Taking A Walk

by Dwayne Phillips

Today I walked 18 miles (I am tired). The weather was bright and sunny all day. A chilly 50 in the morning and 80 in the afternoon. I walked through Vance, Coaling, and Cottondale, Alabama. I entered Tuscaloosa at the end of the day.

Vance is a small town on Route 11. Its claim to fame is that the Mercedes plant takes up all the land between I-59 and Route 11 at Vance. Do we (the U.S. taxpayers) own Mercedes now? I lose track of which auto companies the government bought. Anyways, there isn’t much on the Route 11 side. I put a photo of the Vance Post Office on its Wikipedia page.

Here is a photo of the Vance Library. This isn’t much, but I love it. Downtown Birmingham had a beautiful library. Collinsville was having a quilt walk to fund their library. Vance doesn’t have much of a library, but it is a library – a place where a kid can read Treasure Island or Harry Potter or books about sports (what I read as a kid).

Coaling is another little town. It has a Dollar General store (the most popular business in America), a gas station, and a fire department. I put a photo of the fire department building on the Wikipedia page for Coaling.

Cottandale doesn’t have a Wikipedia page. That is a surprise as it is bigger than Vance and Coaling put together. Here is a photo of some of the businesses lining Route 11.

Saturday traffic? This is a rural area outside of Tuscaloosa. In this area, Route 11 crosses I-59 (I-59/20) a few times and there are another few places where a short drive takes you to I-59. This is Saturday and “country folk” “go to town.” Basically they avoid the more expensive local grocery stores to shop at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Tuscaloosa. There was no traffic early this morning, so I made good headway walking. Then about 11AM the “country folk” went to town. Heavy traffic (it is all relative) the rest of the day.

by Dwayne Phillips

Today I left the Birmingham area and walked through McCalla and Woodstock, Alabama. The day was cool – 60 in the morning and 75 in the evening with clouds in the morning and sun in the afternoon. I walked 16 miles and drove three miles.

At the southern end of Birmingham, Route 11 runs concurrent with Interstate 59. You can’t walk on the interstate. There is an old road called (what else) the Old Tuscaloosa Highway that runs parallel to I-59 for eight miles. I walked along that road. There comes a point when there is no road parallel to I-59, so I drove those three miles on the interstate. Once, Route 11 exits, I walked eight more miles.

I couldn’t find McCalla (two c’s two l’s two a’s) on the map, but I walked by its Post Office. I put a photo of that Post Office on the Wikipedia page for McCalla. This was along the Old Tuscaloosa Highway. Also along that highway was this place – The Green Lantern. The sign on the front says it opened sometime in the 1920s. I couldn’t find any information on it anywhere, but it looks interesting from the outside.

The Green Lantern

At the end of the Old Tuscaloosa Highway was the town of Bucksville. At least I think it was Bucksville. The map said Bucksville, but all the signs on all the businesses and churches said Tannehill. Could someone from Alabama explain this to me?

After three miles on I-59, Route 11 exited again and the road was a four-lane divided highway for four miles. That was nice in that the shoulder was wider. The bad part is that traffic goes fast, makes a lot of noise, and a lot of wind.

Along that stretch of road I saw this fire station. It is the Green Pond Fire Department #2. Somewhere out there is the Green Pond Fire Department #1. I couldn’t find Green Pond on any maps.

Next on the road is the town of Woodstock. I put a photo of the businesses of Woodstock on its Wikipedia page. Woodstock looks pretty big because it is on the four-lane road. It has a few banks, a few gas stations, a few churches, and a medical center.

An Amtrak passenger train blew by me going south in the early afternoon. That is only the second train I have seen in Alabama, and the first passenger train.

Now to the horns. Drivers in Alabama honk their horns. The drivers in Tennessee and Virginia had their own peculiarities (I wasn’t in Georgia long enough to notice anything there). Here in Alabama it is the horn. I could be walking one edge of a four-lane divided highway and a car passes on the far edge of the highway – it doesn’t matter, the driver will honk their horn at me. Now I have checked all the variables in this situation. There wasn’t anyone or anything else in the area to honk at. The driver honked at me.

I hear honking horns a dozen times a day. I can accept that someone would honk at me when they are a hundred yards up the road and approaching me so that I don’t wander out in front of them, but they honk when they are even with me. I don’t get it. Maybe I am just too tired to understand.

I walked in three counties today. I think that is some sort of record.

by Dwayne Phillips

I walked through Birmingham, Alabama today. The weather was great again – 55 in the morning and 80 in the afternoon with clear skies. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, so we shall see. I don’t have a good guess about how far I walked today. In a major city like Birmingham, I skip a few neighborhoods (I consider concertina wire a hint), walk around in circle in other neighborhoods, and struggle to follow Route 11.

