Dauphin Island, Alabama

It's good to be flexible

It was a fun learning Cajun vs Creole people and food, but the road noise in front of Betty's RV Park was pretty wearing. Road construction going to Lafayette taking 30 minutes to travel 5 miles, limiting sightseeing the Atchafalaya Basin. Besides, all of the alligators were starting to look alike.  After four days, it was time for a change of plans. We were taking too long time going east to visit family which was the point of this eastward trek in the first place.

Mike declined being the Y in Lafayette.

 A change in weather was also on the way.

We took Avery Island's Tabasco Plant self guided tour and visited Jungle Island while the sun was shining.

 Jungle Island's 170-acre garden stretches along Bayou Petite  on Avery Island which has azaleas, camellias and colorful bamboo - as well as alligators, deer and the thousands of snowy egrets that nest in Bird City. The air boats were trolling up and down the bayou.

 During the late 1800’s, the Great and Snowy Egrets were hunted to the brink of extinction. During courtship, these birds grow additional feathers nuptial plumes that looked really good on women's’ hats. Plume hunters shot the birds en masse during mating season for these. Now their habitats are  endangered. I am glad they have a place to nest on this island.

We packed up and headed to Alabama. No, we didn't get a refund from Betty's. Yes, we were ok with that.

 Mike has shared many stories of being stationed on Dauphin Island as a skinny kid in the Air Force. I needed to see it and he needed to revisit it. I watched him reminisce about his time here as we walked along the path around the island. Driving past the Springhill Road sign in Mobile, Mike smiled remembering that was where the all girl's college was. I think they made frequent stops on Springhill Road.

Boy, did we sleep once we got on Dauphin Island. No more boom boom of trucks hitting the bumps in front of Betty's or bang bang of the drums from the music inside. Ahhhhh

 Not a bad place to be stationed in 1969 and 1970. I am glad we made it to the 5 mile long island in the Gulf of Mexico.

 We will be getting the fine white sand out of our trailer for a while.

We toured Fort Gaines from the 1800s.

 Dauphin Island Audubon Sanctuary has been named one of the top four locations in North America for viewing spring migrations! The Sanctuary consists of 137 acres of maritime forest, marshes, and dunes, including a lake, a swamp, and a beach. Our morning walk was a real treat as we watch a heron building his nest. Boy did we see and hear a lot of birds.

 Doing a little nest rearranging.

 The Sanctuary is of vital importance because it is the largest segment of protected forest on the Island and the first landfall for migrant birds after their long flight across the Gulf from Central and South America each spring. Here these birds, often exhausted and weakened from severe weather
during the long flight, find their first food and shelter.

The barracks weren't this blue color but a tan color.  Mike's room was the second lower window. He was here during Hurricane Camille. Many of the buildings built in the 1960s have survived. 

 Maybe a tern?

Across the street from the RV park is an Estuary with many more birds as we watched the ferry sail across Mobile Bay. The pelicans are a favorite as they hop across the water as they take off and soar across the bay.

It was pretty foggy when I took most of these pictures.

The stormy weather stayed north of us so we could enjoy our few days on the coast before heading north. Or will we have another change of plans?