SPACES Bienniel Sculpture Trail: Huntsville, Alabama

Recently, while  driving through downtown, I noticed something new.  Someone had erected some pretty cool sculptures and I couldn’t resist stopping to take a closer look. It turns out the pieces are part of a sculpture trail, a collection of 28 pieces from 15 accomplished artists on display at six different locations around Huntsville, Alabama.  

Modeled similarly to Chattanooga, Tennessee’s sculpture trail and public art, SPACES Bienniel  Sculpture Trail will be on display until August 2012.  Installations are located Downtown on the Square, at the Huntsville Museum of Art, the Von Braun Center, Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment Center and the campuses of  UAHuntsville, and Alabama  A & M University.

Brochures are available at the Huntsville/Madison County Convention Center with maps of the sculpture trail also available for download at the Spaces website. 

There is a GPS tour and a Cell Phone Tour available which you can access by calling 256-489-2088 and entering the number of the sculpture. 

Here are some of the sculptures we saw downtown:

Soft 2 

Celestial Motion

Grouper

And my personal favorite:  

…and this is hope (#1 and #2)

Created by internationally known artist and sculptor, Charles Brouwer, this piece is constructed out of locust wood, a hard wood that holds up to the elements. His sculpture symbolizes the hope that he finds in families that rise to the challenge of raising children in today’s world.

I can’t wait for a nice day so the kids and I can get out of the house and and appreciate some more incredible works of art.

Huntsville

Natural Well: A Never Ending Pit

Last week we joined a friend and her two boys for a great hike to Natural Well, which is located on Monte Sano Mountain and is part of the McKay Hollow trail section. 

We met at the trailhead located on the right hand side of Monte Sano Blvd. just past Burritt on the Mountain.  The trail is pretty easy, though it is rocky underfoot. Shoes with thick soles would be handy as my cheap tennis shoes weren’t really cutting it.

Along the way you’ll find rocks and boulders along both sides of the path.   You’ll also see evidence of possibly a mill and some type of building as you approach the well. I don’t have any information about either at this point, but I do plan to do a bit of research a bit later. The return trip from the well has a couple uphill climbs on the way back to the parking lot but not anything that was too steep or difficult.

The well itself is actually a pit cave and looks just like the picture, a huge gaping hole in the ground, though it was cool to see. A pit cave is described as a cave passage that is is actually vertical instead of horizontal and can’t be explored without the use of a rope or ladder. The shaft you see in the picture descends nearly 190 feet straight down, before sloping to a total 325 feet below the surface of the mountain. 

If you are skilled in caving and rappelling, you can get a permit from the Monte Sano State Park office and explore the entire 1,150 foot horizontal passage with underground domes, waterfalls and tight passages.  

I don’t think anyone in our group is quite that adventurous yet, but on the other hand, viewing  an underground waterfall sounds pretty spectacular. I think. Right now I’ll stick to enjoying it from the comfort of my own home via this YouTube video that I found.

The pit is surrounded by a short partial wall (in front) and a chain link fence,  but personally, I wouldn’t leave my children unsupervised.

At about 3.5 miles round trip, this was a great fall hike, probably one that we’ll add to our growing list of favorites in Northern Alabama.

So, I’m curious. Have you been caving or rappelling? What has been your most memorable adventure?

Camping, a Family Bonding Experience

Before the birth of our children, my husband once expressed his desire to camp often as a family once we were parents. He’d listened to a radio broadcast on his daily hourly commute to work that stated that families that camped together, tended to be closer than families that did not. I don’t know how accurate that statement is or was, but with both of us growing up in households that could have been closer, we were willing to give our family any advantage in our power. 

Little did we know that years later, that wistful statement would prove prophetic, as we experienced one incredible adventure, ‘camping’ full time in our motor home!

I’ve expressed that for me, one of the most difficult aspects of leaving the prospects of our full-time traveling life behind us and settling back in to a stationary home is that I worried that some of the closeness we’d attained in our close quarters would be lost. I have now realized that what my family experienced has not been forgotten.

This was evident several weekends ago, when we took the opportunity to camp in a tent for the first time in nearly six years! We chose to camp at nearby Monte Sano State Park which happened to be our home for several weeks when we parked our motor home on the mountaintop retreat last spring.

