06/30/2011 - Dog River Sunrise Pedal

Header image shows an adult Muscovy Duck (red face) with its babies.

1) The sun pinks up the jet contrails on this last day of June.

2) A photo merge of my fantastic vantage point this morning. It was like a big colorful eyelash in the sky.

3) A single duck paddles across the water.

4) An egret and a heron take advantage of the sewer pipe that still blocks Bolton Branch and Eslava Creek.

5) This morning's sunrise was scummy at this location.

6) Speaking of scummy, I hope everyone enjoys eating their Alabama Seafood. Yum Yum, wouldn't you just love to take a drink of water or eat a fish from Dog River?

7) A pair of osprey eagles. One looks like a baby.

8) Have you ever had a tickle on the end of your nose?

06/28/2011 - Alligator Bayou

Header image is of a red-winged blackbird berating me for being in its nesting territory.

1) Sunrise at the entrance to Alligator Bayou.

2) Much of the main channel of Alligator Bayou is grass land until it gets narrow and then the variety of plants increases.

3) Grass land attracts birds like this Bittern.

4) A red-winged blackbird advertising for a mate.

5) There were way to many flowers in upper Alligator to photograph and post here. 

6) The flowers ranged from big morning glories to tiny Loosestrife flowers with a streak of pink on the petals. I spent 2-3 hours in upper Alligator Bayou immersed in the moment, like a little kid in a candy store.

7) There is all sorts of life in the vegetation if you look long enough, like this tree frog.

8) I hesitated to post this photo but decided to share the intimate scene because it shows the tender side of nature.

9) A rather big chested fly hitched a ride on the kayak.

10) Not sure what this insect was depositing on the leaf.

06/27/2011 - Dog River Sunrise Pedal

Header photo of the sun peaking through the bottom of the clouds.

1) Unusually abrupt changes in pre-sunrise colors.

2) Post-sunrise.

3) My, what big eyes you have...is that a beard you have?

4) Mobile Yacht Club sailboats.

06/26/2011 - Sunset on Moore Creek

Header image is of a pair of wood ducks and a heron.

1) Heading out for a sunset paddle. A couple remnant thunderstorms dissolve on the horizon.

2) A family heads out to watch the sunset at a speed that allows them to actually see things on the shoreline. (Hi Joy!)

3) This shoreline has a case of the crabs. The one giant claw crabs timidly go about their business.

4) Sunset on Moore Creek.

5) A couple of those dissipating thunderstorms provided a canvas for the sun to paint colors on.

6) Sunset painting on water.

06/25/2011 - Wolf Bay

Launch: Sandy Creek launch site.
Launch Cost: Free
Destination: Lulus and exploring Wolf Bay.
Distance: 28 miles (round trip)
Petal time: 6-3/4 hours
Weather: 80s-90s. No wind to occasional breeze. Current in the Intracoastal Waterway was about 1 mph. Tide was high at the start.
GPS Track: To view or download the GPS track of this trip, Click Here.

Header image is a photo of a red skimmer dragonfly.

1) There was a new launch site mentioned on MBKFA called Sandy Creek and that is where I launched this morning. Nice site giving close access to the smaller Wolf Creek and Sandy Creek areas. Having never kayaked in Wolf Bay, I decided to do an exploratory trip.

2) By 7:00 in the morning, the sun was already hot because there was no breeze.

3) No breeze in Portage Creek (IntraCoastal Waterway) either. The air was so sultry that sweat was pouring off me. That is the Foley Beach Express bridge.

4) A structure rises in the air at Lulus and I have no idea what it is for. Anyone know? (Update: The structure in the background is LuLu's Rope Course.)

5) The IntraCoastal Waterway (ICW) can get busy with traffic.

6) On the south side of the ICW, under the bridge, is Canal Park which does have a boat launch. The park has lighting and porta-potty.

7) A great blue heron gracefully dries out its wings.

8) This helicopter was doing circles around boats while flying surprising low and apparently it does so to take photos of boats. (www.boatpix.com)

9) This is Orange Beach Canoe Trail - Cypress Avenue site #2.

10) In the upper end of Wolf Creek, fish were constantly darting around the kayak. There was some fish up in there!

06/24/2011 - Scenic Moore Creek

Header image - posterior view of an alligator as it swims down the creek.

1) Was hoping to see a lot of colors on the clouds this morning but it fizzled out.

 2) Never did see the sun on this paddle trip, but thankfully, that kept the temperatures cooler.

3) Felt like something big was looking at me. Paddled over to see what it was. Trash...

4) It can raise the hair on a person's neck when something big, leaving a trail of bubbles, goes cruising by in a narrow creek an arm's length away, just below the surface of the water. Alligators usually aren't this bold.

5) A short while later, I confirmed who the bubble butt was - it was the big daddy alligator of Moore Creek.

6) Big daddy made his presence known by violently going below the surface of the water when he saw the kayak.

7) Lubber grasshoppers are changing colors.

8) The humps of dumps have taken over Moore Creek because of recent storm water runoff. It breaks my heart to see this.

9) The sad reality of Scenic Moore Creek after a rain, but, hope is on the horizon as there are plans to have a bandalong litter trap installed on Moore Creek. If you want to help fund this project to put an end to scenes like this, Click Here.

10) Moore Creek just north of the Interstate.

11) The power of lightning is stunning - it shredded this tree.

12) Near the end of the paddle, the clouds started giving way to beautiful blue skies.