Visiting with Friends at Big Spring Park in Huntsville, Alabama

September 6, 2024

On Wednesday (September 4), we meet some friends halfway between their camping spot in Guntersville, Alabama and our camping spot in Tuscumbia, Alabama.

We drove along alternate US Hwy 72 to Huntsville, crossing the Tennessee River at Decatur, Alabama.

We passed the Space Center.

We parked and walked around Big Springs Park before our friends arrived. Our friends arrived not too long after us.

Big Spring Park has a bridge and cherry trees that were gifts from the Japanese Defense Forces to Huntsville, Madison County and the U.S. Army.

The cherry trees are spectacular in the spring. (We lived in the Huntsville area in the ‘90s.)

A few things changed in 30 years! They added machines to dole out duck and fish food for a quarter. The area around the park has grown up tremendously.

The ducks and fish were fun to watch. We did see an osprey carrying off a gold fish (koi).

We walked under the bridge to another section of the park.

We sat on park benches in the shade enjoying the sights and talking.

We then walked to the end, where the fountain is in the above picture. That part of the park was donated by the Rotary Club.

The bridge overlooks the steps Big Springs runs down and continues into become wilderness.

We walked a little ways back and stopped in at the restaurant along the path, the CO/OP Community Table + Bar. We had a lovely lunch and continued on our way. (I would recommend the CO/OP Community Table + Bar. The food was delicious and Bruce enjoyed his beer.)

We stopped at the monument to the Declaration of Independence.

We also walked past this sculpture. I liked how the clouds seem to align with the sculpture.

We said goodbye to our friends and they headed back to Guntersville while we headed back to Tuscumbia along U.S. 72.

Nox was happy to see us and go for a walk.