December 2023 – Page 3 – Julia A. Keirns

November 12, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

On the Talladega Scenic Byway in Central Alabama

Nearly everything we do and all the places we see are free. We park the RV in a cheap or reasonably priced campground for a month at a time and drive around and explore everything we can see for free in the area.

All it costs us is gas in the car. Most of the time we pack sandwiches, drinks, and snacks for the day. We rarely eat out, and if we do it is at a small-town diner.

We prefer picnicking by a lake like this one in the middle of the forest. Coleman Lake Day Use Recreation Area is in the Choccolocco Wildlife Management Area in the Talladega Forest.

Today was a 50-mile drive south to the Talladega Mountains and National Forest.

Then a long slow drive on the Skyway Mountainway Scenic Road. The speed limit is only 35 on this road.

The first half was a nice paved road through the southern part of the forest. Then we came back up north, crossed the main highway, and entered the northern part of the forest which is the Choccolocco Wildlife Management Area.

But the second half was a one-lane muddy trail. This part of Alabama has been in a severe drought and today it was cloudy and sprinkly. The tiniest bit of rain made the dirt road slippery.

We drove slowly and looked for wildlife right and left. We didn’t see anything except hunter tents and vehicles, and we didn’t hear anything except gunshots. I think it is hunting season in Alabama.

It was a peaceful day driving slowly through a magnificent landscape of mountains and forests and small hidden lakes. I just love it when I look over at Rich and catch him grinning at the view.

There were several scenic overlook views to pull into and stop at.

I may not have gotten any photos of wildlife but I got some great shots of nature.

I will always take the time to photograph yellow ferns, green mossy rocks and trees, and red leaves.

When we set out on an adventure, we never know what we will find but we are never disappointed.

Nature always amazes us and revitalizes us.

It started getting dark by 4:30, and I noticed darkness at 5:07 p.m.

Thank you so much for coming along on our adventures and reading about the places we see. I hope you enjoyed the trip.

November 11, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie

Driving down a back road in rural Alabama, we came upon a bunch of huge rocks built and painted like zoo animals. I love finding street art in the middle of nowhere.

I told Rich to stop and back up and looked it up on Google Maps. Yep, it is there. It’s called “Rock Zoo.”

The website https://alabamarockzoo.com/ says that Leonard Dawson, the original zoo keeper, started the rock zoo in the 1970s when roadcrews left two huge boulders behind.

The animals are made of stone and painted with love! They have cemented some rocks together to form a shape. What a fun idea. This is something I would love to do as a creative person.

I’m not sure what some of the animals are but I do see a penguin in the photo above.

See if you can tell what some of them are. I see a rooster, a bull, cows, a turtle, a shark, a frog, and a giraffe.

If climate change keeps up and more animal species become extinct, this might become the only kind of zoo left in existence.

Since the 1970s, the zoo has grown to include turtles, a bear, a flag, a cross, a watermelon, a deer, a giraffe, an elephant, sea creatures, and many more!

If you have rocks that look like animals, you are welcome to paint them and bring them to the Rock Zoo where they will have a home for many years to come.

Drive way out into the country, pull off to the side of the two-lane county road, and walk this 100 yards of painted rocks! There is no parking area or any kind of facilities.

I can tell what the turtle and frog are. The green color helps. If you have read many of our travel articles, you know I am going to be the first one to make Rich go to all these crazy, weird attractions.

We see a lot of cows everywhere we go. Even rock cows.

All are welcome to pull off the road during daylight hours and explore these cute painted creatures.

If you are ever in northern Alabama, be sure to look up this Rock Zoo roadside attraction and take the time to drive by it. Be prepared though because it is down backroads in the middle of nowhere.

Thanks for coming along with us on our crazy adventures as we travel across America.