We arrived in our spot, and my husband and I watched, amazed, as the kids jumped to work, unloading our gear and setting up camp without my husband and I even lifting a finger. Within minutes, our tent was up, a fire was made and we were busy cooking hamburgers using our pie irons. I couldn’t believe how relaxing it was to camp now that the kids are older. When they were younger, I remember thinking on several occasions that camping was just too exhausting!

My husband shared my thoughts and even suggested that we consider traveling across country with our van and tent…sounds good to me! When do we leave?           

We enjoyed our meal before heading off on a trail to show my husband the Stone Cuts that the kids and I had discovered earlier in the year.

The hike to the Stone Cuts is considered a moderate hike because it tends to be rocky and steep in some areas. It is certainly more enjoyable in the fall than it had been in the summer when it was so hot and humid.

Once we made our way to the rock formations, my daughter and I lost the guys as they ventured off to climb among the rock formations and show off a bit.   

By the time we returned to our camp, it was nearly dark. We enjoyed S’mores as we talked around the bonfire.  Since much of our camping gear is still in storage, we didn’t have a lantern and it had gotten too dark to sit around the picnic table for games, so we all piled inside the van to play a couple hands of Rummy and a new favorite, called Sevens. 

In the absence of technology, no computers, Xbox or cell phones, we bonded once again on what was a wonderful family camping trip!

What has been your favorite camping experience?

C is for Cave

C stands for a lot of things like cat, crystal, cool, cautious, calendar and coyote but I didn’t have a picture that would represent any of those things. However, I do have a….CAVE.   

Taken at Russell Cave National Park in Bridgeport, Alabama.

Field Trip Friday: North Alabama Railroad Museum

Well, keeping up our pace, the kids and I headed out to explore yet another local attraction, the North Alabama Railroad Museum. This was the second time we had stopped, but the museum is operated by volunteers and may not always be manned. For that reason, I suggest calling ahead before your visit. The museum grounds are open 7 days a week so you can see the trains, but if you want to see the tiny museum housed in the depot, or hope to get access to the caboose,  you’ll need to do so when volunteers are present.

When you arrive, your first stop should be to the Chase Depot, the yellow and green building shown in the picture. There is a box on the outside of the building that holds brochures and a paper detailing the self-guided tour which includes a map of the grounds.  Inside the depot, you will see a small display of railroad artifacts and displays. The depot was one of the smallest union depots in the country and served the Southern Railway, Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railways.  The depot you will see today is the second built on this site. The original depot contained two waiting rooms during the days of segregation, an agent’s office and a freight room. 

We were a little bit confused about where to go from here. Though the map details the buildings, we weren’t entirely sure what was open to the public and what wasn’t. I guess my advice to you would be to wander around, if it’s locked, it’s not open. Lucky for us, there were plenty of volunteers on hand since it was a work day and we were quickly whisked off to get a glimpse of the caboose.  The caboose is part of the display train and though you’ll find a plaque on the bottom of the car telling you what it was used for, this is the only part of the train that you are permitted to tour unless you arrive on a special departure day when the excursion train is running.

One of the volunteers ushered us into the caboose. All I can say is wow, was it hot in there! I really think that the volunteer would have talked more about the train car if it hadn’t been so unbearably hot! We were interested in the commode that seemed to be stuck in the middle of the room. It was explained that men and women didn’t work together at that time so the two men who shared the caboose had less need for privacy. It was really interesting to peek under the lid and see that the toilet drained directly below. See the picture on the right? That’s gravel. Don’t think the EPA would let you get away with that now, would they? Of course if I remember right, this caboose was last used in the 1940’s- things have changed a bit since then.

The guys in the caboose would sit in the bay like window seats in the caboose, which would allow them a clear view of the train. They’d watch intently for axles that appeared to be overheating. We did see one that had overheated and as you can imagine, a broken axle would create a heap of trouble.

