Alabama Natural Sites and Private Garden Tour

Join other Wild Ones members for a memorable weekend trip to northwestern Alabama to visit a very special nature preserve and two unique private gardens in the Florence, AL area.  Our trip will be led by Leon and Pat Bates.  We will have access to areas not normally accessible to the public, and we will have the opportunity to meet the people who created and/or preserved these special sites.

Our group will depart from Chattanooga on Friday morning, July 8 and return on Sunday afternoon, July 10.  The trip is free and available for Wild Ones members only.  Participants will be responsible for the cost of their own lodging, meals and car transportation.  Carpools can be arranged, and the group will depart together from a designated location on Friday morning.  All registrants are responsible for making their own hotel reservations  in advance (specific hotel information will be provided after registration).  The estimated cost of the selected hotel will be +/- $125 per night.  Hotel rooms can be shared if desired (2 queen beds/room).

On Friday, we'll visit a private garden near Florence.  Additional details about this goaden will be provided soon.

On Saturday, we will go to Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve, a 713-acre privately protected scenic area in the Little Mountains region of Colbert County, Alabama. It serves as a sanctuary for native plants and animals and offers 11 miles of hiking as well as camping, picnicking, and creek wading. This remarkable area of natural beauty is still unspoiled largely due to an equally remarkable couple, Jim and Faye Lacefield. The retired educators bought a 40-acre tract of land in 1979 and have gradually added to that original purchase, keeping the land in its natural state.  The preserve includes a 60-foot waterfall, wetlands, sparkling streams rushing through boulder-strewn notches, sunny glades, sheer canyon walls and towering cliffs overlooking seas of hardwood forests. The canyon itself is steep and deep. In some places it is 350 feet from the rim to the clear blue-green waters of Cane Creek.

On Sunday morning, we'll visit the private garden of Maria Wall.  Over the last 30+ years, Maria has created an amazing moss garden at her home in Florence, Alabama on a site that sits high upon a slough that feeds into Wilson Lake and the Tennessee River.  Moisture from springs and shade from hardwood have combined with exposed soil to create paths carpeted with moss.  Rocks and fallen trees are covered with moss. Trickling waterfalls cascade into the stream below.  Through the years, Maria has collected hundreds of rocks to create terraces along the ravine, and driftwood has been used for rustic bridges, arbors and arches that decorate the garden.  Our visit to this unique garden will be a truly special opportunity.

Time permitting on the way home, we may have an optional stop at the Jackson County Park to see the special work of Vernon Bush and his plantings of azaleas, rhododendrons and many other plants -- the pathways through this area are delightful.

This program is free and open to Wild Ones members.

Limit: 15 participants.

Driving directions and additional program details will be provided upon registration.

 

Register Now!