The Museum officially opened in December 1986, during the Christmas on the Coosa Celebration. It displays artifacts, documents, memorabilia and art works relative to the lives of African-Americans from both individuals and families in the area, including a mirror and dresser used by Joe Louis in Chambers County. Also on permanent display, are paintings donated by local artists -Columbus Cook and Steve Mitchell, which depicts scenes from life in Wetumpka.

Explore the animal world at the Birmingham Zoo, featuring an alligator swamp, tropical rain forest, and zoo train and carousel.

Located 12 miles northwest of Tuscaloosa, the park is named for Alabama's only woman governor, Lurleen B. Wallace. This 1,625-acre park is a scenic lakeside retreat, set on the banks of a 250-acre lake. You may bring your boat or rent one of ours to pursue a fun-filled day at the lake.

434 Broad St. Gadsden, Alabama 35901 Phone: 256-546-5911 Gadsden Christian Bookstore offers Christian books and more, along with a selection of books and materials helpful to homeschooling families.

Located two miles north of Grove Oak and secluded in a natural pocket of the Appalachian Mountain chain, this 2,000-acre park is a naturalist's dream. Various hiking trails highlight this park. Uniquely located, the park's picnic area offers a natural vista into the pocket below. A boat launch and fishing area are also provided seven miles away at Morgan Cove on Lake Guntersville. The campground is nestled in the bottom of the canyon, several miles upstream from the lake.

Located atop Cheaha Mountain, the highest point in the State, 2,407 feet above sea level, this 2,799 acre mountain top retreat exhibits breathtaking scenery year-round. Seated at your evening restaurant dining table, you can enjoy a spectacular sunset as the perfect complement to an excellent meal. Then after an exhilarating day of hiking, swimming, or photographing nature's beauty, you can retire to a comfortable hotel room, mountainside chalet, cabin or a scenic campsite.

Just six miles northeast of Guntersville, off Highway 227, overlooking the majestic 66,470-acre Guntersville Reservoir, the park ranges over 5,909 acres of ridge tops and meadows. The park's resort lodge, restaurant and convention complex is located on Little Mountain, providing a magnificent view of the reservoir. The Lake is wonderful for fishing as well as swimming and other water sports activities. Recently, it has become the winter home of our national symbol, the Bald Eagle.

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center puts you in the world of the astronaut with simulation, historical displays and futuristic exhibits. You'll find an interactive Space Transportation Exhibit, illustrating the evolution of the Space Shuttle through interactive displays and hands-on activities. Sit inside the Apollo Cockpit Trainer, watch live performances, and watch an IMAX film.

The Dauphin Island Sea Lab, founded by the State Legislature in 1971, is Alabama's marine education and research center. Located on the eastern tip of a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico, the Sea Lab offers educational programs, the Estuarium, a public aquarium, and more.

The UAH art department presents the work of regionally and nationally known artists, visiting-artist lectures, as well as offering exhibition opportunities for faculty and students. There are two gallery/exhibition spaces on campus -- the Union Grove Gallery & Meeting Hall and the University Center Gallery.

Located seven miles north of Eufaula off Highway 431 on the Alabama-Georgia line, Lake Eufaula is known as the "Bass Capital of the World." This picturesque 1,220-acre park complements the beautiful 45,200-acre Eufaula Impoundment with many resort facilities including a full service marina. You may also enjoy the adjoining National Wildlife Refuge.

The mission of The American Village Citizenship Trust is to strengthen and renew the foundations of American liberty and self-government through citizenship education. Join costumed historical interpreters as a Nation is born and a Constitution is framed. Learn how the words "We the People" have come to include all Americans. Explore the historically-inspired buildings of The American Village, including Washington Hall which is patterned after George Washington's historic Mount Vernon. Stroll th...

The Anniston Museum of Natural History exhibits over 2,000 natural history items on permanent display, featuring diorama-style exhibits that begin in pre-history with a life-sized Albertosaurus dinosaur model, and end in the extremes of the African savannah where a preserved African elephant rests under one of the world's largest constructed baobab trees. Also offers two Egyptian mummies from the Ptolemaic period.

Learn of the rise and fall of Alabama's first state capital and most famous ghost town.

Located seven miles southeast of Alexander City, this park spans 1,445 acres along the shores of Lake Martin, which is a 41,000 area clear water reservoir perfect for fishing, swimming and boating. Park facilities include the largest state operated campground in the United States with 640 sites, many of which are waterfront sites allowing campers to fish, swim and boat right out their back door. Other facilities include a marina, camp store, fishing pier, hiking trails, playground and picnic are...

If a picture's worth 1,000 words, this book--with its hundreds of breathtaking photos of America's National Parks--is a well-stocked bookstore. Accompanied by the words of poet laureate Mark Strand, These Rare Lands is a perfect coffee-table book for anyone who has enjoyed the wonders of nature's wildest places. From a storm over Sequoia National Park in California to the otherworldly stalactites and stalagmites of New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns and an Atlantic sunset in Maine's Acadia, this is a book that draws you back again and again. Photographer Stan Jorstad's obvious love of nature comes through in the thoughtful approach he takes to his life's work, contained in the pages of These Rare Lands.

