Why in the world would a Baptist deacon and his choir member wife drive to Tuscumbia, AL on a Friday afternoon to have supper at a place called the Rattlesnake Saloon???  We don’t drink alcohol.  We like a few country songs, but not many.  And we certainly don’t “boot-scoot!”

When you write a travel blog as well as articles for other publications, and when you are “eat up with curiosity,” you begin to rationalize your way to strange places.  Somehow, the picture of Eve eating the apple and then offering it to Adam just came to my mind.  Yikes.

We had “A Tank of Gas and a Day Off” (as in the name of one of my blog categories), we knew we wouldn’t be drinking, and we do like discovering new places.  So, off we went.

front view from across the road

looking inside the cave in front of the hitching post

Here are my positives from this outing:

1. The cave is fascinating and large.  Definitely a unique place to have an entertainment venue.
2. The drive TO Seven Springs Lodge and Rattlesnake Saloon is rural, curvy, remote, and picturesque.
3. The employees  — the Saloon Taxi driver, the girl in the Gift Shop, the security guards, the waitresses — were all friendly.
4. We must have not looked even REMOTELY like folks who came to drink and boot-scoot.  When each person got off the back of the pickup truck (a.k.a. Saloon Taxi) to go into the cave, they were asked to show ID and their hands were stamped.  No one even approached Steve and me.  (Insert shrug and raised eyebrows here.)
5. The Cowboy Buttons (their name for fried mushrooms in the Saddlin’ Up portion of the menu) were good.
6. The brakes and the transmission on the Saloon Taxi worked properly on the steep incline going to and from the cave, and we were fortunate that the road was not wet or muddy.
7. It was pleasantly cool inside the cave, plus there was a nice breeze blowing fall leaves off of the trees outside.
8. The rattlesnake skins and large mounted rattlesnake about to strike a rabbit inside the saloon/kitchen building were intriguing and added significantly to the ambiance.
9. The band playing on the evening we went had a good sound, although we only stayed for a couple of songs.  A calendar on the website lists upcoming groups.
10. The prices of the food are reasonable.
11. They don’t start serving alcohol until 5 p.m., so lunch would be “safe” if you wanted to bring young children to eat and explore.
12. The employees don’t have to wash any dishes.  It’s strictly a paper plate/plastic fork setting.
13. Dress is entirely casual.  Think cowboy boots and jeans.
14. It’s very near the Coon Dog Cemetery, so you can see two unique places in one day.
15. The Foster family who owns all of the land has found a winning combination.  People from 30 countries and all 50 states have visited since they opened in 2007.  Wow.
16. The adjacent Seven Springs Lodge has a large horse park, land for hunting, and camping facilities — 6000 acres in all.  There are even Chuck Wagon Races on Mother’s Day.

A couple of negatives.

1. Don’t go expecting to eat healthy.
2. The first song of the band we heard was “She Loves Me Like Jesus Does.”  Questionable theology, but once I got home and looked up the lyrics, they weren’t too, too bad.

So now you have my take on this place, and you are free to make up your own mind.