Three days near Dauphin Island AL, two days in Biloxi MS, and one week at Grand Isle State Park LA…
Dauphin Island, Alabama…Why we came…
To check out Alabama’s island playground and to earn a state sticker.
Our first stay in Alabama
We stayed near the little community of Alabama Port
The campground…
Bay Palms RV Resort was decent. It had a weird vibe to us. The park was nearly full, but only a few people were around. The folks that were there tended to ignore us. Most of the RVs belong to weekenders that likely live in nearby communities like Mobile. The location is good being just 30 miles to Mobile and nine miles to Dauphin Island.
There was decent space between between the wide, long, level paved sites. We had full hook-ups, a strong Verizon data signal, and spotty wi-fi. The pool, bathrooms, laundry room, and club house appeared to be well maintained. The bath house was cobbled together with plywood and reminded us of our time in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our spot was near the front of the campground so highway noise was prevalent during the day, but quiet at night. Unfortunately, a few dogs in the campground barked a lot and a couple ran loose. One dog was left tied up outside and barked off and on all night long. (Inconsiderate pet owners are near the top of our campground complaints list. Every campground has pet rules, but the rules are often ignored and unenforced.) It’s a coin toss on whether or not we would make a return trip. Bay Palms RV Resort appeared to be one of the best options in the area.
Our move from Pensacola FL to Alabama Port AL was just 85 miles…just the way we like it!
Alabama Port is an unincorporated town where many of the homes are weekend and holiday retreats (like RVs in the campground). Dauphin Island, population 1,238, is similar with a whole bunch more visitors and vacationers. However, it has a few restaurants and small convenience stores. Mobile, AL is just 35 miles north and has nearly all the goods and services one could ask for.
Adventures…
The day was going to be too windy for kayaking but dry. We drove out to the west end of the developed area of Dauphin Island and parked in the free public parking area. Families were out playing, sunbathing, walking on the beach, and fishing. However, they were only spread out on the first half mile of the beach. We had the next few miles to ourselves as we spotted crabs, dolphins, and watched pelicans and their antics. Near our turn around point several pleasure boats had pulled up to the beach and families were setting up camps for the night.
Next, we drove to the east end of the island where Fort Gaines has guarded the entrance to Mobile Bay since 1821. “Fort Gaines is one of the key sites in the famous Battle of Mobile Bay where Admiral Farragut shouted his now-famous order, “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” Shawn jokingly latched onto the giant ball and chain and tried to steal one of the cannons, and then we walked around the outer walls and looked for alligators in the moat.
Walk route on Dauphin Island / A tiny crab and colorful shell
A glorious day on Dauphin Island
Fort Gaines, established 1821
My ball and chain! / The moat around Fort Gaines
Meeting new friends…
Shawn and I have been members of Northwood RV Owners Association (NROA) since we purchased our Northwood manufactured trailer five years ago. We enjoy meeting fellow members who are like-minded.
We were contacted by Jim, who lives in Alabama, with an offer to take us kayaking around Dauphin Island. Unfortunately, the winds were too high and the waves too choppy. But we met Jim and his wife Gretchen for dinner at Islanders Restaurant. Gretchen confessed that she was nervous about meeting two complete strangers for dinner. Jim assured her we were safe because we were weather forecasters. That made us laugh!
They have just recently purchased an Arctic Fox Fifth Wheel, are semi-retired, and looking forward to more travels. We had a lengthy, enjoyable dinner discussing previous adventures and plans for the future. We look forward to meeting them out on the road again someday.
Jim and Gretchen treated us to a wonderful dinner
Biloxi, Mississippi…Why we came…
To visit our military weather training school; to resupply; and to earn a state sticker.
Check Mississippi off the list!
We stayed at the Keesler Air Force Base FamCamp
The campground…
We gave the Keesler Air Force Base FamCamp mixed reviews. One section had big, paved, mostly level sites and the other had narrow, paved, unlevel sites. In fact, in the the narrow section, some of the sites had ski slope-like sections. About two thirds of the site was level and the other third was so steeply pitched that there were gouges in the pavement where RVs scraped the ground! Unfortunately, we were in the less desired sites, but we were glad it was just for two nights.
Many of the sites were occupied by folks that had been there awhile. Our neighbors were active duty military and were there for a few months long training course. Their trucks roared to life early each morning and they sat outside, talked, and smoked each evening until the sun went down.
The FamCamp is on an annex off the main base so base conveniences were a few miles away. The approach roads into the annex went through neighborhoods and were quite narrow. In fact, our truck mirror loudly smacked the mirror of an oncoming car (our mirror won the battle).
We had full hook-ups, but the sewage opening was too narrow for us to use, something we had never seen before. It appeared to be a quirk of our site as most of the others were “normal”. Because of our short stay, this wasn’t a problem…we just dumped on the way out. The wi-fi system was also something we had never seen before. They loan wi-fi routers to long term guests and then provide passwords to everyone else upon check-in. We were given at least five passwords, and none were for the networks that we actually received. Thankfully, we had a good Verizon data signal. The campground was mostly quiet, except for a few distant train whistles a few times a night.
The campground host was very welcoming, helpful, and hard working. There were two bath and laundry houses that were well maintained. $22 a night for full hook-ups is great. If in the area in the future, we’d likely stay there again, but would certainly request the other section.
