Red Bay is a quiet little town of 3,000 in northwest Alabama close to the Mississippi state line and is home to Tiffin Motorhomes. Any Tiffin owner knows the story of how Bob Tiffin started the company in 1972 and is a veritable rock star in the RV world. Count me in as a fangirl, we even got one of our cabinet doors signed by him.
We recently sold our 2010 Phaeton and bought a new one. Exciting times for sure. There were a few items that needed to be addressed, nothing serious or safety related, but we wanted to get them taken care of. The FMCA Rally in Perry, Georgia meant we’d practically be driving through Red Bay to get there so why not go to the mothership for our punch list. One thing for sure that was getting fixed was the silly trashcan cupboard. The under sink storage in the new coach is huge. I don’t understand why the designers thought a dedicated pull-out trashcan holder was necessary, especially since the coveted space under the cooktop would be better put to use as a storage spot. Mark rolled his eyes when I told him I wanted that fixed. My fingers and toes were crossed that it wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg since I really had no idea what something like that would cost. I made an appointment with Zach, an after hours woodworker, two months before our arrival with the instruction to text him when we arrived.
We learned waiting is part of the drill when in Red Bay. They keep you updated on your spot in line but depending on your list, you might have to be seen in different departments which could take a while. That leaves the question, what do you do while you wait? Explore the area, of course. That we did.
Rattlesnake Saloon
This fun little place is a 21 mile drive from Red Bay on state highway 247. What used to be a hog pen is now one of the most unique restaurants we’ve ever been to. They had just reopened on our visit so the menu was limited, both food and drink. We didn’t care, we were happy to check out a new place. The large tables were nicely spaced, both for distancing guidelines and for water dripping out of the weeping cave walls since it had rained off and on all day. We switched chairs at our table after a big drop splatted down on us. All part of the experience. Our visit was over too soon, we didn’t want to drive back on a dark two-lane road in the rain so we left sooner that both of us really wanted to. Don’t worry, we’ll be back.
Coon Dog Cemetery
Mark looked at me funny when I told him I wanted to see this place I’d read about. You pass the turn-off for the cemetery on your way to the saloon but we missed it. I was too interested in the forest we were driving through to be a proper navigator. It dates back to 1937 when Key Underwood buried his faithful coon dog, Troop who liked to hunt in that area. Soon, other dog owners buried their coon dogs in the same spot and the cemetery was born. It was oddly fascinating walking around the canine headstones.
Helen Keller Birthplace
As any child who read the book, The Miracle Worker, I was excited to see this place. It’s almost an hour away from Red Bay in the town of Tuscumbia, AL and completely worth the drive. The famous well where Anne had her miraculous breakthrough with Helen isn’t far from the back door. The dining room where the food fight occurred still has some of the furniture that was splattered with food. In fact, much of the furniture in the house belongs to the family. A back room holds a small museum of pictures and artifacts of Helen’s incredible life. The entire compound is a fascinating peek back in time.
Natches Trace Parkway
We found this beautiful road almost by accident. We screwed up and went to see Helen Keller’s house on a Sunday only to find it closed. We walked around downtown Tuscumbia for a bit before taking a different route back to Red Bay. We only saw a small segment of the 444-mile historic travel corridor but are already making plans to travel the entire span. Freedom Hill is the top elevation along the trace, the views are much different than vistas in our area. The rolling tree covered hills are a stark difference from the rocky crags we see in our Arizona mountains. We circled back on the parkway when returning from Tupelo another day and walked through Dogwood Valley. I was so excited to see an actual part of the centuries old trace! The path wound down the trace for a bit then turned off in a loop with different dogwood tree facts along the way. Seeing and walking in the trace was so much better than my hours-long trek last summer in Idaho walking along the Oregon Trail where deep ruts were supposed to be.
Natural Bridge of Alabama
We saw the sign along Highway on our way back to Red Bay after the FMCA rally. We’ve seen several natural bridges in Arizona and Utah and were curious about this one. The next morning we mapped out our day of exploring and started with the bridge, an hour drive from town. This bridge was completely different than all the others. It arches over lush green landscape with water seeming to come from everywhere, nothing like the dry desert arches. The path wound around for 1 1/2 miles of easy trail. The first thing you’ll see is a little sign pointing to the Indian Head. Be smarter than us, stand at the sign and look at the big rock ahead of you to see the Indian. We walked up the path, searching high and low in the wrong place. No wonder we didn’t see it. As we walked toward the bridge, we talked about who may have walked here long before us like Civil War soldiers on both sides and of course, local Native Americans playing, hunting and/or defending.
Tupelo
The birthplace of Elvis is a 50-mile drive from Red Bay. We came here after the natural bridge to check out his birthplace and have lunch. In Tuscumbia we had lunch at The Superhero Cafe which boasts of being on The Food Network. While reading up on that, we found other places around Red Bay had been featured on the channel as well, including The Neon Pig in Tupelo. Well, we just had to try it. I wish they had locations closer to Arizona because I would plan trips around return visits! It’s a burger joint and a butcher with friendly staff and amazing food. We shared a burger and fries because we’d had a big breakfast. In hindsight, we shouldn’t have. It was so good I wanted more. The butcher case was full of things I wanted to buy but, we couldn’t fit all of it in the RV freezer. So, we bought a pound of Cajun bacon and a bacon wrapped turkey breast which have already been devoured and were out of this world good. I wonder if they’ll ship more to me? After that we headed to see where Elvis was born. We were in elementary school when he died so we aren’t huge fans, although Mark likes to serenade me with “a hunk a hunk of burning love.” We decided walking around the grounds was good enough for us.
Red Bay Museum
If your exploring remains in Red Bay, a stop at the Red Bay Museum needs to be on your list. The two stories are chock-full of town memorabilia detailing how people lived in and around Red Bay for over 100 years. I strolled through artifacts from banks, soda shops, schools, churches, the hold hospital and personal items from residents. Singer Tammy Wynette who was born nearby gets a good portion of the upstairs.
For the Love of Cupcakes
Sitting in a non-descript building behind the Red Bay Hotel is a new business, For the Love of Cupcakes. You all know how much I love dessert, of course we stopped there. Twice, but I could have gone more. Carma opened the bakery right before the pandemic, she’s kept her customers coming back for more with an ever-changing array of cupcakes, cookies and cakes. They are worth every single calorie.
Michael in Bay 33 did a fabulous job on our punch list. He fixed the two bigger items, like the finicky rear toilet and an incorrectly attached shower wall along with the little items. If you land in his bay, you’re in good hands. He finished with time to spare for us to get out of town right as the tornado warning squealed on our phones. This California native will take an earthquake over a tornado any day of the week. We’d already talked to our son, our own personal meteorologist who just happens to be finishing his PhD on tornadoes, about a safe way out of town. He told us our safest route out of the bullseye was east on the brand new Highway 24 to Interstate 65 and head north to Nashville. It was an exciting end to our time in Red Bay.
We’ll be back. Not because we’ll need more warranty work. No, we’ll be back for the people and all the places we didn’t get to see.