NORTH ALABAMA SPRING NATIVE PLANT

INAUGURAL FNPS TOUR

April 17 – 22nd, 2017

The Florida Native Plant Society is heading north – north Alabama to be exact – for 6 days and 5 nights of discovery. Join us as we explore the rock outcroppings, caverns and canyons of the southern terminus of the Appalachian Mountains. Discover the endemic plants their geology supports, while enjoying southern hospitality, and savoring local restaurants and cafes. We will be joined by members of the Alabama Wildflower Society, the local native plant enthusiasts of Sweet Home Alabama.

Day 1: Leave Orlando by luxury motor coach, stopping in Tallahassee at the Cracker Barrel for lunch and to pick up our north Florida members.

Stay at the Fairfield Inn just south of Birmingham for the night.

Accommodations included. Lunch and dinner on your own.

Day 2: Meet our local, Alabama, native plant guides as we explore the Kathy Stiles Freeland Bibb County Glades Preserve. This Nature Conservancy site is home to 61 rare plant species.

Stop for lunch at The Gardens Café in the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Then tour the 17 acre Kaul Wildflower Garden, just one of the 25 unique areas within the gardens. The BB Gardens are home to over 12,000 different types of plants, more than 30 works of original outdoor sculptures, and several miles of walking paths.

We head to our lodging at the St Bernard Retreat, the only Benedictine Abbey in Alabama, with 800 wooded acres and hiking trails. Although the Abbey was established in 1891 from the Metten Abbey in Germany, the retreat and rooms are very modern and comfy.

Accommodations, breakfast at hotel, and lunch included. Dinner on your own.

Day 3:Leave for Cane Creek Canyon Preserve and meet our hosts, Fay and Jim Lacefield, school teachers who recently transferred the 700 acre preserve they purchased with their own savings, to The Nature Conservancy, to be preserved into perpetuity.

Spend the afternoon in Muscle Shoals visiting the Helen Keller house or one of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios.

Travel back to our accommodations at the St Bernard retreat.

Accommodations, breakfast at Abbey, and lunch included. Dinner on your own.

Day 4:Spend the morning touring the Ave Maria Grotto at the Abbey, a garden walk-through of 125 miniature reproductions of some of the most famous historic buildings and shrines of the world, fashioned from scrap marble, pottery, china, glass, concrete and plumbing parts.

Travel to the Bank Head Wilderness Area to meet our local, Alabama, native plant guides. Alabama was originally home to theCreek,Chickasaw,ChoctawandCherokeeIndian tribes and left tell-tale signs of their existence. Archeologists have found hundreds of stone piles in Bankhead, believed to be the burial mounds of ancient peoples dating back some 8,000 years. Bankhead contains stands of large old-growth hardwoods,piney woods, and abundant streams and rivers thatprovide excellent habitat for native birds, plants, and animals.

Travel to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Saturn V Hall in Huntsville for their weekly Biergarten in the Davidson Center for Space Exploration. Enjoy authentic German cuisine and music for dinner under the Saturn V rocket. Das gut!!

Stay at the Hampton Inn in Huntsville for the night.

Accommodations, breakfast at Abbey, lunch and dinner included.

Day 5:Travel to Cathedral Caverns State Park and tour the massive, underground stalagmite formations on a guided tour of one of the most beautiful caverns you will ever have the opportunity to visit

Head to Little River Canyon National Preserve, run by the National Park Service, one of the most extensive canyon and gorge systems in the eastern US. The Preserve protects 14,000 acres of watershed and many rare, threatened and endangered species of plants and animals. Our guides are park employees and well acquainted with the park’s features and wilder inhabitants.

We will lodge at the Holiday Inn Express in Lagrange, Georgia for the night.

Accommodations, breakfast at hotel, and lunch included. Dinner on your own.

Day 6:In the morning we head for home, leaving all our Alabama friends and pondering our new awareness of the local geology and botanical wonders of north Alabama. There will be a stop in Tallahassee for lunch and to drop off our north Florida participants. Then off to Orlando, arriving around 6:00PM.

Breakfast at hotel. Lunch on your own.

NOTES:

  • Itinerary may change (that means if we find more abundant wildflowers, a better venue or nicer accommodations, we may change).
  • Each natural area hike will be led by local native plant experts and the participants can choose a short or long hike depending on their desired activity level.
  • All accommodations have elevators, free wi-fi, inside rooms and include breakfast.
  • Transportation is by modern, luxury coach equipped with driver, a restroom and wi-fi, and stops at least every 2 ½ hours for breaks.
  • Participants will be responsible for beverages not included with meals, laundry, room service, telephone charges, personal items, gratuity for driver ($4/day/PP recommended), some meals (2 lunches and 4 dinners) and any items not specifically included in the itinerary.