We also got to take a peek in the vintage, restored Amtrak train that is still operational. Today it is used on select dates to transport visitors along the 10 –mile Mercury & Chase Railroad.  If you ask my children what they learned on this one, I don’t think they’d be able to tell you much. We discovered that it’s a bit hard to concentrate when you are literally dripping with sweat! My suggestion would be that if you happen to be in the Historic Chase community on a Wednesday, you could stop to stretch your legs and have a quick look around. It won’t take you too long, maybe 30-45 minutes tops. If you’re going to spend any significant amount of time traveling to this attraction, call ahead and see if you can schedule a tour. I really think if you received a tour it would make the difference between this being an okay stop and a gem of a field trip. You can reach the North Alabama Railroad Museum by calling 256-851-6276 or by stopping in at 694 Chase Rd. N.E. Huntsville. You can see more of the pictures from our trip at the Live the Adventure Facebook Fanpage. If you do plan to go you may want to download the free notebooking pages that I created.    Thanks for linking up to Field Trip Friday! Feel free to grab your cute button and once again, it’s not mandatory, but I would love it if you’d help Field Trip Friday to grow by offering a link back here. 

Until next week~ Happy Field Trippin'!

Field Trip Friday: Alabama Veterans Museum & Archives

It was suggested that the kids and I visit the Alabama Veterans Museum & Archives some time ago and to be honest, I drug my feet because I just really didn’t think that it would be very enjoyable. I can’t tell you how wrong I was! From the moment we stepped inside, and I saw my boys’ eyes light up, I knew we were in for a special treat.

The museum is housed in a 100-year-old building along the railroad tracks that was originally used for the transport of cotton and other commodities. Though the tracks are still in use today, the building hasn’t been used as a depot for many years. It  now houses uniforms, artifacts, and memorabilia from each of the wars in United States history,  with the main emphasis on the men and women who have served from the state of Alabama.  

Many of the exhibits displayed books or pamphlets that offer more in-depth information on the display for those that want to dig further. We didn’t really have time to delve in deeper on this visit, but my boys are looking forward to a return trip so they can read through the information on Sybil Ludington, the female Paul Revere, as well as WWI and WWII Trench Art.   My son remarked that the art created from artillery shells resembled Medieval Art. 

With a son that wants to be a future soldier, and major history buffs in our household, we’ve spent time in many museums that house war memorabilia but we always learn something new.  I hadn’t ever noticed that the Uncle Sam figure in the famous recruiting poster seemed to be looking and pointing directly at you. No matter where you seemed to be standing.  Personally, I also had not realized that thousands of American soldiers who lost their lives during WWI and WWII are buried overseas in military cemeteries in places such as Sicily, North Africa, Luxembourg City, Florence and Normandy. I had no idea.

I didn’t know that WWII pilots had silk maps. Of course, a paper map wouldn’t have held up very well if they were shot down over a body of water. The boys were surprised to learn that dog tags have not always been rectangular. During WWI there were round dog tags that were about the size of a silver dollar. We saw a miniature kit of military ships that the Navy would use to train sailors so they could recognize friendly and enemy ships on the horizon so they wouldn’t mistakenly shoot at their allies.

I think we toured just about every inch of the museum from the gift shop to the bathrooms. Yes, we even went into the bathrooms to see the artwork that a local artist had painted on the walls.  The story goes that a sailor got off the ship and grabbed and kissed the first girl he saw which resulted in a reporter snapping this well known picture. The subjects have never been identified.

The museum currently has over 2,000 pieces of memorabilia on display, but because they accept donations, the displays are always changing. It’s likely that it will not look the same on our next visit. The museum offers a library with books, DVD’s and VHS tapes on the upper floor which is open to the public and is an ideal resource for those working on reports or interested in military history. They also offer a Coffee Call breakfast the 1st Saturday of every month where you can meet and thank veteran’s who have fought for our freedom. The museum is free but donations are welcome. They also sell flags and commemorative bricks that you can honor a loved one with while supporting the museum.

The Alabama Veteran’s Museum and Archives is open Monday-Saturday from 10:00-3:00 and guided tours are available upon request. You’ll find it at 100 West Pryor St. Athens, Alabama.  For more information you can call 256-771-7578 or visit the website.                     

Want to see more pictures from our trip? You can check them out on the Live the Adventure Facebook page.

