41 for about 30 miles or so, and that road will take us into downtown Monroeville. I suggest a stop at the Old Courthouse Museum, the Courtroom used as model for famous trial scene in To Kill a Mockingbird, movie based on Pulitzer Prize-winning novel written by Monroeville native Harper Lee. The 16th season of the town's sold-out "Mockingbird" play just wrapped up.
In downtown Monroeville, Alabama 41 merges with Alabama 21, and we will be following Alabama 21 south out of town. In about 10 to 15 miles, in the community of Uriah, lets veer right onto Alabama 59. That is the beginning of the road that leads straight to the public beach in Gulf Shores; but most folks rarely travel the northern part of Alabama 59.
BALDWIN COUNTY: We cross into the northern part of Baldwin County, and will soon be just east of the Mobile/Tensaw Delta, one of the nation's great wetlands.
You can take a quick detour off Highway 59 over to Fort Mimms (watch for the signs; the turn is to the right, or west), a stockade defense built in the early 1800s on the east bank of the Alabama River. There was a horrible massacre at Fort Mimms on August 30, 1813 when over 400 men, women, and children died in an Indian attack.
When we get to Stockton, we will veer right onto Alabama Highway 225, which will continue south, and under I-65. Before reaching Spanish Fort, time to check out Blakeley State Park, a site with some real Civil War history.
Following the fall of nearby Spanish Fort on the night of April 8, 1865, orders were issued to take Blakeley by assault. The General advance began at 5:25 p.m. on April 9, six hours after Lee surrendered at Appomattox. Fort Blakeley fell in the last battle of the Civil War.
Today, you will find remains of earthen forts, old rifle pits, redoubts and battery sites that dot the park's 3,800 acres. There are over 10 miles of nature trails.
Past Spanish Fort, Alabama Highway 225 ends and we take U.S. 98 south through the Eastern Shores communities of Daphne and Fairhope, where you can find some great antique shopping. U.S. 98 will hook around to the west, and in Foley we pick up our old friend Alabama 59 for the 8 mile side to Gulf Shores. You have to stop at Lambert's Cafe in Foley for "throwed rolls" and lots of fun. The wait can be long, but the food is very reasonable and worth the wait.
Alabama 59 dead ends at the Gulf Shores Public Park and the water of the Gulf of Mexico. Don't forget, this place was ravaged by Hurricane Ivan in 2005, and took a glancing blow from Dennis and Katrina last year. You will be pleased to see how far the recovery has come.
Be sure and send us some pictures if you take the "roads less traveled"! Send them to:
weatherpix@abc3340.com
Have a safe trip and enjoy!
