From Ocean Springs where we had volunteered eight weeks in February and March it was a short drive to Dauphin Island, Alabama. We were fortunate to get a site at the only campground on the Island on Friday March 25 due to the great weather forcast for the next several days. Monday thru Thursday was spent at Gulf State Park on the east side of Mobile Bay. Then we headed north and inland to Blackwater River State Park near Milton, Florida. For our final location of enjoying the spring temperatures at the Gulf we stayed at Fort Pickens near Pensacola, FL. 
The community of Dauphin Island had a nice shady park along the main street.
The Audubon Nature Center next to our campground was a great place for bird watching and nature hikes. 
The cedar waxwings stayed around long enough for me to get a picture.
This little fellow is the Gulf Coast Box Turtle. He grows to 8" and can completely close its shell to protect it's self. He forages on berries, insects and worms.
This alligator was the only one we saw this year that was a reasonable size.
The Sunday afternoon entertainment at the campground was a bluegrass band from the area. They came to play for the snowbirds that were spending their winter here. After playing for an hour or so the banjo player collapsed and was taken to the hospital. We are not aware of his condition.Alabama with it's limited coast line has rebuilt the 500 site Gulf State Park after being damaged by Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina. Although this park has many dead trees from the storms it is a great location for wintering northerners with it's full hookups, it's planned internet access, pool, tennis courts, and nearby shopping.
We arrived at Blackwater River S. P. Friday morning and were fortunate to get the last non-reserved site in this park. This small 30 site park in Florida's panhandle was voted America's best and the first two time winner. 
This shallow sand bottomed river is popular for canoeing, kayaking and tubing. The sandy banks made for great beaching as well. 
Our final camping destination was Fort Pickens in Gulf Islands National Seashore just south of Pensacola Florida.
Some of the features of this place were the white sand beaches on both the gulf and the bay within walking distance of the campground. This barrier island has an elevation of three feet and is at the mercy of the sea. We enjoyed exploring the fort, birdwatching and soaking up the warm sunshine.
The Navy's Blue Angels aerobatic team are based at Pensacola Naval Air Station just across the water from our campground. They practice Monday and Tuesday morning, so we packed a breakfast and went to watch the one hour show.Thursday we headed north-westerly toward home. We had a two night stop to watch barge traffic along the Mississippi River at Natchez/Vidalia. There was not as much action along the river as we had hoped, but we were amazed that one tug could move 28 barges (four wide and seven long). With the boat at the back is it a tug or is it a push?
Our next night's stop was at a Corp of Engineer's Park along the Arkansas River still enjoying the 20+ temperatures. After detouring flood waters at Fargo we arrived home safely Tuesday morning. 
