We’d been on the road RVing for seven months and the next stop on our agenda was a stop in Red Bay, Alabama. Red Bay is where our Class A Tiffin motorhome was manufactured back in 2010. We were staying for a few days to have routine RV maintenance completed, and while we waited our turn, we had time for some sightseeing.
Now, a little about the town of Red Bay: there are no lakes or other bodies of water nearby—certainly not a bay. The name came from the “red” of the earth and the “bay” tree that grows here. Tiffin Motorhomes Corporation encompasses most of the small, quaint town of Red Bay and there are motorhomes everywhere!
While you’re here, you can tour the entire construction process of these beautiful motorhomes. A guided tour is given each day, starting with the yard of chassis (the foundation of the motorhome) and going through the complete assembly line from the beginning to the finished product – a brand new RV! The tour is free, but I’m sorry to say that I could not go through the plant for safety reasons. My humans said it was well worth seeing all that goes into the construction of a motorhome!
While you’re in town, you must visit “Rattlesnake Saloon!” This is an adventure in itself! In the town of Tuscumbia, in the middle of nowhere, you arrive in a field with a gift shop. Once you enter, you wait for the pick-up truck that will take you down (yes, I said down) a steep embankment to the saloon, which is in a cave! Now how cool is that? You’ll enjoy the best hamburgers ever, and the ride back up the embankment is something else! You are physically in the back of a pick-up with hardly anything to hold onto and up you go! My mom had to buy a souvenir t-shirt just to show that she survived the entire adventure! Would we go back? In a heartbeat!
Now this is not the only thing we did! The trip fell during Mother’s Day, so I decided to give a gift to my mom and take her to “Dismal’s Canyon” for a hike. Only a 33-mile drive from Red Bay, it was truly the hardest canyon to find due to its small signage. Once we arrived and parked, it did have a very picturesque entrance.
Here is where the adventure began. My dad, my mom (looking so pretty in her sandals and brand new jeans) and I set out for the 1.5-mile hike through the canyon. What they forgot to mention to us was that a recent storm flooded the canyon, taking out many signs and washing away some of the trails. After descending about 40-steps to reach the entrance of the canyon, we were already lost. And we even had a map! We heard voices from other people ahead of us (who were also hiking) and decided that this must be the way to go. Forging on, there were waterfalls and beautiful high canyon rocks above us, making it very picturesque (except for the “Do Not Enter” snake’s den).
As we continued, the trails were undefined and washed away. We walked up hills of dirt, which were perhaps once the trail. Poor mom had a difficult time and literally had to grab onto exposed tree roots to help support herself as she climbed. Several bridges were out and we crossed over by wading through the ankle-deep, cool water of the creek. Some folks were even bare-footed, but not us, as we had wet socks, shoes and sandals!
On the last trail back, the creek was below us and we knew we had to cross there. Sitting on her butt (there goes her clean jeans!) Mom needed Dad’s help to slide down. Once we were past the creek, we could see the entrance once again. We climbed up the 40 steps back to the gift shop entrance.
This was an adventure I loved. I hiked, I climbed, and I got soaking wet! I got to sit on my Mom’s lap as we headed back to civilization. We were all fine, tired, and glad to have done it. Mom knew when we got back to the RV campground it would mean another load of laundry and a hot shower waiting! Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. I love you!
