What's Up With Huntsville Alabama? [The Rocket City]

Welcome back to the road. Today we are visiting Huntsville Alabama. The land that makes up the Huntsville area was originally controlled by the Chickasaw and Cherokee nation. After treaties were signed in 1805 and 1806 with the tribes the land was purchased by the federal government, and then by LeRoy Pope. LeRoy Pope named the new settlement Twickenham, but the name was later changed to Huntsville in honor of the pioneer John Hunt. The city experienced a boom period around world war 2, and has managed to hold onto some of the industry that came out of that period. Today Huntsville is associated with rockets. There are a lot of government contractors based here that do work with the Redstone Arsenal. I have to be honest, I was expecting the city to be like any other Alabama city. By that I mean economically depressed. Huntsville seems to be doing pretty well, probably because of the type of industry that is located in the city. There is controversy in this city. One name that seems to be everywhere is Werhner Von Braun. He was a former Nazi scientist brought to America to help give a boost to military and peaceful efforts with rocketry. He played a central role in the space program, going to the moon, and so much that came after him. Yet he was a man who used slave labor to achieve his objectives. How do you reconcile the church going American convert with the Nazi slave master? Was he a hero of the space age? A monster who would use any means to achieve his objectives? I really don’t know, and maybe its not for me to decide, it is part of history now, and something he will have to work out in the eternal world. If you want to wrestle with thoughts like these then a great place for it is the water trail This is one of my favorite features of downtown. Wanting to get a better look at the city and surrounding area we went up to the Burritt mansion. There is an overlook here that gives quite a view. Next we are going to the Space and Rocket center for a look at what Huntsville is famous for. There is so much here, I think I could make a video of just the rocket center and never run out of material. The first thing I took notice of was this A12. It is a very strange looking plane, but I guess that’s what it takes if you want to go fast. The rocket center showcases past achievements in rocket technology as well as current technologies being developed nearby. The main attraction of this place is an assembled upright Saturn V rocket. It seems that a moonshot requires a very big rocket. How often in life are we faced with challenges that seem impossible at the time? The fact that they built these is inspiring. They didn’t say it was impossible, they just found a way. We can also find a way to overcome our challenges. The last stop on this trip is the Huntsville Museum of Art. This museum starts with a journey through the history of art, beginning with examples of prehistoric cave art, and ending with modern painting. There is beautiful art from all over the world here to enjoy. Make sure you don’t miss out if you find yourself in Huntsville. Huntsville is a city of contradictions and beauty. It is full of peaceful places, and yet a part of the industry of war. I hope you enjoyed the visit to Huntsville, Alabama. If you enjoyed the video be sure to give it a thumbs up, and subscribe for more videos. Thanks for watching, see you next time.