08/20/2013 - Mobile Bay

1) Sunrise at Arlington Park

2) A kayaker fishing down at Dog River Bridge

3) My what big eyes you have.

4) US Coast Guard buzzing the Kayak.

5) Dog River Bridge

6) I heard the waves coming before seeing them. The waves were compliments of a passing ship.

7) The western shoreline of Mobile is rather unattractive.

8) It was so humid this morning my glasses stayed fogged up.

9) Rumble in the distance - better head back to Arlington Park.

10) Whew!  Made it back in the knick of time.

08/29/2012 - No Solution to Dog River Pollution

Fox 10 TV did a report about Dog River residents being concerned that tropical storm Isaac will generate excess trash which they will have to pick up. I never see any reporters out on the water to get the real story. April, here is what Dog River looked like today: TRASHED. Welcome to Mobile, home of the Bay Pigs. It has been over a year and the shoreline has yet to be cleaned. Much of the trash in these photos is over a year old.

When the water recedes from this storm, many residents will be facing the task of removing yet another ring of the public's trash from their property. This is just the visible trash. The smell of raw sewage was strong up near Eslava Creek. Rain storms usually generate hidden health hazards like e-coli.

Dog River Shoreline.

Dog River Park. The City of Mobile did not bother to secure their trash cans despite warnings for high waters.

Moore Creek shoreline by the Interstate.

Undeveloped property full of trash.

Rabby Creek.

Dog River.

Dog River across from Dog River Park.

Moore Creek shoreline.

Moore Creek shoreline.

Dog River shoreline.

Dog River shoreline.

Moore Creek shoreline.

Dog River shoreline.

Dog River near Mike Bradley's home.

Some of the river litter served as a safe haven for critters flooded out of their home.

A big spider, beetles and an ant colony sharing room on a basketball.

The owner of this sailboat is dying of cancer and is looking to get rid of this sailboat, for FREE.

Dog River shoreline.

Dog River shoreline.

Moore Creek shorelines.

Moore Creek shorelines.

Dog River Park. This shore was recently cleaned by a volunteer.

Holy crap. A porta-potty floating down the street.

Swimming in the Dog River MAWSS sewage dump. Not very smart to be exposing your kids to excess e-coli.

08/28/2012 - Isaac Tropical Massage

I love kayaking in tropical storms because it is a time to get some kayaking experience in rough conditions. After waiting half the day for a Tropical Storm Isaac feeder band to show up on radar, one finally did. When the rain band was about an hour away, I launched.

Before you go saying I'm an idiot, to set the record straight, I would not intentionally kayak in rough waters using a PADDLE kayak. Winds can snatch the paddle right out of the hand or a gusting wind catching the paddle blade can easily knock a person over. However, in a Hobie PEDAL kayak, with Turbo ST fins below the water, winds do not much affect propulsion until about gale force (over 50 mph). Today's winds were 15-30 mph at most. I'm experienced using a pedal boat in tropical storm conditions. I'm familiar with the waterway, knew the tides, knew the risks, stayed in protected waters, and had emergency plans for several types of things that can go wrong. A trip in these conditions is not taken lightly.

Header image. During one squall winds stayed steady about 20 mph with a few gusts that rocked the kayak. The raindrops pelted my body in a slight stinging massage-like way - it felt good. I closed my eyes while pedaling and was enjoying the exercise experience. Sure beats sitting inside a stinky gym on a stationary bicycle.

Auburn University decided to tie up their boat which displayed no Alabama registration. Should this boat be blown loose it could wipe out property owner docks.

There were several other larger boats blocking a navigable waterway. Luckily I was in a kayak and was able to navigate around the petroleum burning beasts. They should have asked ALL the owners upstream if it would be okay if they blocked the waterway.

On the alee side of the Dog River conditions were nice. Some residents were sitting out on their dock enjoying the weather.

Even some dogs were out enjoying the higher than normal tide. Plastic trash floats nearby.

The horizon darkened and a brief squall line passed through. There were about a dozen boats anchored off Alba Club (seen on the horizon). Only one boat had its lights on.

Hoppe's Launch was a bit under water. The wise owner removed her trailer before the storm hit.

Kayaking down Dauphin Island Parkway just north of Dog River Bridge. The road was closed. Cops started approaching like they were going to detain me, so, I quickly got back out on the open water.

Gas pumps and a huge gas tank at Dog River Marina were all secure and not leaking.

Grand Mariner was close to getting water on their first floor. Luckily the tide was going down.

A bunch of young kids can be seen here walking on a dock that was under a few inches of water.

A little bit of video from today's trip. I had planned to do some kayak surfing up near the Dog River Bridge but due to a lot of debris and a rudder knob that came loose, I decided not to surf the 4 foot waves that were moving about 8-9 mph. What an enjoyable kayak trip.

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.