Sunday, September 28, 2014

Montgomery, Alabama

and you know what is interesting about this city...yep, the State House.

This is the first peek.  The dome with the flags.

This one  is the seventh one to visit.

Montgomery became the capital in 1847 and is located on "Goat Hill."  The Dexter's had a goat farm on this location, and the building is on Dexter Street.





To our left is a statue of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, in 1861.  

This is a view of the floating staircase from the second floor. It is the most fascinating thing to me.

It is a three story spiral staircase, but the view from the first floor is the entry with all the security stuff that makes it unsightly.

Just had to show another view...hey, it is shaped in an S...I have a lot of pictures of just this staircase!!!

They think it was built by a freed slave by the name of Horace King, a bridge builder and engineer.  He also served in the Alabama legislature.







This is what you see as you enter, a statue of the first woman governor, Lurleen Wallace.

Behind her is the Fallen Heroes room.






This is looking up into the Rotunda.  A beautiful stained glass skylight dates from 1906.

There are lovely murals depicting the history of Alabama, circling beneath the dome.

This was another beautiful feature of this building.



This is just one of the murals.  It is of Jefferson Davis being sworn in as President of the Confederate States of America in 1861.

There is a total of eight murals with beautiful vibrant colors.









This is the old House Chamber. It has been restored to its original appearance.

Notice the lavender painted walls, and no desks...just wooden chairs without any cushions.


This caught my eye.  What a beautiful stove.

I meant to ask about it, but forgot.

Our tour was a self-guided tour, and the stove is not even mentioned in our literature.





The old Senate Chamber, where delegates from the seceding southern states organized the Confederate States of America in 1861.

It has been restored as well.  Notice the spitoons on the floor.

From the gallery above, you get a good look at the whole room.



Upon leaving Montgomery, we traveled back to Selma on the National Historic Trail where the march for voting rights was led by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.  The march ended on the street in front of the Capitol.  It was a five day march back in 1965. There were over 300 people who participated in the event.


The famous bridge, Edmund Pettus Bridge where the march began.

Until next time...






Saturday, September 27, 2014

Up the Hill and Around the Curve

as we make our way to work each week.  This is our last week to spend at Moosehorn for the season.  We have been busy routing signs, painting the edges and installing them.  Bill brought in some mums for the four planters and I got them planted as one of the last things to do.




We also re-installed a couple of counters. Hopefully these will work right and get an accurate count.  This one was reading 100%...that's great. Now to keep the spider webs out!!!

Well, this finishes up our last week of work...now to get things ready for travel.





Next, up on the roof I go, hoping I don't have an accident.

Somebody has to do it...I'd rather it be me.

Wallace gets to do the rest while I am busy inside.


We had a pizza party, and Bill asked me what my favorite memories were...oh, there are so many!!!

We had a great time, sharing funny things while we ate.



Our spot is now empty.

Any what a lovely spot indeed.

We turned in our keys.

We said our goodbyes.



Here we are in Woodstock, Virginia at a Wal-mart for the night.  We were the only ones until THIS pulled in beside us. Did you notice, it is a Prevost.

We stopped here to visit some friends who are camp hosting at Big Meadows...Lunda and Mel. We had a great visit with them.

We are now at a Corps of Engineers campground in Demopolis, Alabama...site 31.

We are recuperating from our time on the road from Maine (all one nighters).

We move on to Louisiana Monday for our three month stint at Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge...same place as last year at this time.

BUT, we took a little side trip yesterday and will share that maybe tomorrow...stay tuned.

Until next time...

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Musings


What a wonderful view...this bench is next to the new office building at the refuge.  We are sitting here thinking about all the things that have happened this summer.


One of the last things I failed to mention is when the Secretary of the Interior stopped by for a little visit...Sally Jewell...she is the one in the center with the blue jacket.  She spent some time talking with each one of us and then wanted to hike a trail...of course it had to be the Charlotte Trail.  I'm sure glad I spent some time trimming, mowing and cleaning the interpretive signs on that trail...she did not seem to notice though.  It was a nice visit.

We have had a wonderful summer with our Moosehorn Family, but it is time to move on to our next destination...Louisiana.

Until next time...