Dauphin Island, AL to Pensacola, FL

We made it to our final state and only 9 more days to go!

Yesterday was a rest day on Dauphin Island, but I didn't do much resting.  I started early in the morning with a hike thru the Audobon Society bird sanctuary.  I'm not a good birder--by the time I locate the bird and get the binoculars focused on the spot the bird has moved to another spot.  But it was fun just listening to all the bird calls.  At one point I thought I heard a rufus-sided towhee, but when I stopped to listen I realized that I was actually hearing a mockingbird.  I think I heard the songs of all the birds in the area during the few minutes that I listened to the mockingbird--a virtuoso performance.  I also saw 2 green herons flying back and forth at the lake in the sanctuary and lots of brown thrashers plus other birds I couldn't identify.

Then it was on to Fort Gaines, which is one of the two major forts protecting the entrance to Mobile Bay during the Civil War. I had lots of fun climbing around on the fort and reading the accounts written by those who were defending the fort and the Union soldiers who captured it.  There was also extensive material on the naval battle of Mobile Bay and Admiral Farragut who may or may not have said "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead."

On the way back to the condo, I stopped at the Indian Oyster Shell Mound Park.  These mounds of oyster shells reflect repeated Indian encampments from 1100 AD to the early 1800s. Nice hike thru stands of old oaks and lots of wildflowers.

After lunch, further exploration of the island, and a brief rest, I took a 2 1/2 hour walk along the beach and watched the sun set over the water.  All the foam from the surf reflected the colors of the rainbow.  I don't know if that has to do with the oil spill or not.  I've never seen it before.  I also learned that what I thought were oil rigs on the horizon are actually natural gas rigs.  Whatever they are they certainly ruin the view looking out to sea.

Today we took the ferry across Mobile Bay.  I left the group on the other side to visit Fort  , the other major fort protecting access to Mobile Bay.  This fort was not in as good repair nor as well explained.  And it was much larger than Ft. Gaines because the government expanded it greatly in the 1890s before abandoning it in 1923. 

To catch up with the group after the fort visit, I sagged for about 20 miles with the van so I only rode about 41 miles today instead of 60.  Most of our route was along the coast with lots of views of the Gulf and the white sands of the shore.  After arriving in Pensacola, I spent a few hours touring the historic part of the city and visiting art galleries.  Pensacola was settled in the mid 1500s which makes it one of the oldest cities in the US.