THE SHOALS-Two more walks have been added to the schedule for Wildflower Nature Hikes. On these walks there will be several opportunities to see and photograph some of North Alabama wildflowers.
Charles Rose has been leading nature outings in the Shoals area and across North Alabama for over two decades. Since 2011, he has conducted these in conjunction with Birmingham-based non-profit Fresh Air Family, which offers these events free to the general public. The majority of these events take place in March through May each year, when our spring ephemeral wildflowers are blooming.
To register or get more info, contact Charles Rose at chuckrivers@comcast.net or 256-366-1937.
Registering is easy; all we need is:
1. Your name.
https://goo.gl/maps/
Please note: This meets at the Nature Trails Parking Lot, not at the Dam!
Led by Charles Rose. Sponsored by Fresh Air Family.
This outing is free to the public, but you should register. Registering ensures you will be notified of any last minute changes or cancellation, due to weather, the leader’s work schedule, etc.
To register or get more info, contact Charles Rose at chuckrivers@comcast.net or 256-366-1937.
Registering is easy; all we need is:
1. Your name.
2. The number of people in your party.
3. A contact phone number, preferably a cell phone.
Meet: 12:00pm at the Nature Trails parking lot at the TVA Muscle Shoals Reservation.
We will leave some cars here and then carpool the short distance to the Wilson Dam visitors center parking lot to start our hike.
We will hike one-way on the historic Rockpile Trail from Wilson Dam back to the Nature Trails Parking Lot.
Description: Moderately rigorous, with steep uphills and downhills. The distance may vary, depending on how much participants want to see, but the minimum distance will be around 3 miles.
Bring snacks and water. Wear sturdy footwear. A hiking pole and insect spray are recommended.
The emphasis will be on spring wildflowers and local history as we traverse the Rockpile Trail from Wilson Dam back downstream to the Nature Trails parking lot. Wildflowers of interest will include Red Buckeye, Wild Blue Phlox, Rue Anemone, Jacob’s Ladder, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, False Rue Anemone, Cut-leaf Toothwort, Yellow Woodlands Violet and many more.
Our starting point, the Visitors Center parking lot, is also Site #6 on the North Alabama Birding Trail. Unfortunately, the visitor Center itself has been closed due to Homeland Security concerns. From this spot, high up on a bluff, many seagulls and other shorebirds are in view. There is also a fine panoramic view of historic Wilson Dam, which is listed in the National Register as a National Historic Landmark.
The Rockpile Trail features many scenic vistas of the Tennessee River (Pickwick Lake).
Eagles, Great Blue Heron and Osprey are regularly spotted in the vicinity of the TVA Rockpile, so bring your binoculars.
As we hike westward from the dam, we will pass several historic spots, including the foundations of the old Wilson Steam Plant (once the largest facility of its kind in the world), the infamous TVA “Slag Pile” and the stone CCC Picnic Pavilion, built during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Stone steps, bridge foundations, check dams, and other erosion abatements, all built in the 1930’s by the CCC, will also be of interest.
We will also cross Pond Creek, which originally ended in a sinkhole south of the TVA Reservation. In the 1930’s it was diverted so that it would flow into the Tennessee River, just a few yards below our crossing.
After resting at the historic CCC Picnic Pavilion on a bluff overlooking the river, we will continue on into the Small Wild Area, also known as the First Quarters Ravine, chock-full of blooming spring wildflowers.
Next, we will briefly visit the Hall Memorial Native Plant Garden, maintained by volunteers, which was once the site of the historic First Quarters, originally built as officers’ quarters while Wilson Dam was being constructed during World War I.
Google Map, showing the location of the TVA Nature Trails Parking Lot
Charles Rose is musician active in the Muscle Shoals, AL & Nashville recording scenes. A member of the Muscle Shoals
Charles Rose
Horns since 1971, he is currently their leader/arranger. A native of Sheffield, AL, he earned a Bachelor of Music degree, with a major in trombone & a minor in piano, from Murray State University. He has served as trombonist & horn arranger for Lyle Lovett & His Large Band since 1994. He toured with Waylon Jennings for three years until the singer’s death in 2002. He performs as a pianist with his jazz group, The Charlie Rose Trio. He’s the band leader & arranger for the biennial Alabama Music Hall of Fame induction shows and an ongoing series of Muscle Shoals Revue shows.
An active environmentalist, he is a founder & president of Shoals Environmental Alliance, a board member of Tennessee Riverkeeper, & a nature outings leader for Fresh Air Family. In 2008, in a wooded ravine in Sheffield, AL, he discovered a population of Collinsia verna (Blue Eyed Mary), a spring wildflower previously not known to exist in the State of Alabama. In 2002 he founded and led “Citizens for Saving the TVA Trail & Nature Area,” that stopped the destruction and development of 1,000 acres of public recreation land on the TVA Muscle Shoals Reservation
