08/04/2012 - Dauphin Island

Trash along the shoreline was the exception on Dauphin Island, not the rule like in Mobile. This allowed me to see the scenery and wildlife and thoroughly enjoy a paddle for once. They sure do keep Dauphin Island clean. Thanks Jeff Collier - I hope they re-elect you.

Header Image - Dauphin Island provides a home and breeding ground for beaucoup birds. It is a birder's paradise and my favorite kayak destination.

Water surface north of Dauphin Island was slick so I launched at Aloe Bay Park.

Radar indicated some nearby thunderstorms and I figured they would dissipate quickly. Wrong assumption. This is not where you want to be when lightning storms grow.

Conditions deteriorated quickly and I spent about an hour waiting out a wicked lightning storm under the Bienville Road bridge just east of Orleans Drive.

When the lightning stopped I eased out into Graveline Bay and was fortunate enough to see a double rainbow and for the next hour much of the rainbow was visible. What a wonderful way to start out a paddle.

A reddish egret sticks his head up high.

A boy appears to have lost his body.

Oyster Catcher.

Black Skimmer.

Benton with the Hobie Fishing Team rode out the storm under the Dauphin Island Bridge. When you go kayaking, it is good to know where the nearest overhead shelter is because thunderstorms can pop up quickly.

A SUP (Stand Up Paddler) looks off in the distance at a couple of people parasailing. She was baiting crab traps. Did you know there are a lot of things to do at Dauphin Island?

As I paddled by this gentleman he caught a fish about 2 foot long.

Unfortunately, when many fisherman snag a line they just cut it instead of retrieving it. This Pelican has monofilament fishing line caught in its wing. Poor thing. The pelican flew off so at least the line is not crippling it. The end of the line still had a loop in it meaning the loop could get caught on something.

People fish and so do green herons and they don't need a fishing pole.

A woman jogs along Dauphin Island's beach and disturbs a flock of gulls.

Terns turned in the same direction.

Today is the first time I've seen a duck behaving like a sandpiper.

This was a colorful home. There was a little wave action today.

Near the Katrina Cut the vegetation was green and much thicker than the last time I was at this location.

Bird guano helps provide nutrients for the beach vegetation to grow in sand. Vegetation stabilizes the beach. All of nature works in harmony.

08/04/2005 – Causeway Exxon Ramps to Pass Picada

Launch: Public boat ramps (triple set) just east of the Exxon on the north side of the Causeway. Launch Cost: Free. Route: East along the north side of Highway 90 to Pass Picada to the Apalachee River and back. Distance: 5.8 miles. Average Speed: 3.4 mph. Time: Approx 2 hrs. Pace: Leisurely. Weather: Cloudy with light rain, mild temps, slight wind from northeast.

(1) Above left. Poor photomerge taken in Pass Picada while headed west back toward Mobile. There were a couple of reasons why I should not have gone pedaling this afternoon. The first reason is I forgot the life jacket. The second reason is I forgot the phone. The third reason is the bathroom at the Exxon was closed and that is where I had planned to get out of my work clothes into more appropriate kayaking clothes. Fourth reason is there was grass floating in the water which is not good when using a pedal kayak. I decided to launch the kayak and changed clothes in the car. Good thing a cop didn’t drive by and see me naked in the driver’s seat of the car. I headed off toward the River Docs and the Blue Gill. When passing by the culvert under the road, two cars pulled off to the side of the road and a guy and a girl got out with some big lens cameras and proceeded to take photos of the sky and me. Little did I know that Camera South was holding a field trip competition on the Causeway. Sure wish I had some of the camera gear they were using. Anyway, I proceeded down to the Apalachee River, turned around and headed back in hopes there would be a decent sunset. Along Pass Picada, the yellow flies started biting me.
(2) Above right. Better photomerge taken looking toward Mobile from the vicinity of the River Docs launch site. This was some wonderful scenery and great reflections on the water. If you like weather photos, you may enjoy the web site Weather Photography.

(3) Above left. Another cloudy sunset photo, zoomed into the skyline of Mobile from near the River Docs. (4) Above right. Later on, in Chocalata Bay, I zoomed in again for a close up shot of the skyline and cropped the image to remove the sun from the photo. The sun caused the golden glow.

(5) Above left. Looking back toward the east, I was surprised to see a full rainbow appear, and then a secondary rainbow. (6) Above right. Looking west toward the skyline. I couldn’t make up my mind which way to look and spent a few moments twisting and turning the neck to enjoy the sunset on one side and a rainbow on the other. The atmosphere gods were being very generous with their color palette today. I love rainy days!

(7) Above left. Looking toward the northwest over Chocalata Bay, the blues and pinks were impressive. (8) Above right. After about 45 minutes of spectacular colors, the hint of darkess started sweeping across the sky. Time to head back to the launch site. Back at the launch site, I was approached by a couple who couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw me pedaling a kayak. They had to drive over to see the kayak for themselves. Spent about 15 minutes telling them why I enjoy pedaling the Hobie. Now they want a tandem, so I told them where the Fairhope Boat Company is. Hopefully they will soon be out on the Bay enjoying beautiful sunsets from their Hobie Mirage Kayak.