When it’s minus 40 degrees and the wind is howling, I always say it’s time to look for a warm spot with lots to do. Last winter I discovered the thirty-two mile stretch of Alabama’s gulf shore around Gulf Shores/Orange Beach. With The Beach Club in Gulf Shores as my central point, I set out to discover the area.

I was ready to stretch my legs and enjoy the sunshine when I arrived, so I headed out for a hike. Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge was perfect. I took the two-mile hike (one way) up the Pine Beach Trail, which had lots to see and learn on the way.

The first thing I noticed was the unfamiliar sound of locusts–while I’d heard of them, I’d sure never actually heard the hum of a swarm.

Some other amazing things included: wind-bent Sand Live Oaks, a ghost crab, a beach mouse, the Piping Plover, different varieties of cacti, reindeer moss and saw palmettos, along with the alligator slide. Panting my way right to the end of the trail, the wind-swept dunes were a great reward for the exertion.

When you’re from the prairies, like I am, everything on the Gulf is new and exciting, so I found myself an educational tour. Janet & Skip Beebee at Sailaway Charters were some of the best teachers I ever met! A group of us boarded the “Miss Janet” for a tour through the estuaries and backwaters of Longs Bayou and Wolf Bay on the Gulf.

In a few short hours Janet taught me the basics of life on the water: shrimping, farming oysters and crabs, and more amazing, what lives in the water! I was able to get up-close to all kinds of sea creatures, such as the puffer fish, silver eel, sea robin, croakers, jelly fish and mud flounder. She pointed out the different kinds of birds, shore grasses, and gave us a run-down of rules and regulations as well. This was the best nature tour I’ve ever taken–bar none!

While I’m in an area I always have to check out the history too–and discovered Fort Morgan. My Living History Interpreter, Bill Matthews, did a fabulous job of telling us why the Fort was important for more than a century, and what it was like to live in the Fort. A site of defense through the: War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish American War, and World Wars & II, the Fort is located at the end of a peninsula, protecting the US from invasion through the Gulf waters.

Fort Morgan flies a variety of flags to show all of the Nations that have claimed it through its tumultuous years, including France, Spain, and England. From the men’s living quarters to the powder magazines, the areas of the Fort are in exceptional condition—the Fort isn’t a replica, but rather a well-preserved historical structure. Part of the reason can be explained by the fact that the Fort wasn’t occupied on a full-time basis, but only when there was a threat of invasion. For much of its life it was occupied by solitary maintenance men assigned to walk its empty walls.

I was in for some great Gulf shore meals too! King Neptune’s Seafood Restaurant in Gulf Shores was fabulous. I enjoyed sampling the crab claws with cocktail sauce, an oyster platter, and thick gumbo–with a sumptuous bread pudding for dessert. The Gulf Bay Seafood Grill offered meals just as tasty in nearby Orange Beach. Try the Jumbo Shrimp stuffed with crab meat, along with steamed zucchini for a memorable dinner. Doc’s Seafood Shack served up a great plate of one of the local specialities, royal red shrimp.

And I have to admit I spent some time just laying on the sugar white beaches, soaking up the sunshine, building sandcastles and watching the kids have a great time.

After all, the beach was right out the back door of The Beach Club. From my sitting room I watched waves lap against the shore and enjoyed a fresh fruit breakfast from my kitchen. When the sun set, music and the king sized bed were all I needed to drift away.

There was only one flaw to my Gulf Shore visit–it didn’t last nearly long enough. Before I knew it I was back to winter.

If you visit:

Area information: Alabama Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau: 800/745-SAND.
http://www.gulfshores.com
Gulf Shores is the last point on Alabama’s Hwy #59. It is about an hour from Mobile, AB, and Pensacola, FL

Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge: 12295 State Highway 180; Gulf Shores, AL
Phone 251-540-7720
http://www.fws.gov/bonsecour/

Sailaway Charters: 24231 Gulf Bay Road; Orange Beach, AL
Phone 251-974-5055
http://www.geocities.com/sailorskip/testimonials.html

Fort Morgan: 51 Hwy. 180 W., Gulf Shores, AB
Phone 800-745-7263
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Morgan,_Alabama

Restaurant Guide: http://www.al.com/gulfshores/cityguide/index.ssf?dining.html

Standing on the Kentucky/Virginia state line in Cumberland Gap National Historic Park

Walking the Wilderness Trail, where Daniel Boone and nearly 300,000 settlers had trod in the late 1700s, turned back the pages of time for me. Maybe because I’d already watched the new movie, “Daniel Boone, the Westward Movement” at the Cumberland Gap National Historic Park Visitor Center, I could almost see them struggling over the rugged terrain.

