[Editor’s note: As I rebuilt this website 6 years after the trip, I can no longer remember the specific outrage that prompted the above disclaimer, but the phrase as applied to Alabama is sadly evergreen.]

We drove north out of the Florida panhandle into the cotton fields of Dixie, unaware of the salacious details of the (allegedly) predatory Republican candidate for Senate. The last name of one candidate running for higher office in upcoming local elections was “Twinkle.”

Alabama is a state of contradictions, and Montgomery, in particular, is a city of contradictions within an already bedeviled state. Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. organized the Montgomery bus boycott, is within staring distance of the capitol, on whose steps a gold star commemorates the spot where Jefferson Davis took the oath of office for president of the Confederate States of America. In the middle of the so-called Black Belt of the Deep South, the buildings of downtown, virtually deserted when we visited, gleam painfully white under the midday sun. This is the Jerusalem of the Deep South, deeply layered with love, hate, and resistance.

From Montgomery we headed northeast toward Cheaha State Park. We arrived after dark, but the restaurant was open and still serving (fortunate, given that the backup was fast food in Talledega). The sunset from the balcony was stunning, and dinner in the Pinhoti Room was surprisingly good, too. “Pinhoti” is a Native word meaning “turkey home,” which the decor made abundantly clear. It is also the name of Alabama’s premier trail, the “pride of Alabama hikers,” according to its website in 2024. We didn’t have time to explore the trail, but it passes through the park nearby where we stayed. The furry profile of Sasquatch is a ubiquitous companion in the woods and gift shops of the park.

The Civilian Conservation Corps museum at the summit was unfortunately closed the next morning, but we were able to climb the tower steps and peek around. We had it to ourselves. My mother proudly flashed the victory V to signal her second state summit. From the park we headed due west past cotton fields, smalltown America, and car dealerships at irregular intervals.

Before we crossed over into Mississippi we stopped in Tuscumbia to visit the Helen Keller House. Among the highlights was the dining room featured in the famous food fight scene with Annie Sullivan. The china on display is all that remains of the set that young Helen destroyed in a moment of frustration. Outside is the famous well where Annie finally broke through to Helen, who connected a physical thing (water) to the sign she was being taught. It is much more moving than you expect. If you think of the wretchedness that Alabama can represent, this one well pump, a testament of hope against hopelessness, is manifest redemption.