The move from Alabama Port AL to Biloxi was only 60 miles…awesome!
Biloxi, population 44,578, has basically joined with multiple neighboring towns totaling nearly 400,000 people along the congested Mississippi coast. Nearly all goods and services can be found in the area. The region is known for its casinos and entertainment.
Adventures…
Keesler Air Force Base (AFB) in Biloxi Mississippi is home to the Department of Defense Weather School where Air Force, Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard take courses to be certified weather forecasters. I attended the school at Chanute AFB, Illinois before it moved to Keesler in 1992. Shawn attended the seven month long weather forecasting course in 1994 and I attended the much shorter Doppler radar and systems manager courses there. Shawn spent a lot of time fishing and mountain biking in the area so the return was a reminiscent journey for him. We stopped by the school and the current Superintendent graciously gave us a tour and briefed us on changes to training in the career field. We finished the tour in the large, round, rooftop observation tower. Among other things, it’s where all weather students would eagerly gather to spot tornados and waterspouts.
The military’s “Weather Training Complex” / Shawn graduated from forecasting school in this spot
Grand Isle State Park, Louisiana…Why we came…
To explore Louisiana’s island playground and to earn a state sticker.
Now we’ve stayed in Louisiana
We camped at Grand Isle State Park
The campground…
Grand Isle State Park has a very nice campground situated at the tip of the island. All of the sites were pull through, and had electric and water. There were two well-designed and convenient dump stations. The sites were long, wide, fairly level, and paved. There were three well maintained bath and shower houses and one of them had FREE laundry! There was even (spotty) wi-fi…a rarity in state parks. Additionally, we had an excellent Verizon data signal.
When we made the reservations, we had planned to get fishing licenses and do some kayaking, but we just took it easy.
Long, wide, paved camp sites (we are in the center of the picture)
Grand Isle is a nice state park
The town of Grand Isle, population 1,361, is stretched out along the narrow island. It was quiet during our stay and most of the houses were empty…more weekend and holiday vacation homes. There were a few restaurants and one small, but very well stocked grocery/hardware store. There are multiple towns spread along LA Route 1 that have more restaurant and supply options with a Walmart 45 miles north in Cut Off. New Orleans is 100 miles to the north and has nearly all services and supplies.
Adventures…
We knew the weather was going to move in and hamper any attempts to be outside, so I got out and thoroughly checked out the park the first day we were there. First, I walked the two mile nature trail. It has a lot undergrowth and shrubbery built up on both sides of the trail. The spring flowers were in full bloom! But occasionally I heard something large moving around that I could not see. In addition, several areas of the trail were submerged in water mandating a slog through deep, dark mud. It would only get worse as the week went on. As I came to the ocean side, I walked out on each of the three piers to spot fishermen, birds, and dolphins. Later that day, Shawn and I went for an evening walk on the beach and found that it was the sort of sand that packs down nicely and ideal for a good brisk walk.
Over the next few days, we had almost four inches of rain along with wind gusts to 50mph. The rain left lakes everywhere in the park. But the wind was worse. I was sitting at my desk, when I looked up to see a pop-up trailer being pushed by the wind out to the road and into the ditch. At the same time, the wind was ripping the canvas sides and cover. The owner rushed over to deal with it. A few of the campground hosts showed up to help him pull it out of the ditch, tuck in the remnants of the sides and cover, hitch up, and leave. We wondered what the beach tenters were going through. On my next beach stroll, I noted the remnants of a tent and its poles sticking out of one the garbage cans. So there were at least a few storm causalities. It was not the first time we have been thankful for our hard sided home when we reflect on our tent days in challenging conditions.
Bad storm on 18 March with lots of rain and 50mph winds
Our last few days there, we did many miles of beach walks. We also ran up hundreds of steps courtesy of the five floor observation tower. We did that keeping in mind that our legs need to get back in mountain climbing mode before we hit the Rockies this summer.
We really enjoyed our beach strolls. Every time we would see something different: dolphins thrashing as they feasted on fish, a PHI helicopter practicing extractions, a slowly meandering snail, a crab scurrying across the sand, pelicans making splashy dives for fish, hundreds of terns squawking “mine! mine!”, fishermen, families building sand castles, and spectacular sunsets.
Two of our walk routes
The fishing pier at Grand Isle State Park
Dolphins often cruised along the beach looking for dinner
The dolphin used its powerful tail to stun little fish and then ate them up. It’s incredible to watch!
Doing some rescue training
We ran up the five story observation tower a few times a day for exercise / See the hermit crab’s tracks?
The fishing pier
Hey Louisiana, your roads are crappy! Sections of Highway 90 and Interstate 10 between Mathew and the Texas boarder nearly shook us ill. Our pedometers even gave us 4,000 bogus steps! There was no way we could to do the 65-70mph speed limits…our truck and trailer would have jiggled into a thousand pieces. That was a lousy drive!
Next…
We have spent a few days in Crystal Beach TX and a few more at Goose Island State Park TX. We are now in San Antonio TX and our next stops are Big Bend National Park TX, Guadalupe Mountains National Park TX, and then Brantley Lake State Park NM.
Parting shots…
We learned about shore birds at Grand Isle State Park LA
(99,600)
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