Since we were traveling on Sunday, we weren't sure if the office was open at Redstone Arsenal--we thought it should be, but no one answered the phone. Everyone recommends reservations for the campground and we didn't have them. We tried calling 3 times during a two hour period. Then we decided to drive by the Outdoor Rec Center to find out about a site. To our amazement, it was open and manned by 3 people! We were able to get a site for a week. Our last trip to Huntsville was during Superbowl Weekend and it was COLD! This trip we wanted to visit as much of the area as possible without melting--the temps are still in the 90's.
After setting up we walked to the commissary and exchange to see if there was anything we couldn't live without--nothing jumped at us so we went back to plan our week.
Monday the temp was supposed to stay in the upper 80's! Imagine that, a day we could possibly hike without dissolving in pools of sweat! Our choice for exploration was Monte Sano State Park which overlooks the area east of Huntsville.
The park was once a resort and sanatorium--the name means Mountain of Health. After a trip to the camp store, we headed for the Japanese Garden.
According to brochures, the garden was built by a volunteer and often houses tea ceremonies.
Our next adventure was to hike North Plateau Loop which would afford us some gorgeous vistas at various overlooks. Of course, we were able to find a few geocaches along the way.
As we hiked, we saw a sign for Von Braun Observatory so we detoured to take a look.
The planetarium operates two Saturdays a month.
And yes, part of the park was built by CCC workers during the 1930-40's. This building overlooks the west part of the park.
We enjoyed our hike and the vistas of the area. We were glad that the sky remained overcast so the heat was bearable.
After enjoying a picnic lunch, we headed back to Redstone Arsenal to plan the rest of our week.
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