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Editor's Notes Too often when we think of Alabama, we tend to think of it in terms of our own little corner of the state. We think of the United States as being big and diverse but we have a lot of diversity in terms of geography, people and more right here in Alabama. What prompts me to think about this is that we spent this past weekend in Mentone, up in DeKalb County near the Georgia line. Mentone is about 2,000 feet or so above sea level on Lookout Mountain (yes, Lookout Mountain...it runs 85 miles or so from Chattanooga, Tenn. where we know it best, across the corner of Georgia and into Alabama and all the way down to Gadsden). Mentone is an old resort area and dates to the late 1800s. One of the original old hotels is still there that is a bed and breakfast and a restaurant. There are delightful little shops in the village. Along the mountaintop (or "brow" as the locals call it) there are cabins, chalets, stately homes and more to accommodate not only local year-around residents but vacationers too. Nearby DeSoto Falls and DeSoto State Park offer breathtaking scenery. Ditto for Little River Canyon National Preserve with a spectacular water fall and some of the deepest gorges this side of the Rockies. It all made me think of Dorothy's line in the Wizard of Oz, "Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore." Had I not known better, I wouldn't have thought we were still in Alabama. Why is it that we are so quick to get in the car or on a plane to go somewhere far away to see spectacular sights? Too often many of us have not seen everything our own state has to offer. When I told folks I was going or had been to Mentone many asked, "Where's that?" I've driven past the sign promoting Sequoyah Caverns on Interstate 59 many times headed to Chattanooga and the better known Ruby Falls. Because it was close, we went there Saturday and I am glad we did. The caverns are huge with wonderful rock formations. Descendants of the first settler, James Ellis, still own and operate the caverns. Our tour guide, Rachel, was, I believe, a seventh generation descendant and very knowledgeable about the caves. The staff was attentive and genuinely glad that people stop by, something you don't always get at some tourist attractions. Sequoyah Caverns is much more impressive than Ruby Falls in my book. The Shady Grove Dude Ranch offers horseback riding along trails with great scenery. Maggie had a great time riding even if I quietly wished I was doing something else. And in case you didn't know you can snow ski in Alabama, across the hollow is a related business, Cloudmount Ski Resort, where you can do just that on man-made snow during the winter. Sunday as we started home, we cut across north central Alabama, to Carbon Hill in Walker County to see a cousin of Suzanne's who has a farm there (they live in Birmingham during the week). The mountainous terrain, lush green valleys, streams that rush across unusual rock formations and more caught my eye as I drove that way. The geography around Fort Payne, Gadsden and Oneonta is more akin to the Carolinas and Tennessee than to south Alabama. Crossing Interstate 65 above Birmingham, the landscape starts to change. The hills, while still high in places and marked by surface coal mining in spots, start to settle down a bit and the rock formations recede. As you head south toward and beyond Tuscaloosa, there are more pine trees and the hills take on the gentle roll that we South Alabamians are more familiar with. Of course, there is that unusual swath of country known as the Black Belt where the dirt is rich and black and cedar trees and limestone outcroppings predominate. I would urge you to take a few weekend trips and look at areas of our state that you might not get to see otherwise. It isn't all like Clarke County and southwest Alabama. Alabama is 190 miles wide and 330 miles long at its most extreme points. That's 52,423 square miles, making it the 30th largest state of the nation's 50. There are historical sites, beautiful scenery- and of course great Alabamians to see in all 67 counties. Go take a look!
Jim Cox is editor and publisher of The Clarke County Democrat.
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