What makes a trip to a national park so wonderful? For starters, America's national park system is more diverse than any park system in the world. You can stroll the seashore at Olympic National Park in Washington or Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts, climb craggy mountains in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, or go underground into the world's largest cave system at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. You can marvel at the largest canyon on Earth (Grand Canyon National Park), hike among the planet's largest collection or rock arches (Arches National Park), explore the lowest and hottest place in the Western Hemisphere (Death Valley National Park), or wander a realm of forests and misty mountains (Great Smoky Mountains National Park).

And these are just a few of your park options.

America's National Parks For Dummies gives you guidance to decide which park is for you, when to go, and what to see when you reach your destination. This guide will help you plan the best trip imaginable, whether you are

• An inexperienced traveler looking for guidance in determining whether to take a trip to a national park and how to plan for it
• An experienced traveler who has yet to explore the national park system and wants expert advice when you finally get a chance to enjoy one
• Any traveler who doesn't like big, thick travel guides that list every single hotel, restaurant, or attraction, but instead looks for a book that focuses on the places that will provide the best or most unique park experience

America's National Parks For Dummies is user-friendly and organized in a logical fashion. Each park is broken down in a chapter that delves into the nitty-gritty of trip planning and highlights, including tips for

• Planning your trip by touching on the diversity of the park system, explaining some of your vacation options, and telling you when parks are the most (and least) crowded
• Ironing out the details by describing how you get to the parks and how to find your way around after you arrive
• Exploring America's national parks by giving you the lowdown on 15 of the best parks, detailing things like each park's wild kingdom, the best spots for memorable photographs, and a few safety issues

The pages of this book resemble a great long-distance hike – you never know what's around the next bend in the trail. So throw on a backpack, take a swig of water, and get ready to explore the national parks!

For tourists, family campers, and serious lovers of the outdoors, here is a big, beautiful, color-illustrated book that describes more than 50 national parks, sites, and seashores that stretch from Cape Hatteras on the Atlantic coast to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Yosemite in California, Haleakala in Hawaii, and Glacier Bay in Alaska. More than 400 breathtaking photographs capture the beauty and atmosphere of each site, and 54 color maps show each park's location and major features. Visitor information panels give important details on access points, accommodations, and recreational activities such as hiking, rafting, birdwatching, and fishing. Here is a wonderful volume that will inspire plans for trips and evoke marvelous memories of past experiences in America's great outdoors.

The concept of the national park is an American contribution to world civilization, and it remains a defining characteristic of our country. From the rocky shore of Maine's Acadia to the barren crater and lush rain forest of Hawaii's Haleakala, America's national beauty is celebrated and preserved in its national parks. This book retells the history of each park, describes its most important features and wildlife, and reproduces its gorgeous scenery in full-color photographs that will enthrall armchair travelers and entice others to lace up their hiking boots and reach for their sporting gear. Organized by region of the country, it includes well-known parks like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Glacier as well as lesser-known destinations like Shenandoah, Biscayne, and Kenai Fjords.

Stand amid soaring Douglas fir in the great hall of Glacier Park Lodge or sit in the setting sun and gaze into the Grand Canyon at El Tovar. This beautiful gift book will transport you to the majestic lodges of our national parks to relive the glory of past vacations or plan adventures anew. This book and the PBS television series of the same title (to air in spring 2002) take armchair travelers into these architectural wonders and explore the surrounding natural beauty of our national parks. Lodges, wildlife, and stunning vistas are showcased in 175 full-color and black-and-white photographs, along with historical documents from the PBS series. In his introduction, Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, offers a call to preserve this national heritage, and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book go toward the rehabilitation of these magnificent buildings.

Now in its fourth edition, the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America is the ultimate birder’s field guide. Sturdy, portable, and easy-to-use, it features the most complete information available on every bird species known to North America. This revised edition features 250 completely updated range maps, new plumage and species classification information, specially commissioned full-color illustrations, and a superb new index that allows birders in the field to quickly identify a species.

The National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fourth Edition will continue to be a bestseller among the fastest-growing sector in the U.S. travel market—the nearly 25 million people who travel each year specifically to observe wild birds.

Educational Travel on a Shoestring shows parents how they can help their children learn–and have a blast–while traveling. From researching destinations to sharing activities that both teach and entertain, this priceless guide offers practical information for parents who want to have more fun with their kids, build closer family ties, and enjoy richer educational experiences–all without spending a fortune.

From stunning mountain ranges to arid expanses of desert, America has been blessed with an incredibly diverse land -- and the vision to protect it for our and future generations to enjoy. These lands are ours to view, wander, learn from, and revel in. America's National Parks captures all that is great about all fifty-six parks in the national park system. It also gives interesting, easy-to-understand background on the geological and ecological forces that continue to make each national park so worthy of protection.

Nature lovers will be captivated by gorgeous photos of landforms, flora, and fauna. Families will appreciate the information that is sure to enhance vacations at the parks. And visitors to any of the country's national parks will forever treasure this book as a memento of past visits and an inspiration for future ones.

Unlike any other book published on national parks, America's National Parks is a must-have for anyone who relishes America's natural wonders and wants to learn more about the powerful forces that created them.