Snakes Alive! It's a Cottonmouth?

Gulf Shores, AL     High:  73    Low:  55

Sparky headed out on the Rosemary Dunes Trail today at Gulf State Park. This is one of six trails that make up the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail. The six trails total almost 11 miles of paved, multi-use trails. Each trail has its own sort of ecosystem, from longleaf pines and savannas, to lichen draped live oak forests, freshwater coastal marshes and coastal hardwood swamps. The trail was designated a National Recreation Trail in 2010. AND---it's part of the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail....As you can tell, Sparky LOVES the trail system in Gulf State Park.

The trail is paved and appears that sections have been redone since we were last here, making for a VERY pleasurable ride...Sparky picked the Rosemary Dunes Trail today...1.75 miles one way....

Sparky saw LOTS of cool things today.....this cactus almost ready to bloom which was practically hiding in the sands...

Some interesting nuts on a tree....the caps stay on the branches while the nuts fall to the ground...

And plenty of places to sit, rest, or picnic....

And something in the middle of the road..... It was a SNAKE! This one was alive! Unlike the last one Sparky saw the other day on another trail, which was deader than a doornail...Should she run over it? Hell, NO! But she did stop to take a photo from a safe distance.

Sparky thinks this is a cottonmouth or water moccasin snake, and yeah, she knows that if the snake has a pointy head, it's probably poisonous....As she was giving the snake a wide berth on her bike, the snake opened its mouth and Sparky could have sworn it hissed at her! Time to keep moving! Sparky picked up the pace a bit and looked for gators near the gator habitat area....

Nope! Nada....Too cool a day for them to be out...There are supposed to be a couple of gators in different sections of the park and there are two marked habitats where you might see a gator...One is named Lefty, for missing part of a leg in a fight with another alligator. Nowhere to be seen today....

Sparky enjoyed the trail ride today, even with the sighting of a snake! Rosemary Dunes is a very pretty section of the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trails...More foliage, more flowering plants, more color....Sparky went out and back on the Rosemary Dunes Trail and rode parts of the other trails for a total of seven miles today....

What an asset for Gulf State Park!

Catman Road Trail...

Gulf Shores, AL    High:  68     Low:   43

Sparky went out exploring the trails today. In particular, the Catman Road Trail in the park, a part of the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail. Catman Road is a distance of about 6.5 miles out and back from the Gulf State Park main road...It was the perfect day for a ride, not too hot, not too cold....The trail has wonderful places to stop and sit along the way....Like right off the bat, there is a shaded park bench with a dock where you can tie up your boat if you came in on the waterway and just wanted to get out and stretch your legs, or there are many other spots to sit and rest in the shade along the way.

A beautiful butterfly garden on the way, about midway on the trail...A shelter with a screened in porch and picnic benches to get in out of the sun. And then there is the garden with bushes and flowers attracting lots of butterflies...These are the Gulf Fritillaries Judy was talking about in Travels with Emma...

Stopped to take more photos...Sparky's eye was caught by some other pretty plants and foliage along the way....Nothing really too special about this bush, just the way the sunlight caught it, caught Sparky's eye...

And the personal dedications on the benches and swings to those who loved nature are just wonderful and heartwarming to see....What nice tributes!

This one sign under a shaded porch swing..."In honor of Dr. Don Kidd, precious husband & best biking buddy, loving daddy boy. With great respect and love, your family".

A beautiful ride on the Catman Road Trail today. No gators seen today, Sparky is going looking for 'em on another trail tomorrow! With all the alligator signs around the park, they gotta be here somewhere!