What a great few days we are coming off of in Monte Sano State Park, near Huntsville, Alabama. Life has been hectic and busy lately, so a few days away were just what we needed! As a bonus, we had several friends join us in their own camping rigs. Not only did we get some much needed time with Mother Nature, but also some great social time with a few of our favorite people! This was also our first time camping in Alabama. Both of us have visited the state individually, but never together, and never in the Bigfoot. That means we got to add another sticker to the ever-important U.S. sticker map!
Monte Sano is 2,140 acres of beautiful forested land located on Monte Sano Mountain, overlooking Huntsville, Alabama. In Spanish, its name means “Mountain of Health” and was so named because of all the visitors who came in the 1800s to take advantage of the area’s pristine mineral springs, beautiful views, and crisp, fresh air. It was thought to be a place to promote and/or restore health to those who visited. We aren’t sure if our physical health is any better after our visit, but our mental health has sure improved! For us, there is nothing like time in nature to help restore and calm the mind!
In our opinion, the highlight of the park was the North Alabama Japanese Garden. This garden was created in 1988 by Robert Black, basically as a hobby. He was looking for a way to get into nature more, and enjoy some time with his children. Creating this beautiful space was how he chose to do that. The focal point of the garden is a Tea House surrounded by Japanese Maple trees, azaleas, and bamboo. We were just in time to catch the azaleas in full bloom and we found the garden to be one of the most peaceful and beautiful places we have been in a long time.
In addition to the Japanese Garden, we also enjoyed a couple of hikes in the park, most notably the Stone Cuts trail. This hike took us down the mountain a bit and through some amazing rock formations that towered above on both sides. We enjoyed exploring the “stone cut” and all its crevices and passageways. It was definitely worth the effort of the hike!
One of the big advantages of Monte Sano State Park is its proximity to Huntsville. Being so close to town allowed us the opportunity to go out for dinner a couple of times, but also to explore the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. If you have followed us long, you know we love a good museum, and this one was pretty great. We spent almost seven hours at the facility learning about the progression of space exploration and seeing a planetarium show on the Webb telescope. We also really enjoyed seeing the outdoor exhibits giving us a better idea of the scale of the various space vehicles. It is one thing to see pictures of a Saturn V rocket, but standing next to a life-size model is a whole different experience! At $39.00 per person, this experience didn’t come cheap, but for a full day of learning and exploration, we believe it was worth the cost!
While our time at Monte Sano State Park is over, our Alabama exploration with our friends is not. We have one more stop before we have to head home and back to work, but that will be a different post in a few days. Check back to see where we head next and what fun we find there!
Until next time!