Don't forget, you can share your own family trips, outings and educational endeavors here on Field Trip Friday. It's not mandatory, but I'd be grateful if you'd include a link back to Live the Adventure from your site and don't forget to grab your cute button letting everyone know that you participated in Field Trip Friday!
Until next week...Happy Field Trippin'!

Field Trip Friday: A Girl Named Howard

Once again, it’s time for Field Trip Friday and I have to say that when it comes to museums, this weeks field trip was one of the best that we’ve had in a long time.  Our destination was to The  Historic Weeden House Museum in downtown Huntsville. From the moment we stepped inside the air conditioned home and were seated in the parlor we were treated not as tourists, but  as guests.

We sat on the period furnishings enthralled by the tales of the museum’s director,  Barbara Scott. She got our attention right away when she claimed that there was a ghost or ghosts in the house.  Apparently they have been sighted on several occasions by different people. I can’t say that I was eager to see a ghost, but the stories did raise the hair on my arms.

The historic home was built in 1819, the same year that Alabama became a state, by a wealthy mercantile business owner, Mr. Bradford. At that time he paid $50 for a block of land and had the home built. The museum, which is located in what is  called the Twickenham District, is now worth $3-4 million dollars! It is the oldest home in the state of Alabama that is open for tours.

Mr. Bradford lost his fortune and the home was sold and passed through a couple families before settling with the Weeden Family in 1845. Dr. William Weeden had 1500 slaves, owned 3 other antebellum homes,  as well as the land that is now known as the Redstone Arsenal. He sold his property, moved in town and settled into the Weeden House with his family. Six months later, he died of a heart attack while on a business trip to New Orleans. Shortly after, his wife gave birth in the home to another daughter, Maria Howard Weeden.

The family continued to live in the home until April 1862 when the Yankees came to town and ordered them out.  The home was used as headquarters for Federal officers during the Civil War. The women fled that night with their slaves while Maria’s three brothers  enlisted  in the Confederate army. Remarkably, all three boys returned home after the war uninjured.  The family was now impoverished and in order to eek out a living, Maria, known as Howard, began to paint and sell her work. She would paint by the window in the parlor with a paintbrush consisting of three horse hairs. 

She was so near-sighted that her nose would nearly touch the paper as she painted, yet she painted beautifully often selling her note cards and dinner cards for a dime a piece. Today a single painting of hers could sell for $20,000!

In 1892 she visited the World’s Fair in Chicago and was upset that the paintings she saw of black people did not look like the people she knew. She began painting her dear colored friends and that is what she is most well known for today. Not only did she capture the faces of those she’d grown to love, but she also captured their thoughts, voice and personality in the poems that she wrote to accompany her paintings.      

Howard Weeden published four books, one of those, Bandanna Ballads was copied and used to design the slave costumes for the movie, Gone With the Wind, though she never received proper credit. She also created silhouettes for Charles Dickens.

It is unclear exactly how many paintings Howard Weeden created in her lifetime, but you’ll see over 20 on display at the museum today. 

Maria Howard Weeden passed away in poverty at the age of 57 from tuberculosis in the same room that she was born in.  The home remained in the Weeden family for 111 years.

Today the home is owned by the City of Huntsville and leased by the Twickenham Historic Preservation District Association. Not only is the home open for tours, it is also available for weddings and entertaining.

Our self guided tour concluded with a delicious glass of lemonade on the back porch while we wandered the yard , viewing the rose garden and slave quarters which have been renovated into bathrooms.

If you are ever in Northern Alabama, I HIGHLY recommend that you visit The Historic Weeden House Museum. It is very reasonably priced at $5 for adults and $2.50 for children under the age of 12. You can also pick up discount coupons at the Huntsville Visitors Center to save 20% . You’ll find additional information about the museum here.   Of course if you do find yourself in the area, make sure you take the time to explore Harrison Brothers Hardware Store too, it's only a few blocks away.

If you’d like to see more pictures of our field trip, you’ll find them on the Live the Adventure Facebook Fan page. 

Thank you for stopping by for this week's edition of Field Trip Friday. If you're just joining us make sure you take a peek at some of the other excursions we've taken.