High Rise Buildings in Downtown Birmingham

Birmingham is a little different with Route 11 in that it goes right through downtown or the central business district. I parked downtown and walked around for a couple of hours. See the first photo of the high rise office buildings.

I was pulled to several things downtown. First, old church buildings. I examined about half a dozen of these. Most were built in the late 1800s and have historical markers on them. I love the architecture and the stained glass. Here is a photo of St Paul’s Church (Catholic).  This is a view of the side of the main building showing several of the stained glass windows. If you look closely you can notice that they have put a layer of glass on the outside of the stained glass windows. This protects the stained glass from a passerby (a.k.a. moron) who might throw a brick at the stained glass. This is a common practice with church buildings and their stained glass windows. I have seen it at old church buildings in towns large and small.

Stained Glass at St Paul

Second, places that feature hot dogs and middle eastern food (gyros). This is a problem when walking through towns in the morning. Some of these  food places aren’t open or they don’t serve hot dogs at 9AM. Why not? What is wrong with hot dogs at 9AM?

Third, libraries. This was the treasure of the day – the original Birmingham Public Library Building built in 1927. In the 1980s it was renamed the Linn-Henley Research Library. Glorious outside and inside. Here is a photo of one of the big rooms inside. The photo doesn’t do justice to the place. I have been in the main reading room of the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. This place in Birmingham rivals the big one in Washington, D.C. This is a sanctuary; I could live here (if they would let me). From the previous words you may have the impression that I hold old libraries in a special place. I put a photo of the entrance of this building on the WIkipedia page for the Birmingham Public Library.

Fourth, colleges. I went down the road to the University of Alabama at Birmingham or UAB. I was disappointed. It is typical of colleges that are downtown in a city. I cannot tell where the city stops and the college begins. Oh well.

I spent the rest of the day slugging my way into and out of the city. I love the downtown area of cities whether it be Collinsville or Birmingham. I love the rural areas, too. I don’t like those Golden Mile type areas on the edges of cities. The traffic is heavy, the scenery is monotonous (look the Target is red and the Best Buy is blue), and they rarely have a sidewalk. Tomorrow I should be back in the rural areas. Boy that was a great library.

by Dwayne Phillips

Good weather continued today. Bad traffic darkened it and cut my miles to 15. I started walking at the south end of Springville, walked through Argo and Trussville, and entered Birmingham.

The day started at 50 degrees with clear skies (it ended in the high 70s). I began at the edge of Springville and trudged two miles through traffic. “Heavy” traffic is a relative term. Route 11 was narrow with no shoulders, and everyone in the area was either driving to school or driving to town to access I-59. The grass on the side of the road was long and wet with dew. Tough going.

Next was the town of Argo. Traffic thinned, good coffee and chocolate cake at Denise’s Country Diner, and a surprise – a movie Drive In – the first in Alabama. Here are two photos. The first is the sign on Route 11. By the names of the movies, it appears that this place is open and operating now. Next is the refreshment and projection building. The screen isn’t real big, but this is an outdoor drive in. Great.

I put a photo of Argo‘s town hall and fire department on the Wikipedia page for Argo.

The next town was Trussville – a northern suburb of Birmingham. Route 11 is a four-lane road here running through a series of shopping centers. Maybe it was the good weather, maybe it was the time of day (early afternoon), but traffic was really heavy. It would be nice if there was a sidewalk anywhere along the way. I guess sidewalks cost too much for the little use they would have.

So, I resorted to what I call hopping through the parking lots. Instead of dodging cars on the edge of the road, I walk through the parking lots of the shopping centers. Two things about this. One, the temperature falls about ten degrees in the parking lots from the roadside. It is hard to imagine the amount of heat coming from all the vehicles. Go there, be there, feel the heat. Two, hopping from parking lot to parking lot isn’t much fun. You have to watch all the shoppers backing out of parking places and rushing to the exits. And there are a lot of curbs to step over.

I put a photo of the Trussville Municipal Building on its Wikipedia page. The photo isn’t very good as the building front is covered with scaffolding. Well, it is a photo of something other than traffic.

by Dwayne Phillips

Another 18-mile day today. I walked through Springville, Alabama. I think I walked through the communities of Whitney and Pleasant Hill given the names on buildings, but I am not sure those places exist.

The weather was one of the big items of the day. The weather changed – at 7AM it was 50 degrees. I had to wear my jacket for the first two hours. Great! At the end of the day we reached the high 70s. Not a cloud in the sky all day.

