November 17

With Horseshoe Bend NMP gates opening at 8 AM, I was there, ready to travel the park’s loop road before the VC opened at 9 AM. And it is a good thing I did, because at 9:05 AM a bus of 5th graders from the local school system showed up at the VC and the park staffers were going to have their hands full for a couple of hours. During the time of the War of 1812, the Creek Indians were being mistreated by the U.S. Government, since white settlers wanted to expand into Creek territory. It did not help that the Creek Nation was allied with Great Britain. The Creek War ensued, from 1813 to 1814. The battle at Horseshoe Bend ended the war, resulting in the Creek Nation ceding 23 million acres of their land to the Union. The Tennessee militia under the command of General Andrew Jackson was reinforced by 39th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army to take action against Chief Menawa’s Red Sticks. Almost 1,000 warriors were surrounded at the bend in the Tallopoosa River, which when viewed from above has the shape of a horseshoe. The attack commenced on March 27. Jackson had help from Cherokee warriors and “White Stick” Creek warriors. The auto-tour route is self-guided and takes you around the entire battlefield, with a few specific stops for the major spots of the battle. The VC has nice displays of artifacts, including a Perpetual Blessing Blanket, given by the Creek Nation to the park on the 200th anniversary of the battle.

I asked some of the 5th graders how they were doing as I headed to my car. They looked ready to learn some American and Creek history. A few back roads and I was in Anniston, AL, at the site of the Freedom Riders NMon. A group of white segregationists fire-bombed a bus which had just left the Greyhound bus terminal in the city. The attack happened on route 202. The bus depot is currently the main point of interest for this park, but the building is not open. A large mural of a Greyhound bus is on the brick wall of an adjacent building, the two buildings separated by an alley. Susan and her traveling companion appeared and noticed I had a Passport Cancellation book. They mentioned the stamp is located in the Chamber of Commerce office a few blocks away. I asked if they were park enthusiasts and whether they were aware of the NPTC. Susan replied she is a member. Our photo is over in the Daily Trip Report. We spent a good 15 minutes talking about the park, then headed off in different directions. After obtaining the stamp, I drove out to the field where the attack had happened. A single sign indicates this land is part of the park. I am told the NPS has plans in-process to improve the visitor experience for the park.

I-20 goes straight from Anniston to Birmingham and the Birmingham Civil Rights NMon. There is a large parking lot across the street from the 16th Street Baptist Church with no signs indicating payment is required (as was the case on all the street parking spots). This building is a keystone to the park, being the place where four Ku Klux Klan men denotated 19 sticks of dynamite on September 15, 1963, killing four young girls. After a few photos, I walked across another street to Kelly Ingram Park. A number of sculptures adorn areas in the park, such as the water cannon piece and the jail house. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is back across the street but was closed today. The institute is part of the NMon and is affiliated with the Smithsonian. The AG Gaston hotel, around the corner, though, was open. NPS rangers were inside the lobby, turned museum, to explain the history of this property. Mr. Gaston was a self-made millionaire, providing financial support for desegregation efforts in this “most segregated city in America.” His hotel was the hub for the desegregation planning by local African-Americans. A famous photo of the hotel was taken when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visited.

During my visit I met up with John, a fellow NPTC member. He had not yet visited this park (only established in 2017), so after I left, he stayed to do more touring. We talked about the different Passport Cancellation stamps one can get at this park. There was confusion in the church and the hotel about what stamps were available. One of the rangers had told me she would look into the discrepancies. Yes, us NPTC folks are serious about these stamps. The club keeps a master database with the locations of all 5,000+ stamps since the beginning of the program in 1986. If you want to know what stamps are in each of the parks and where to find them, we welcome you to join our club.

I-59 had be up to Fort Payne and Little River Canyon NRA in about 1.75 hours. Jacksonville State University operates the Little River Canyon Center on route 35, a road which crosses through the park. The NPS uses some of the office space in this conference center. This is where one can get the Passport stamp. I stopped there first. I met three men who were NPS firefighters out of the National Capitol Region (one of the 9 regions in the NPS). They were sent to this park to help battle wildfires. On leaving the center I went straight across route 35 onto the Little River Canyon Rim Parkway, or route 176. This pavement goes for about 10 miles, following the course of the river, allowing for views down into the canyon. At one of the pull-offs, I came across the three firefighters as well as two more who were from Olympic NP. There was a sign on the hiking trail reading it was closed due to the wildfires. I hope the five men and everyone else involved with that effort are successful in stopping the fires. The main attraction is this part of the park is the Little River Falls, which drop 45 feet. There is a parking lot on route 35, and it can get full in the summer months. People love to don their swimsuits and play in the river by the bottom of the falls. We are not talking Niagra Falls here, nor a fast-flowing river, so pretty safe if you do not slip. With it getting dark due to Standard Time, I passed on this activity.