March 11

Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, south and west of our RV campsite, doesn’t allow pets on its trails. So, no stops to check out the various birding sites or Fort Morgan. #180 has Mobile Bay on the north and the Gulf of Mexico on the south. At the end is a ferry ride to Dauphin Island which in turn leads to a newly built causeway & bridge to the mainland.

A gang of brown pelicans are hanging out at the ferry launch point providing entertainment & photo opportunities. I love the way they fold in their wings, point their beaks and dive in face first. We humans raise our ‘wings’ above our heads to create the same stance. Their prey is not always fully inside their pouch when they surface. Something is squirming and whipping about. Long, shimmering, silverish, an eel possibily. From time to time there is a dispute as to who gets to ‘roost’ on the nearest pilings causing the unwanted pelican to fly off and gently land on the water, feet first.

The ferry ride, along the divide between Mobile Bay and the Gulf, is quite calm. Countless oil rig platforms dot the Bay, some with supply ships alongside.

Dauphin Island’s Bienville Blvd takes us to the most westerly point. This area is mostly ‘bien’ again having been very badly hit by Katrina. The debris is gone, only the occasional house on a serious tilt or piling remains. Newly constructed houses in pastel colours are high up on pillars with loads of open spaces (lots) in between. If it’s not for sale, then it’s for rent. Wall-to-wall housing is slowly returning.

We turn south off Bienville to get a better look at housing and the ocean. This particular road is not on our map and comes to an end despite the fact that there are more houses. A very large drift of sand completely blocks the roadway. The southern alternative to ploughing/shovelling snow. Retracing our route, we continue west to the very end, a narrow turnabout with far too many ‘no parking’ signs. The Gulf is no longer visible due to a very tall sand dike being created by two steamshovels on the oceanside. One property owner has constructed a staircase to get to the ocean. Recycled Christmas trees are the anti-erosion choice to control the sand drifts, sometimes outlining properties with no houses.