I have worked an office job since the summer of 1980. Working indoors makes you a little immune to the weather. Being outside eight hours a day allows you or forces you to notice any change. Today’s change was major in the positive direction. Everything looked better today. The road, the homes, the cars, and even the dogs that chased me down the road. They all looked better.

To make the day even better, the first store I stopped in for coffee served Community Coffee (from Louisiana).

Then I say this pond. Someone has a lot of fun. They installed a diving board and a slide on their pond. I have never seen a diving board and a slide on a pond – a pool yes, but not a pond.

Next down the road was the Pleasant Hill Volunteer Fire Department. Pleasant Hill – I can’t find it on a map – has a page on Wikipedia. I put a photo of the Volunteer Fire Department building on that page. They have five fire engines in their little department – FIVE. The Fifth is a classic old International Harvester truck. Here is a close up shot of that truck. Classic and in great condition.

Across the road for the fire truck was this sign for the Big Oak Girls’ Ranch. It is a big sign, and a road goes under it up over the hill out of sight. There were a few horses in the pasture by route 11. I looked for the ranch on the Internet and found this site. It sounds like a fine institution and an excellent work. Many commendations to those supporting and working here.

Springville is a nice small town. Its Wikipedia page already has a photo of its downtown. Route 11 runs through downtown. There are a few restaurants, a town hall and police station, school, and a nice public library. I like towns where the school is on the main street. It shows how important the people feel their school is. I ate lunch at the Springville Cafe. There are nice people there.

One final note for the day:

Beware people cutting the grass on a windy day during a dry week.

Today was such a day in such a week. Little bits of grass dust fly great distances at high velocity. They wreak havoc on the eyes.

by Dwayne Phillips

Today I walked through Reece City, Attalla, and Steele, Alabama. I covered 18 miles – a new high for this year’s effort. The weather was better, but not as fine as I hoped. It was 70 and cloudy in the morning and 82 and sunny in the afternoon. The air was drier than last week, but I think it will be even better tomorrow.

Reece City is a wide spot in the road. It has a little City Hall, a Volunteer Fire Department, and a little park. I put a photo of the fire department on the Wikipedia page for Reece City. A nice find was this little general store. What is odd about it is that it was a what looked like a 1/8 mile-long driveway. The store looks like it is still in business and even selling gasoline. No one was there, but I went by at at about 8 AM.

Attalla was depressing. The part that route 11 runs through was full of little houses that are not maintained, have lots of trash about them, and just don’t look good. I hate to say that about a town, but that was Attalla. The houses north and south of town looked much better – they were maintained, the grass was cut, and there was no clutter about them.

I put photos of downtown Attalla and the Post Office on the Wikipedia page for Attalla. Downtown covered about two blocks by two blocks. All the storefronts were occupied, but the place was deserted. I don’t understand how that happens, businesses with no one visiting them, but that was the case.

Attalla is one of these towns that is on the other side of the Interstate. East of I-59 is the city of Gadsden. Gadsden is much bigger than Attalla. I guess it is much newer and much of everything else you could think of. Attalla is on the west side of I-59. Like I wrote, Attalla is on the other side. It has been left out of much of the progress of the last few decades. There are two exits from I-59 to Attalla. The southern-most exit has some new stores and fast food places that look better than the rest of the town.

South of Attalla the road improved. There is an 18″ paved shoulder. That doesn’t sound wide, but it is a great improvement over no shoulder, and no shoulder is what Alabama has between here and the Georgia line. I hope the better road will continue.

South of Attalla I saw this little log building. I wouldn’t call it a house, but maybe it is a small cabin of sorts. It is interesting.

The next town is Steele. It has a few churches and one gas station on route 11. I put a photo of its post office on the Wikipedia page for Steele.

I was chased by a few more dogs. One was a big hound dog late in the afternoon. Maybe he was tired or maybe it was too hot, but he “chased” me at a walk. I was walking; he was walking, and now and then he would let out a bark or a howl or whatever you call it when hound dogs yell. He walked with me for a half mile before turning for home.

by Dwayne Phillips

Yesterday (see note below) I walked 13 miles. I walked through Keener, Alabama. Keener is not even a wide spot in the road as the road stays a narrow two lanes wide. It is a dot on the map and even has a little green highway sign announcing its presence. I didn’t see any post office or anything like that. There are a few churches and two gas stations spread out over about six miles of road.

My good fortune with the weather ended today. I walked six miles first thing in the morning, but stopped when rain came. I can stand some rain, but The Weather Channel radar on my iPhone showed major storms coming. They came and dumped a half inch of rain in a couple of hours. I waited out the rain and hit the road again at 3 in the afternoon. I was able to do seven more miles before daylight faded. I don’t walk before or after daylight.

