The 12th Annual Orange Beach October Fishing Rodeo gets under way on Monday, and you can use Dauphin Island as your base of operations for the entire tournament.
For those not familiar with the October Fishing Rodeo, it's a month long competition with cash prizes awarded to anglers competing in several categories: gag grouper, amberjack, king mackerel, red snapper, triggerfish, redfish, and speckled trout.
The organizers of the Orange Beach October Fishing Rodeo have raised the prize amounts this year to attract even more anglers to participate.
A self-guided tour through Shell Mound Park is a "must do" during any Dauphin Island vacation.
Shell Mound park is probably the single most visited spot for birds returning to the Alabama Gulf Coast after their long spring migration north over the Gulf of Mexico. For this reason Shell Mound Park is a hot spot for birders through the migration seasons.
But don't take our word for it. Read what the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has to say about Dauphin Island's Shell Mound Park:
The Shell Mounds and Dauphin Island in general are renowned "hot-spots" for observing neotropical migrant birds, and attract birders from around the U.S. each spring and fall. Dauphin Island is the first point of land encountered by migrants during their spring migration across the Gulf of Mexico. The entire Island is a bird sanctuary.
Indian Shell Mound Park is located on the northern shore of Dauphin Island. The park is maintained and administered by Alabama Marine Resources Division.
Shell Mound Park consists of eleven acres of subtropical natural beauty. The park is a botanical treasure-trove unlike that found on any other Gulf barrier island.
Many plant species which can be found at Shell Mound Park are representatives of families found as far inland as the Appalachian Mountains and from as far south as Yucatan state, Mexico. Many of them were likely transported here hundreds of years ago by Indian groups for medicinal and culinary purposes.
The park is full of giant moss-draped live oaks. Some are estimated to be in excess of 800 years old. You'll see trees which were mature specimens when the Spaniards first visited the shores of Dauphin Island in 1519.
Dauphin Island's Shell Mound Park is popular with vacationers, student groups, elder-hostels and birding groups. An estimated 25,000 people visit the Mounds each year.
Call Alabama Marine Resources Division (251) 861-2882 for more info.
Remember last year's coastal cleanup event? How about the on the year before? No, we didn't think so. They were both canceled because Mother Nature had a different plan in mind for Dauphin Island.
This year Mother Nature has been much nicer to us. The Alabama Coastal Cleanup is back on it's annual schedule.
Saturday is the day. Volunteers all along the Alabama Gulf Coast will spend the morning cleaning up the coastline. The Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources is hoping to see approximately 4000 volunteers come to spend the morning making Alabama's waterways and coastline clean and litter free.
If you're looking for a way to feel really good about yourself, think about coming out for the event. A few hours' work will leave you feeling terrific. You'll have a great time and meet some really good people too.
Rob Nykvist was up early recently and captured some of Dauphin Island's early morning beauty.
If you check his web site you'll find that one of his most recent kayaking adventures started out from Dauphin Island before sunrise. Rob's photos of the Dauphin Island sunrise from out on the Gulf of Mexico are simply stunning.
The image is one of the pop-up storms which took place later in the morning. Check Rob's site for other photos of far away storms, Dauphin Island beaches and a few glimpses of the life and beauty of Dauphin Island.
There are so many things to see and do on Dauphin Island. You only need to give up the need for over-stimulation, to decide to take a relaxing, get away from it all king of vacation to realize all that Dauphin Island has to offer.
Rob Nykvist recently took a few hours to remind us just how beautiful this place is to those of us who call it our vacation home away from home.
This shot of a Morning Glory bloom was taken in late August on Dauphin Island, the height of the summer season.
For more shots like this one and to read a complete recap of Rob's recent tour around Dauphin Island by Kayak you should visit his web site here.