05/18/2011 - Sunset and Moonrise Trip

Header photo - Northside of Gaillard Island on the left and the arching lights of Dog River Bridge on the right.

1) Image on the side of a houseboat docked at a marina on Dog River. They are selling a River Cities condo concept. Spend about $250,000 for the condo and pay about $20,000 a year for home owners association fees and you too can live on and roll up and down the big rivers while having plenty of amenities.

2) Or, for the price of a kayak, you can quietly glide up on waterfowl and see nature up close and personal rather than squinting at it from a distance city on water.

3) I had planned on doing a moonlight loop around Gaillard Island but the offshore conditions were a bit too bouncy for me - bad combo of tide and wind created a small chop big enough to keep soaking me on the sit-on-top pedal kayak. The buildings on the horizon are at the Theodore Industrial Canal and the haze in the sky is from a big fire somewhere in south Mobile County sending a plume of smoke northward.

4) Sunset on Mobile Bay as seen from the north side of Gaillard Island.

5) I came back to inland Dog River to calmer waters to watch the moonrise. The smaller lights are on Dog River Bridge.

6) Quote: "I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day." - Vincent Van Gogh. That was the case on this kayak trip. With a red glow from a fire on the horizon, a big moon, and a smoke colored sky softly brightened by the city lights, the reflections on the glassy waters of Dog River were spectacular.