State Highpoint #4 - Alabama

 Cheaha Mountain in Alabama

Continuing the pursuit of reaching the highest point in every state took a southern turn, while helping a friend. A lot of these state highpoints are off the beaten path, in places a road tripper wouldn’t normally follow. Alabama was no exception, and it took little convincing to turn a move from Virginia to Utah, into an adventure. Now the story of how we got there is one most wouldn’t dare to live, in 2025. But 2010 was a different time. A simpler more trusting time. See, the quest to reach the highest point in every state, started after a divorce, and needing to find purpose. Needing purpose, found an open mind, and willingness to try new things and be adventurous. So when a friend of mine mentioned that they had a single friend, who was a nanny in Virginia for the summer, and was going to be moving across the country, back to Utah, and could use some help, I just so happened to be free, single and able to help. The girl, took a huge, trusting risk on me, because we talked on the phone for maybe a half hour before I booked a one-way plane ticket to Virginia. I saw an opportunity to turn the drive into an adventure, and show her some parts of the country that neither of us had seen, and make a good story for her. After all, life is for making memories. 

Opening the door to the townhome in which she lived, I had no idea what to expect. Luckily she was clean, organized and well prepared. We gave each other an excited hug, and then got busy packing her car with her clothes, and few boxes from a busy summer. We had to stay busy because we were almost completely unfamiliar with each other, and the best way to avoid awkward silence, is to be helpful. We got her 2002 Honda Accord stuffed with her belongings, and the little bag that I brought, said goodbye to the family for whom she was a great nanny, cried some tears, and opened the words on a new chapter. I told her of my goal to reach the highest point in each state and asked if she was up to seeing some fun sights on our drive to Utah. To my surprise, she was 100% on board. 

We headed southwest out of Virginia, and started towards our first big destination, Atlanta, GA. I’m a big college football fan, and love most sports in general. My friend at the time, was a huge Georgia Bulldogs fan, so we decided to make a quick stop at the University of Georgia, to see Sanford Stadium, and send him a picture of us in front. 

Having been Cosmo for BYU, of course I was more interested in the mascot. We toured the campus a little bit, to familiarize ourselves with how they do things in SEC territory, and see what college life is like for students there. Both Sarah and I had been to BYU, and it’s just a different type of university, so we enjoyed seeing how it’s done on other campuses. Then we headed to downtown Atlanta to spend the night. We made one quick stop to see the home of the Atlanta Falcons, and did our best wing impression. Clearly we were still getting to know each other, trying to make it fun, and she was being a good sport, and going along with my quirky ideas.  

The next day, we woke up and headed for Cheaha Mountain. We got there nice and early in the day and enjoyed a nice sunrise on the drive there. It’s a nice easy drive up to the state highpoint, and can’t really be called a mountain by my definition. It’s just the highest point in Alabama. A nice building and tower exist there, and you can climb up into the tower of the building to get a better look at the fields surrounding it, and then lines of trees in the distance. 

Having felt the excitement of checking off my 4th state highpoint, and introducing Sarah to the concept of state highpointing, we headed west towards Tuscaloosa to visit the site of the newly crowned 2010 NCAA BCS title game winning Alabama Crimson Tide. The first of two visits I’ve made to that stadium, and also the first time I’d set foot on that sacred grass. 15 years after completing this highpoint, I wonder if Sarah ever tells the story of that wild road trip, and her first state highpoint.