The Deep South
Alabama isn’t known as a state for big city dwellers, but it does have its fair share of big towns. One of these is Huntsville. Just 20 miles south of the Tennessee border, Huntsville is known for its rockets and its Southern Drawl.
When I was younger, I was very interested in the regional accents around the USA: Southern, Boston, New York, Midwest, and so on. The world changes, and today I’d say many places don’t really have a pronounced regional accent. To my ear though, Alabama was still working it.
Currently, my employer is Blue Origin, which has a factory in Huntsville. One February I got the chance to go work in Huntsville. To be honest, my presence wasn’t really necessary there (don’t tell anyone). Still, I was very grateful to travel and loved seeing the town.
Big Rocket and the Big Spring
I did a few things in Huntsville, including a gravel bike ride and a trail walk by the Big Rocket. The Big Rocket is a replica of the Saturn V, which sent humans to the moon. This is a post about city strolls, though. The best place to take an urban walk is Big Spring International Park.
The highlight of the park is Big Spring, the waters around which early settlers founded Huntsville. It flows out of the rock wall by West Side Square and fills up two big pools by the Museum of Art. Then, it narrows into a channel again before emptying into Huntsville Spring Branch. The park surrounding the water is very serene. There are ducks, koi fish, fountains, cherry blossoms, and a red bridge. East meets West, Japanese style infused into the Southern surroundings.
For a spring there is actually quite a good volume of water. During big thunderstorms it has the potential to flood the entire park. Thinking on it now, that is one thing I missed during my visit: a good thunderstorm. After my walk through Big Spring Park, I climbed the stairs to Madison St., which is a good place to get some Southern comfort food or relax with a drink by the sidewalk. I picked Commerce Kitchen and had a nice black bean burger.
