Thursday, May 18, 2017

Tuscumbia Big Spring Park & Helen Keller Birthplace

 Interesting places pop up all over if you are curious and keep your eyes open.  Gerry and I were returning from dinner and spotted this old cabin sitting alongside of the road.  It sat there by itself and we thought it looked great, so we pulled over to get some photos of it.  Behind the cabin was a small pool of water and then we saw a waterfall there, also.  Right away our antennas went up and we had to find out what all this was about.







Paddle Wheels on the pond.

 We searched for the entrance to the waterfalls and this is what we found.  The Big Spring has a daily flow of 35,000,000 gallons a day of crystal clear water.  The park setting is very pretty and relaxing so we got out and walked around the area.


 Picture perfect view of the waterfalls with the nice bridge over them.  The coolness from the water was very refreshing on this hot day.




Gerry enjoying the cool falls.

 The tallest water fountain is over 40ft tall and the fountains were working while we were there.  They have a lighted show each night of the fountains which are set to synchronize with music, and it's free to watch them.




The waterfalls are man made and are the largest known ones in existence.  They look natural and blend in with the park very well.  




Now it was my turn to cool off.



Paddle wheels
 There are some amusement park rides including this old carousal and a nice train ride around the grounds.  A band concert stage is alongside of the pool.  South of this area is a 9 hole golf course that looked great from the road.  We were both very impressed with the park and would love to have one like it wherever we settle down.  Beautiful!



 Tuscumbia is well known and very proud of being the birthplace of Helen Keller.  When she was 18 months old she went blind and deaf, but she was a very intelligent young girl and overcame the odds to become famous.


Heller Keller was born in this home in Tuscumbia, AL.  Unfortunately, we arrived just as they were closing for the day.  I guess we will have to put that on our list for another trip here.

Helen Keller birthplace 





 As we were leaving Tuscumbia I noticed this neat old street clock and then noticed the famous name at the bottom of the base.


The downtown area of Tuscumbia was very nice to see.  There were many shops open along with other businesses including the County Courthouse that stood out very well.  Nice to see small towns that are still viable and functioning.  I wish we had more of them in the U.S.

We had dinner at an old restaurant just up the road from the park.  It had two entrances on the street with an entrance to an apartment section between the entrances.  We walked in the right entrance and it looked like it was an old bar with two tables and then a young girl popped out of an archway and directed us to another seating area.  Service and food were good and I actually was able to order a beer in Alabama.  

Our waitress looked a lot like my grandniece Hannah and I asked if she minded me taking a picture of her.  She was fine with that and I sent it to my niece Vonda and said I found Hannah's twin.  Vonda sent back a photo of Hannah and I showed it to the waitress and she was surprised how much alike they looked.  Hmmmm!

That was our day, how was yours?


2 comments:

  1. What a beautiful find. I love the waterfall. Small towns really do have a lot to offer if we just take the time to find them.

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  2. We visited that area the second time we went to Red Bay. The Museum is amazing. If you get a chance, don't miss it. She was an awesome woman!

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