The day was warm, almost hot. I could envision the wagons of settlers, women in bonnets, children playfully walking along, men with their horses. How difficult had it been for them to traverse this wilderness?

From the top of Pinnacle Overlook in Cumberland Gap park, I stood in the state of Virginia, while the town below was in Tennessee and the vehicle parking lot was in Kentucky. Although the view was somewhat hazy, the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina, a hundred miles away, were visible. Of course three centuries earlier, the borders hadn’t existed.

Back in 1775, Boone had negotiated a deal with the local Cherokee people for the land. The final negotiations had been held at Sycamore Shoals (now Elizabethton, TN), an ancient sacred Cherokee treaty ground on the southern bank of the Watauga River. After it was signed Boone and his men chopped a trail through 200 miles of wilderness.

Gazing out, I could see Middlesboro, Kentucky, hidden in a large bowl of fog below me at Pinnacle Overlook. The bowl, I discovered, has a history even longer than that of the original peoples of the area, since it is a meteor crater. Geologists have uncovered enough evidence to support a theory that a meteor hit the area around 300 million years ago, creating a crater four miles long in diameter.

Hikers coming down trail

However, the really unique thing about Cumberland Gap is that it is being restored to its 1790s appearance. US highway 25E, which once clung to the mountain’s sides until 1995, has been removed and is now routed through one of the safest tunnels in the world under the pass. It will take several decades until the trees grow up over the landscape—but it will happen.

I soon met a group of hikers coming through the hills, their walking sticks providing secure footing. Trails cover over 70 miles, providing visitors with access to some of the most beautiful park area in the world. The shortest hike into the Gap is 6/10 of a mile, making it accessible for even novice hikers and families.

The foliage was just starting to take on its rich mix of yellows, oranges, and reds for fall. Black gum, sassafrass, and dogwoods, the first to turn, stood out in the against summer’s greenery. Overhead, Red tailed hawks soared against the clear blue sky.

Scene from overlook of Cumberland Gap National Historic Park

Much of the rock face was covered with green large-leaved vines I soon found out were the kudzu vine. It sprawled across everything, overtaking the landscape wherever it could. The vine, promoted for erosion control during the 1930s, has the nickname of “mile a minute,” “foot a night vine,” and “the vine that ate the south,” because it grows so fast. Indeed, it readily grows sixty feet a year!

Historic Hensley Settlement is another part of the park that provides a view of days gone by. The Wilderness Road Tour guided tour by Park Rangers goes through weathered hand-built massive chestnut log cabins, barns and other structures. This settlement documents the lives of the Hensley and Gibbons families, who lived off the land in a self-sufficient community from 1903 until the 1950s.

One of my favorite parts of the park experience was Gap Cave. Following the Park Guide, I used my lantern to view such exquisite formations as: Cleopatra’s Pool, the coal miner, the Pillars of Hercules, and Lover’s Leap. While most man-made intrusions into the cave have been removed, there are still several stairways to make it safe for visitors to navigate the underground caverns.

Corn husk doll

Of course, once I’d explored the park I had to stop at the Visitor’s Center, and look at all the locally produced goods. Over 220 craftspeople, including potters, weavers, basketmakers, and woodworkers sell their work through the Southern Highland Craft Guild shops. Some of the crafts really captured my imagination–like the cornhusk doll. While others, like a Jonesville crafter’s quilt, were more traditional, but no less beautiful.

No matter what kind of adventure you’re looking for, you can find it in Cumberland Gap National Historic Park.
If you go:

Contact Southern & Eastern Kentucky Tourism Development Association (SEKTDA) in Somerset, KY for full information and details. Call 877-TOUR-SEKY or visit www.tourseky.com

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Visitor’s Center is located near Middlesboro, KY. Website is www.nps.gov Phone 606-248-2817

Copyright 2006 by Linda Aksomitis.  All Rights Reserved.