12/20/2009 - Christmas on Fowl River

Launch: Memories

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1) What does Santa do the other 364 days a year? Click the above photo to see a larger image of what Santa was doing.

2) Just south of Bellingrath Gardens is a summer play area with some swing ropes. A nice little place to take a break.

3) Textureful lichen with a tinge of Christmas color.

4) Saw several Daddy Longlegs. Despite its appearance, the Daddy Longlegs are not spiders.

5) Several other people on Fowl River thought it was a great day to kayak.

6) It was a great day to get a little exercise on the water.

7) A white pelican in a deep sleep. They have pretty thick legs.

8) I pedaled out into Mobile Bay because the slick open waters were very enticing.

9) A sailboat anchored near the Fowl River bridge for the night. This reminded me of 16 year old Jesse Watson who is somewhere out in the Pacific Ocean all by herself as she sails around the world. Jesse doesn't have the luxury of getting up river for safe harbor.

10) A bunch of people aboard Alabama Cruises Southern Bell for a Christmas cruise on Fowl River were shouting and waving at me.

11) Sunset was quite colorful as the temperatures began to drop. 

12) I was silently cheering inside.

13) Kayak at night? Heck yeah! That's why I did this trip today. Some of the Christmas lighting is spectacular along Fowl River. 

14) The Christmas light photos are a bit blurred but should give you an idea of what some of the lighting looked like.

Cautionary Note: Motor Boaters have the same idea - cruise Fowl River at night to see all the Christmas lights. Boat lights are red, green and white just like the Christmas lights, so boats can be hard to see. Boats also go slow so you can barely hear their idling motors. Be careful!

12/06/2009 - Fowl River

Launch: Fowl River Marina
Destination: The Narrows

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1) Bellingrath Gardens Grotto.

2) Bright sunny day.

3) The Narrows which connect East Fowl River to West Fowl River.

4) An all too common sign seen on some of this area's streams. Click here for a PDF file explaining more about what waterways have fishing advisories and why.

5) Looks like this pelican has caught a fish.

6) A shrimp boat washing some sort of container contents overboard which attracted several pelicans.

7) Kingfisher that followed me for about two miles.

8) This unusual roof on what was formerly a Bed and Breakfast (now for sale), tapers down to a point.

9) As the golden sunset nears, a pelican gets ready to roost for the night. 

10) Sunset on Fowl River with the Dauphin Island Parkway bridge in the background.

10/13/2009 - Fowl River

Launch: Memories

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1) Mostly cloudy today. Pink color dotted the banks in some areas which turned out to be Flaxleaf False Foxglove (Agalinis linifolia) of the Broomrape family.

2) Waters were very calm.

3) Row, row, row your boat... This guy was getting a workout with his nice rowboat.

4) It was a bit disappointing to see that Bellingrath Gardens didn't have much of a flower display. Sometimes it can be spectacular.

5) You can always count on seeing an alligator on the banks of Fowl River. There aren't very many real ones seen in this river.

6) Bliss apparently doesn't last forever. Enjoy your bliss while you can!