I am still in a narrow valley. The best I can tell it is called Little Wills Valley. I remain surprised by the amount of stone I see. Here are two photos of this. This first is probably an old pump shed for a well. It is built of small stones.

The next really impressed me. This is a white house sitting atop a large stone foundation. The current house is ten years old at the oldest. The foundation looks much older. Its size tells me that the original house was much larger than the one

A large stone foundation

that is there now.

The final photo from the Keener area is this old store. The sign reads “E. D. Amos, General Merchandise.” I don’t know how long it has been since this was open. It is a nice old building.

E. D. Amos General Merchandise

The forecast for next week is for cooler and drier air. I can go for that.

NOTE: I usually write these blog posts in the evening after the day’s walk is done. This post is unusual in that I wrote it Sunday morning September 27th after walking the day before. I was just too tired Saturday evening to do write. This is because I was on the road until 6PM due to the weather.

by Dwayne Phillips

An essential piece of equipment for walking is the bandanna (can be spelled either bandana or bandanna). I prefer the dark blue classic look. The only other acceptable color is red. Everything else is, well something else.

Among the uses for the bandanna while walking:

1. Wrap around your digital camera so it won’t be scratched while in your pocket.
2. Soak perspiration on hot days.
3. Put crushed ice on it, roll it, and put it around your neck on hot days.
4. Soak it in cold water and put it around your neck on hot days.
5. Tie things to your back pack with it.
6. Put it around your neck backwards to keep the front of your neck from the sun.
7. Put around the back of your neck to keep it from the sun.
8. Put it around your neck to keep your body heat from escaping out of your collar on cold days.
9. Wrap it around your hand on cold days to keep warm.
10. Bandage scratches.
11. Blow your nose.

And,

1. The bandanna makes you look like you know what you are doing. It crosses all cultural lines from urban to rural and everything in between.

by Dwayne Phillips

Today I walked 16 miles. Still no rain on me – sunny all day today with temperatures from 75 to 89 degrees. It is muggy in the morning and hot in the afternoon. I try to finish my miles by 3PM to avoid the heat and any afternoon showers. The heat accumulates on the asphalt and by 3 it is hotter coming up than it is coming down from the sun.

I am still walking through a narrow valley. I can’t find the name of it anywhere. I am surprised to see homes and walls built from stone. I didn’t know there was that much stone near the surface this far south.

I walked through Collbran, Portersville, and Collinsville, Alabama. The wide spots in the road don’t have signs like in Virginia and Tennessee. They appear on Google maps, Bing maps, and Mapquest, but no signs on the road.

This is all of Collbran, Alabama (to the right). I guess it used to be a store.

Next was Portersville, Alabama. This little building has a handwritten sign on it proclaiming it to be the Post Office. I am not sure, but I doubt it is the post office. I went to high school in Loranger, Louisiana. Our post office there was the same size as this building.

The highlight of the day was Collinsville. It has an old downtown section that is one block long. I put a photo of downtown on the Wikipedia page for Collinsville. Most of the store fronts have something in them, but not much. People are trying to make a go of the downtown area. I had a cup of coffee at Nessa’s – a place that serves lunch a few days a week.

There were two big events today in Collinsville. The first is the Quilt Walk. It is sort of a tour of homes. Tickets get you into several of the old homes in town to look at the quilts and the homes. Proceeds of the walk go to supporting the new Public Library. The Library just moved into a building downtown. I am delighted to see people in a small town move their library downtown and all gather together to support it.

The second big event today is homecoming. People lined the streets of the town to see the parade. Kids from K through 12 were in the parade. Here is a photo of the floats gathering at the school. The entire school all in one place.

Homecoming at Collinsville

The surprise of the day was the Hispanic influence in Collinsville. A good portion of the store fronts downtown had signs in Spanish. See the photo on Wikipedia.

Small towns in America are great. It is great to be walking about in Real America.

by Dwayne Phillips

I stopped into a roadside gas station and food mart today. I saw an RC Cola, and that meant one thing: I was in one of the finer establishments in the country. A little more looking and there it was – Peach Nehi.

You see, Peach Nehi is the best soft drink in the world. It is so far ahead of everything else that it is difficult to find it. Bottled by the same people who bottle RC Cola, Peach Nehi is only sold in select stores in the southern part of the United States. Sort of like the Champagne region of France.

Well, anyway, I am enjoying sipping the finest this evening. If you look hard, you can find Peach Nehi in a couple places on the Internet. They will ship this to you, but at a high price.

This photo shows Peach Nehi, an Apple computer, and a Tilley hat – three outstanding products. Ahh, the fruits of luxury.