Friday Reflection

Looking across the Black Warrior River, nearly sunset, fall

The smoke is from Dreamland BBQ behind Wintzell's Seafood.

The colors were more vivid in real life, imagine that...here's an attempt to brighten it up. You can see the fall colors better, but it washes out the sky. Oh well...

Reflecting on the Bridge

Hugh Thomas Bridge connects downtown Tuscaloosa to Northport. This is taken from the Northport side. You can see the Tuscaloosa News building in the background. I liked the sunset glow shining orange under the bridge. The water looks remarkably still, making a perfect reflection of the bridge.

River Reflections

I took this from the Northport bank of the Black Warrior River late yesterday. I started to lighten it a bit, but changed my mind because I love those dark tree reflections. That's the Hugh Thomas bridge on the right, the Bama Belle in the center, and the bank building above the treeline.

Flood Markers

Our parting shot of the Cypress Inn is from inside. The markers on the tree show flood stage depths and the month/year. And there's the floating dock I stood on to take the other pics. Boaters actually pull up and use this dock, especially during football season. They dock their large boats across the river and use their ski boats or tenders to come over and eat at Cypress Inn.

Cypress Inn Green

We're still at the Cypress Inn. This is looking up from the floating dock.

The little green space is where golfers can practice their swing while they wait for a table. If they can hit the ball all the way across the river, they get a free meal. We were with a friend who did it once! But, most probably don't. Now you'll understand this sign on the dock.

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!!!

River Side

Here's a view of the Cypress Inn from the floating dock. In January when the river was at flood stage, the water completely covered the floating dock and was all the way up to this deck on the back of the restaurant.

The View

from the Cypress Inn on the river in Tuscaloosa.

And...my 200th post.

Skywatch Friday

Blue sky, white clouds, naked trees & a muddy Black Warrior River -

facing north from the Paul W. Bryant Bridge in Tuscaloosa.

Please visit Skywatch Friday to see skies from around the world.

The Bama Belle

Here's the Bama Belle in afternoon sun. It's a replica of an old paddlewheel steamer that is available for sight seeing and dinner cruises on the Black Warrior River. Check out their website for more pics.

Footbridge Reopened

Remember this footbridge from a January post? It spans a small slough/inlet off the main channel of the Black Warrior River and was under water then. This pic was taken from the opposite direction.

The River Returns

The Black Warrior River has returned to normal now after our January flood stage. See the lampposts? Remember them from this post?

Flooded Riverwalk

This footbridge is part of the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk and usually spans a deep ravine several yards back from the main channel of the Warrior River. The river has crested and is receding now, but this is what it looked like Wednesday, way past flood stage.

Flood Stage

The Black Warrior River in Tuscaloosa is past flood stage. This is the view from River Road Park & the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk. Notice the stairs lead into the river & the lamposts are now in the channel! There's a walking trail under all that somewhere. More flood pics in future posts.

Riverwalk

Tuscaloosa's Riverwalk is a 3-4 mile walking/biking trail along the Black Warrior River. It includes a couple of nice parks and the boat launch of the Bama Belle.

Sunset Stripes

Summer sunset sky as seen from a marina on Holt Lake-Black Warrior River.

Black Warrior River - Holt Lake

This is another shot from Holt Lake on the Black Warrior River in Tuscaloosa. The interesting rocks to build the dams were hewn out of the side of the hills. Behind that treeline somewhere there is an entrance to an old railroad tunnel right through the mountain. Before the lake was built, a railroad ran along the river from the coal mines to steel factories. There was also apparently a passenger line. My grandmother used to tell about riding the horse and wagon to Kellerman to catch the train to ride to Tuscaloosa.

Inside a slough at Deerlick Creek Park on the Holt Lake. We think that diagonal line may have been made by a huge saw blade of some sort when they were building the dam.

I wonder what made these interesting holes. They're pretty creepy.

(Sorry about the blur. Do not adjust your set. That's not your vision failing, that's just amateur photography.)

The Black Warrior River

One of the best features in Tuscaloosa is all the WATER.

Tuscaloosa county encompasses over 1300 square miles making it one of the largest counties in Alabama. Twenty seven square miles are covered in water. Tuscaloosa was originally spelled Tuskaloosa and the city and county were named for a Choctaw chief. Tuskaloosa means Black Warrior. This is the Black Warrior River at Holt Lake/Holt Dam & Reservoir. It is a great place to fish, boat and waterski. This was the view late yesterday afternoon.