President's Day Ride - Autauga County

[Guidedawg]

I generally try to get some motorcycle time in on longer holiday weekends.  In the past, I have grabbed my handy copy of Motorcycling Alabama and chosen a ride loop, but since I could not find my copy I decided to update one of the counties in our National Register of Historic Places section.

https://www.motorcyclealabama.com/rides/index.php?topic=2139.0 (You can see more photos and details of the properties here)

Since Autauga County was so close to me, this gave me an excellent opportunity to be out for a few hours and still have most of the day for Honey-do's and family time.

The first thing I realized was that I had forgotten my ear warmers.  I have used the full face helmet for longer February riding, but I'm more comfortable in the half helmet.  I quickly decided I would avoid the interstate speeds and took the streets downtown past Maxwell AFB, crossed the Alabama River, and made my way into Prattville.

It was early enough that traffic was light as I pulled off the road for my first target



From there, I rode along Autauga Creek, which is popular with canoeists and kayakers , and made my way downtown.  In fact, the original village was Atagi which means "Pure water"














When Daniel Pratt bought land along Autauga Creek, he used the water to power his cotton gin manufacturing equipment.  According to Wikipedia "His cotton gin factory quickly became the largest manufacturer of gins in the world and the first major industry in Alabama."  Unfortunately, the mill burned down in 2002, but there are still the artisanal wells that make Prattville, the "Fountain City"



I found Upper Kingston Road and got a pic of another historic home



before I drove the short distance to Wilderness Park





I thought it was interesting that the area had been used for USAF survival training in the past. 

A short loop walk provided an opportunity to see a few various types of bamboo including the smaller used for fishing poles and larger for construction.







The park didn't take nearly as long as I expected to tour and part of the path was obstructed with some of the many fallen shoots/stalks, so it wasn't long before I was back on my way.

It seems any time I'm exploring a county, I inevitably find myself on some dirt roads



This particular one was fairly short and well graded.  There was a brief area of swamp near the end that reminded me I still want to ride along Bear Creek Swamp in that area, but that will be another trip.

My next stop was one of the area Rosenwald Schools





This one was in better shape than the one I visited in Montgomery County last year.

I specifically mapped a route that would take me through some of the almost forgotten towns of Autauga County. 

Kingston was the county seat before that honor went to Prattville, and it became a ghost town before being reestablished.  I would have no idea I was there had it not been for one church and a volunteer fire department that had the name included in their signage.

At the intersection that Google Maps provided as the location of Kingston, I found only this





I belong to a lodge under the "mainstream" Grand Lodge of Alabama as well as an Eastern Star chapter, so I can safely state this ain't one of ours.

The next community I wanted to visit was a small area called "Independence"





It also just seemed to be an intersection but had a volunteer fire department that verified the location for me.

My final home I needed to find was farther out along county roads that I doubt you stumble upon by accident. I saw very little traffic during the morning hours.

And although there wasn't a lot of this



There were still interesting sights along the way









After a pleasant ride, I found the final home



At this point I was very close to Highway 14 which connects Selma, Prattville, Wetumpka, Tallassee, and Auburn (among others)  Although I have traveled east from Wetumpka by car and motorcycle a few times, I think I have been on a motorcycle any time I have traveled this western portion.  I recall a group ride with my church when we went through to Selma (instead of using Highway 80 from Montgomery), and a solo trip to a Shrine Circus in Autaugaville.

One popular spot I have yet to see in season is along this road





For the past 2 years or so, my Facebook feed has been filled with photos of children or families having their pictures taken in this Sunflower field.

As I approached my return to Prattville, I turned off the main road to make a detour to Rice's Cross Garden.

For those not familiar you can read some descriptions from Roadside America (and other sources)

https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/32

https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2019

I was brought here with some other college students from Mobile as we spent a weekend in Prattville.  It was night time and spooky then.  I see that since the owner's death, the area (particularly his "chapel" area that posts No Trespassing signs) had deteriorated

















The message is not a subtle one, and I was reminded that I also forgot to pack the ice water I normally take when I travel.

All my stops were done so I moved myself to Highway 82 for some 5th gear riding and then took Highway 31 back into Montgomery where I was home by 10 with a full day ahead. 

As enjoyable as it is to take a road trip to somewhere new, there are often new areas to explore close to home also.




Get out and explore!

[klaviator]

Lots of cool stuff in the area.  I lived in Prattville for a year in 01/02 but didn't explore as much as I should have. 

[Nice Goat]

There are so many dirt roads in the southern part of our state... I'm kinda jealous!

Great job on the historic places quest!