VacationsAlabama

VacationsAlabama Exploring Alabama’s most beautiful places one backroad at a time.

Waterfalls, mountains, hiking, off the beaten path.

05/30/2026

Some nice flow going on up at Little River Falls yesterday afternoon. 🌊 5-29-2026

This 45-foot waterfall is tucked inside Little River Canyon National Preserve on Lookout Mountain.

Always a fun and easy stop when you’re in the Fort Payne area.

Have you ever been to Little River Fall?

📍Fort Payne, Alabama- DeKalb County

05/27/2026

Have you ever seen Noccalula Falls raging like this? 🌊

Fresh from yesterday 5-26-2026. Black Creek is moving strong right now, and this may be one of the best times to catch it before summer slows everything back down..

This is also such a good spot to catch sunsets. I had barely left when the sky suddenly opened up into a complete fire sky. One of those moments that makes you wish you had stayed just a little longer. 🔥

05/20/2026

Can you spot him? 🐍 Just living his best life.

Decided to hike Black Creek Trail again today for the first time in a while and forgot how nice this trail really is.

You start this hike by parking near the chapel and fire station at Noccalula Falls. From there, the trail follows beside the campground with the gorge off to your left. Keep going past the campsites and cabins and you’ll come to the little bridge crossing over Cascade Creek.

After that, the gravel trail winds down through the woods along Black Creek.

That’s where I spotted this watersnake stretched out on an old tree log above the water just completely unbothered by life. I stopped and filmed him for a while and he never even moved.

The farther down this trail you go, the more wildlife you start noticing tucked along the creek.

Have y’all ever seen a watersnake this big before? 👀

And remember, this is their home. Please help take care of places like Black Creek and Leave No Trace when you visit. ❤️

05/19/2026

In my opinion, the Saturn V rocket may be one of the most iconic landmarks in all of Alabama. 🚀

Every once in a while, that old rocket just calls you back.

You might catch a glimpse of it sitting at a red light in Huntsville or towering over the road for a second, and immediately you want to go stand beneath it again.

And somehow, it never gets old.

There are so many incredible places and experiences across this state that it’s hard to rank them all, but this one is absolutely near the top for me.

There’s just something about standing under that rocket you never forget.

Have you ever been to the Space & Rocket Center?

I think it’s about time for me to get back over there and really explore more of the Rocket Center and NASA so I can share more of that adventure here.

05/14/2026

Did you know Alabama has more species of freshwater turtles than any other state in the U.S.? 🐢🏆

I spotted this common musk turtle, better known as a “stinkpot” (Sternotherus odoratus), hanging out in the Tennessee River backwaters near Historic Bellefonte Cemetery just outside Scottsboro near Hollywood, Alabama.

These swampy wetlands are absolutely loaded with life. Turtles, birds, fish, mussels, and countless other species all depend on these quiet backwaters. The Tennessee River system is considered one of the most biodiverse freshwater systems in North America.

Hidden little worlds like this are why these places matter. 🌎✨

Have you ever explored the Tennessee River backwaters before?

05/13/2026

Noccalula Falls was really showing out yesterday. Still has lots of water coming off the falls right now, and that canyon is SUPER slippery down in there in places. Be careful if you go.

Also sad to see so much trash left behind around Noccalula Falls. Please help keep these beautiful places clean and remember Leave No Trace. 🌿💧

Have y’all been down underneath Noccalula Falls lately?

05/12/2026

Saw this beautiful Double-crested Cormorant just hanging out on this old limb along the Coosa River over at Weiss Lake near the causeway fishing pier.

I eased up a little closer expecting him to fly off, but he never moved. Ended up parking and just watching him chill there over the water for a while. Amazing how calm and peaceful these moments can be out on the lake.

This was shot at Cedar Bluff.

Have you ever spotted one of these out around Weiss Lake or the Coosa River?

05/11/2026

Last month I finally did something I had waited over 25 years to do: I walked out onto the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.

For decades, I passed through Selma on the way to gigs, always in a hurry, always catching a glimpse of that steel arch in the rearview mirror. Every single time, I’d tell myself, “One day, I’m coming back to walk the Edmund Pettus Bridge.” I finally did it!

I spent time walking the old downtown streets before stepping out onto the bridge itself, taking in the history and emotion of a place that changed the trajectory of America forever. It became one of the most meaningful moments of my life.

In 1965, the Edmund Pettus Bridge became the site of “Bloody Sunday,” where peaceful voting rights marchers were brutally attacked while fighting for equality and the right to vote.

Standing there today, you can still feel the weight of history. The courage. The sacrifice. The blood, sweat, and tears shed by people who refused to give up in the fight for civil rights and human dignity.

This bridge is a reminder that voting matters. Our voices matter. Change does not happen when people stay silent. It happens when ordinary people stand up, speak out, and become the change they want to see in the world.

Right here is a lesson in history showing us that fighting for what is right is never wasted. We still have work to do, y’all. We need more kindness, more understanding, and more people willing to stand together and make this world better for future generations.

Have you ever been to the Edmund Pettus Bridge?

05/11/2026

It was a bittersweet trip back to the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge.

A couple months ago, after breast surgery, I made a promise to myself that I would make it back here someday. I wanted to stand in the river again, feel the cold current around me, and remind myself what it feels like to truly be alive.

But on my way there, once I reached the William R. Ireland Cahaba River Wildlife Management Area, I could not believe what I was seeing.

For miles and miles on both sides of the highway, the forest had been completely clear-cut right up against the boundaries of the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge. Entire hillsides of habitat just gone. It was devastating to witness.

Then I finally made it down to the river. I hiked out into the middle of the Cahaba and stayed there for quite a while, longer than I even realized, just standing there in the current taking it all in. A magical moment ✨️

The sky stayed mostly cloudy, but every once in a while the sun would break through just enough to light up the beautiful Cahaba lilies growing out in the water. And as I was getting ready to leave, a pipevine swallowtail butterfly landed softly on one of the beautiful Cahaba lilies out in the middle of the river.

For a moment, everything felt still.

Healing and heartbreak somehow existed in the same place.

Our woodlands and wild habitats should stay wild. So many animals depend on these forests and river corridors for survival, and these habitats also help protect magical places like the Cahaba River. We really need to do everything we can to stop clear-cutting everything around the places that still remain wild.

Have you ever experienced the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge during lily season?

05/01/2026

Hiked down from Indian Falls inside DeSoto State Park to the West Fork of the Little River… and it was raging. (4/30/2026)

I’ve never seen this spot with this much water flowing — absolutely incredible to witness.

That river was roaring.

Have you ever been to DeSoto State Park and made the walk down to the Little River?
Have you ever seen it like this?

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