Camera' s Eye: Tripping Around Baldwin County

This morning, I met fellow amateur photographer Lee, in Daphne just off the interstate. Since I was earlier than I'd planned, I stopped to take this shot of the USS Alabama located on the old causeway. There's a lot to see at Battleship Park and fun for the whole family.

We decided to start out photo outing by strolling along Daphne's Alligator Alley, which is right at the exit ramp. We missed a great shot of a hawk chasing some pigeons under the overpass because we were ogling....

..... a trio of FAKE alligators!

Since there wasn't a lot to see down Alligator Alley, we decided to go over to Meaher State Park on the old causeway and wander around there.There's a great elevated walkway out over the marsh and you can see the Mobile skyline... way in the distance.

Looking off the side of the walkway, we spotted this marsh bog plant in bloom.

Then I noticed a LARGE bird circling high above us and aimed my camera. I had no idea what kind of bird was until I telescoped in - Jackpot! A bald eagle!!

This is the best I could magnify the photo... as I said, it was way up there and circling away from us up the delta.

After that coup, we drove up to Blakely State Historical Park, site of the last battle of the Civil War.

The dogwoods were beginning to bloom so we got out and walked around an old cemetery area. I found these gorgeous little wild violets. (If that's not right, I'm sure Liz will correct me.... so check back later. )

There's miles of trails for hikers, horseback riding, or just meandering along in the car.

Loads of fabulous old gnarled live oaks....

Places to park and take hikes, too. We decided to go on the river walk. There were lots of these tiny asters around.

We stopped briefly at the Hiding Tree.... supposedly soldiers could hide in here if being pursued by the enemy.... most likely dug out more over time by tourists trying it out..

There were this lovely red blooms/leaves on several trees near the water. Swamp elm, maybe?? There are lots of trees identified by posts, but I never found one saying exactly what these were called.

Great vistas from the elevated walkway along the banks of the Tensaw River, like this cypress draped in Spanish moss.

Lots of marshy bog plants, too. Like this beauty.

JACKPOT again! We spied this small alligator resting on a log..

He/she was getting a little worried and right after this picture, shot off into the water. It didn't go far though.... I'm sure it was glad when we passed so it could resume it's sunbath.... it was kind of chilly and we were surprised to find an alligator stirring around so early in the year.

This clump of cypress led us to a flight of fantasy.... indulge my imagination a bit...

Can you see the three figures? One standing on a stump, the other kneeling, wearing a cloak with a hood and one figure's head coming up out of the water between them?? No? Look again......

This one looked like a "sea horse"... more so in the moment than when I looked at it on the computer.... Yea, just use your imagination again...

On the opposite side of the walkway, there were loads of bog plants with blooms that were white on the bottom and yellow on top... like a thick pencil.

Off the walkway we found this interesting sight of mushrooms ringing a fallen tree stump.

There were lots of anoles all along too... enjoying the spring weather. This is a female anole.... they have a light stripe down the back.

The Carolina Jasmine grows wild around here and brightens up the swampy woodland.

Found several of these small white violet looking plants in a clearing.

This is a Two Winged Silver Bell.... at least, that's what the sign said... very pretty.

Walking back to the car, we were awed by this giant live oak.... the two of us could not reach around it.

By the time we got back to the car, we were starving, so we ended our visit to Blakely and went in search of food. After we ate, we went over to the D'Olive Bay overlook - a great birding site - to see what we could find.