We took a day trip down to Dauphin Island which was about an hours drive South so we could grab lunch, check out the beach and visit Fort Gaines. We had lunch at Pirate’s Bar and Grill which served good food along with nice views of the ocean. Fort Gaines was established in 1821 and was the site of the Battle of Mobile Bay in the civil war. On August 5, 1864, David Farragut won a great victory by capturing the Confederacy’s last major open port on the Gulf of Mexico. The bay was heavily mined (then known as “torpedoes”) when Farragut ordered his fleet to charge the bay saying “Damn the Torpedoes … Full Speed Ahead”.

For another day trip we visited the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park home to the Battleship USS Alabama and the submarine USS Drum. There was a War Memorial Park, Aircraft Pavilion, tanks, artillery and US Coast Guard vessels all on display. We spent 7 hours here trying to see everything and exploring all levels of the battleship and submarine. It was fun touring both ships, trying to imagine what life might have been like for the sailors while at sea and at war. I don’t think we can ever appreciate enough what our forefathers did to protect our country.

Rating: 1/2
Site Quality:  Asphalt/Concrete roads with gravel pads. Barely long enough for our rig and truck, we had to park the truck sideways across the pad. Sites are somewhat narrow but have nice concrete patios along with a picnic table. FHU with a mix of pull-throughs and back-ins.
Type:  Commercial Park
Access: Several miles off I-10 exit 10 just West of Mobile, AL. The roads were sufficient for a big rig but there was a traffic circle to navigate.
Staff: The staff were very friendly and helpful. They not only showed us to our site before we checked in but also were very helpful about local attractions.
Amenities:  Laundry facilities, Restrooms/showers, swimming pool, recreation room. Free cable TV and WiFi.
Cellular/WiFi:  Verizon and AT&T were both good. They had WiFi but we did not use it.
What we liked: Full hookup sites, very clean and well maintained park. Nice pool, rec room and exercise room. Lots of restaurants and stores nearby. Putting campers names on a blackboard near their site was a nice personal touch.
What we didn’t like: Navigating the park was a bit tight for a big rig.
Verdict: We would stay here again for a few nights if we travel through the area again but this would not likely be a destination area.

The highlight of this stop was a tour of the United Launch Alliance factory in Decatur nearby. The factory is as big as 26 football fields and 800 people build rockets for the company, many of which are critical for our national security. Thanks to our son, Patrick who works for ULA and set this up for us, and Connor for his tour of the technical side of building rockets at the facility. We were so impressed to be able to see in detail the work involved. Although we were not allowed to take any pictures there are plenty online if you Google “ULA Decatur factory” and look at images. One of the images you may see is a huge blue milling machine that we saw in action. A large block of aluminum is inserted in the machine and for almost 3 days it works 24 hours a day to create a single side panel for a rocket – cutting intricate shapes to reduce weight while maintaining the necessary strength of the panel. We had no idea that much of the structure was machined this way as opposed to being built up out of sheets of aluminum but it all made more sense after the tour.

We spent another day touring the US Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville. This museum is operated by the state of Alabama showcasing rockets, achievements and artifacts of the US space program. A unique feature of this museum is that many of the exhibits are used for training – this is the home of Space Camp where 10 year olds and up can train like the astronauts do. One of the employees there said a 90 year old went through the camp! We picked a great time to visit as this is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing and there were a lot of extra activities related to that. We were able to speak with several volunteer docents who had actually worked for NASA during the heyday of the programs to get to the moon in the 1960’s. One of the highlights was a complete building dedicated to a full size replica of a Saturn V rocket like the one used to get to the moon. Also on display was the actual Apollo 16 command module and the simulator that Charlie Duke, John Young and Eugene Cernan used during the fateful Apollo 13 mission to test procedures that allowed the crew to successfully return to earth after an explosion that severely damaged the spacecraft.

Our campground was on Wheeler Lake just below the Wheeler Dam and Lock. We tried once to go to the overlook by the Lock to see a boat go through the locks but nothing was happening and it was too hot in the middle of the day to stay longer. Just before we left the area we decided to try again just before sunset. The timing was great as a barge was just going into the Lock as we arrived. We watched the whole process from start to finish as the barge was lowered about 50 feet so it could pass into Wilson Lake on the other side. We were amazed at how fast the water went down in the lock – you could actually see the boat lower. It probably took about 30 minutes for the process to complete and then the barge sailed on its way.

Update: In December 2019 a tornado hit the park. It took until early 2022 before they were able to reopen. A lot of the large trees were destroyed, particularly in the B and C loops, but the park has been updated with improved sites with full hookups and 50A power.

Rating: 
Site Quality:  Asphalt roads and pads.
Type:  State Park
Access: Easy access from US-72 a bit west of Athens and Decatur in Rogersville, AL.
Staff: The staff were friendly and helpful including the campground hosts many of whom were in nearby sites.
Amenities:  Large site (A-24) covered in trees. Once in the site we could see two other sites but just barely through the trees. This site was 50A power with water and sewer. Most sites are only 30A. Each site had a picnic table and a fire ring. There were restroom/shower facilities that seemed to be clean and in good repair but we did not use them.
Cellular/WiFi:  Verizon and AT&T were both marginal and data speeds were slow at less than 2Mbps even with amplification.
What we liked: Beautiful tree covered sites – the trees kept the temperatures about 8 degrees lower. Some sites like ours were pretty secluded. Large park with plenty of room to walk.
What we didn’t like: No satellite and marginal local channel reception because of the tree cover. The site was somewhat narrow due to the trees and there was really only a small amount of leeway for everything to work. That said, we kind of like it that way. Our pad had a tree root growing under it that caused the area where one of our tires sat to be raised up significantly.
Verdict: This park likely ranks as one of our favorites although we didn’t do a lot here as we were busy exploring the area. There are parts that need some TLC though. The ranger told us when we arrived that the campground would be closed starting about October 2019 for upgrades. It sounds like they will fix most of the issues as well as adding 50A service and fast internet throughout. Lets hope they keep the secluded feel the park has today.