Saturn V Trifecta

Ok I'm a little hesitant on my choice of title, but I think it's the closest thing I can get to one word describing what I'm trying to say...we just finished our stay in Huntsville, Alabama, where we completed our trifecta (?) of Saturn V rocket viewings.  We were able to stay in the U.S. Space & Rocket Center's RV Park, which was wonderfully convenient to the one place we really wanted to go in Huntsville.

Campsite at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center RV Park

The RV Park was actually much nicer than reviews suggested online, with lots of grassy and shaded areas, ample space between sites, and a nice picnic table & grill.  The only two downsides were that they only had 30amp electric service available (we prefer 50amp) and the economically priced laundry facility was only open during the office's very limited hours.

The park was immediately adjacent to the Homer Hickam Launch Pad for the Space Camp....had to post these images for my dad, who has always been interested in Homer Hickam what with his West Virginia heritage (and Virginia Tech education!).

Our first day things were cold and dreary, so we took most of the day to watch movies and generally relax after the miserable trip down from Cookeville (it rained the whole way and I-40 between Cookeville and Nashville had quite heavy traffic, perhaps because it was the Friday of the Memorial Day weekend?).  We did take a quick outing to head back to the Alabama Welcome Center, where they had a Saturn IB rocket on display.

Saturn IB at the Alabama Welcome Center

The next day the weather was beautiful, a perfect day for our short walk to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.  We had already seen the Saturn V rockets in Houston and Cape Canaveral, and the one located in Huntsville was the last one to see - a bucket list item for Aaron.

Outside the U.S. Space and Rocket Center

The final Saturn V rocket!

Though the primary purpose of the visit was to see the actual Saturn V, we both felt the most cool thing about the Huntsville space center was the full-scale replica of the Saturn V they had set up vertically in the rocket garden!  The vertical orientation really drives home the extreme size of the rocket in a way you don't quite get when it is crammed horizontally into a relatively tight building.

See if you can zoom in and see me standing at
the base of the Saturn V rocket replica

For comparison, the Saturn I rocket, at whose
base I'm also standing

Experiencing these rockets up close was really incredible, and we enjoyed the rest of the museum as well.  There were a few cool and unique things like the Airstream they used for quarantining returning astronauts, which they managed to lose for several years (!!).

The long lost Mobile Quarantine Facility

We thoroughly enjoyed our little side trip to Alabama on our Tennessee trip!  Next stop: back to Tennessee!