Have a field trip that you'd like to share? Link up to Field Trip Friday below. It's not mandatory, but I'd be grateful if you'd include a link back here in your original post and feel free to grab your cute button:Until next week- Happy Field Trippin'!

Huntsville

Huntsville

Field Trip Friday: The One That Almost Didn’t Happen

Well I have to admit that it was harder to fit in a field trip this week than I thought it would be. Not only has the weather been really hot, but we’ve also had terrible thunderstorms almost daily. Not exactly the type of weather that makes an outdoor field trip seem appealing.

This morning we got up early hoping to avoid some of the rain and intense heat that we’ve been experiencing so we could investigate an adorable little town called Mooresville. Actually some of you may have visited this quaint, historic town in the 1995 Disney movie "Tom and Huck". I know we’ve watched it before, but we are certainly going to be ordering it from Netflix so we can watch it from a new perspective.


Mooresville, Alabama can be found in Northern Alabama, less than an hour from the Tennessee border and literally a minute from the Interstate 565. It's bordered by the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge.

Mooresville was first settled in 1805 on land that once belonged to the Chickasaw Indians. In November of 1818 the town was recognized and incorporated by the Territorial Legislature of Alabama, almost exactly a month before Alabama became a state. The entire town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


Our first stop was to the post office, thought to have been built after 1840 because of the sawmill lumber that was used in its construction. However, the handmade bricks of the chimney seem to have been made at an earlier time. Inside the Post Office we met the very friendly and helpful Post Master who shared with us a bit of local history. The Mooresville Post Office is the oldest continually operating post office in Alabama. The front room was also a General Store at some point.
Today you can see the original post boxes that are still in use. I thought it was very interesting that some families have had the same box number for generations. In days gone by, the stagecoach would have delivered the mail three times a week. When it arrived, the bell at the Brick Church would ring, notifying the townsfolk of its arrival. The small frame building behind the Post Office has housed a blacksmith, auto repair shop and grist mill.
The Brick Church was built in the Greek Revival period. I loved the steeple. What do you think?
My favorite house is a simple little cottage that is a Downing Gothic design, characterized by the curved brackets of the porch and the extreme vertical proportions of the windows. The house was built by a black carpenter, Zack Simmons, in 1890. He lived in the home with his wife for many years until their death. The Stagecoach Inn and Tavern was built before 1925. It is thought that the mail was handed out to the townsfolk through the small window on the porch but other documented stagecoach inns having similar windows claim they were used to sell liquor after hours.
The beaded joint door is thought to be original.
You can see the kids taking a break from the heat.
The Church of Christ was built in 1854 by a congregation of Disciples of Christ. Behind this sign, if you look really closely, you can barely see a pumpkin colored house in the background. This house was used in the "Tom and Huck" movie. We wanted to get a better picture but there were people working outside.

General James A. Garfield preached here during the Civil War while encamped nearby with the 42nd Regiment of the Ohio Volunteers. The Bible he preached from was used at the church until recently.
Regular church services were held in the church building until the 1990's.

We saw a home that has been renovated in the Victorian style that President Andrew Johnson may have roomed at when he apprenticed to a local tailor, Joseph Sloss. Mr. Sloss was known for his exceptional skill in making frock coats. Did I mention that the area is also known for it's abundance of shade trees? Pretty obvious from this view! This Federal period home was guarded by Yankee soldiers during the occupation of Mooresville. The homeowner heard soldiers prowling around outside and went to the commanding officer to complain. He accompanied her back to her home and stationed a guard nearby to watch over the grounds.
Not only did we see some great examples architectural features, we also learned a bit about the local history. By the time we left this charming town, my son was convinced that he's found a new place to live. Want to learn more about this charming town? You can visit the Mooresville website here.

What historic towns have you traveled through?

That's about it for this week's edition of Field Trip Friday. If you're just joining us make sure you stop by and take a peek at some of the other excursions we've taken.

Have a field trip that you'd like to share? Link up to Field Trip Friday below. It's not mandatory, but I'd be grateful if you'd include a link back here in your original post and don't forget to grab your cute button:
Until next week....Happy Field Trippin'!