Alabama Articles

The Threshold of the Ridges: An I-59 North Prelude There is a specific coordinate on the map of a northbound soul where the world begins to tilt. For those of us migrating from the Gulf…

Update: February 14, 2026 While revisiting the archives of this site, I found myself drawn back to a piece I first shared in 2020. It was a landmark 1988 docudrama titled God’s Frontiersmen, which traced…

Deep in the heart of the “Heart of Dixie,” there’s a place where the ancient Appalachian ridges take their final, graceful bow before fading into the coastal plains. They say the mountains don’t ever really…

When the wanderer’s mind turns to the Deep South, it often conjures images of sun-baked shores along the Gulf or the heavy, humid air hanging over the sprawling cotton fields of the Black Belt. Yet,…

That first sighting is such a pivotal moment in the journey. There’s a specific psychological shift that happens when the horizon stops being a flat line and starts to ripple. Coming up from the Gulf…

There’s something uniquely grounding about that first cup of coffee while the mountain mist is still clinging to the valleys. Even virtually, that “altitude adjustment” starts the day with a different kind of clarity than…

The North Alabama Blog has a nice post about the covered bridges still standing after all these years… TANNEHILL VALLEY COVERED BRIDGEJERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Covered bridges…

Decatur, Ala. Some of the nation’s most highly acclaimed storytellers will make their way to Athens virtually in October for the city’s annual celebration of storytelling, tall tales, and readings. Now in its fourteenth year,…

Almost every trip we make into the Appalachians from our home in Texas travels the length of Lookout and Sand Mountains. After the rolling hills of Birmingham, Lookout Mountain is the next major landmark that…

That phrase captures the very essence of why you make this trip. Shinbone Ridge is a fascinating piece of the Appalachian puzzle in northeast Alabama—a long, narrow spine that runs parallel to the massive plateau…

The Paint Rock Valley in Jackson County is one of the most geographically secluded and culturally preserved pockets of the Alabama Appalachians. It’s a place where the landscape—deep limestone canyons and towering plateau walls—naturally protected…

Decatur, Ala. The city of Athens is embracing its love of deep-fried foods and is set to serve up one day dedicated to all things dipped, battered and fried. The inaugural Athens Grease Festival is…

I’ll be the first to admit that my interactions with the mountains of Alabama are all visual as seen from the Interstate. I am usually in a hurry to get somewhere else to laze back…

The Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention is known as the “Granddaddy of Midsouth Fiddlers Conventions” for its role in reviving the tradition of competition in old time music. Approximately, 15,000 people are expected to…

Decatur, Ala. – Art On The Square arrives September 8, 2012, bringing with it approximately 50 selected visual artists who will display their work under the trees in downtown Athens. The public is invited to…