Well, I got two things done this weekend. I had intended to hit the Gulf this weekend to paddle on the ocean rather than up in the Delta, but with small craft advisories out on Saturday I changed my plans and headed for Buzbee's fish camp and Bay Minette Creek. I have paddled out of Buzbee's a number of times, but we invariable turn right and head for the river. So, for a change, I paddled north up Bay Minnette Creek. A quick look at the map showed a bridge a little over 5.5 water miles north, so that was my aim point. The creek was a lot nicer than I had imagined. There was very little development and as I moved north, it narrowed down and actually started to look like some of the river banks in parts of the American Southwest. Like a lot of the rivers and creeks, Bay Minette Creek terminates in a tree-choked, gin clear spring. In this case, it was just past the bridge. On the paddle back, a hawk flew close-by, a large fish swimming in it's talons. There were a lot of turtles out too, as usual they began throwing themselves off their logs as soon as I came into site. There were some very large splashes, so some of these turtles are pretty large; smart enough not to be caught napping on a log by a hungry 'gator. Bay Minette was about an 11 mile paddle.
On Sunday, I drove out to Milton to ride the Blackwater Heritage Trail with Nate. The trail is pretty neat, and it runs from Milton out to the back gate at NAS Whiting Field (hoping to be able to commute along it next year!). The portion that runs through Milton is pretty busy and has a lot of stops, but once through the village, it opens up pretty nicely. It is, literally, up hill both ways though...the lowest part of the trail in in the middle, so essentially you are riding across a valley. Nothing serious though, it is THE SOUTH! The trail is part of the national Rails to Trails system, and part of it runs through farms...quails run across the road, adding to complications such as wayward children on training wheels and vagrant-looking teenagers on skateboards. All in all though, it was perfect weather for biking and a good distance, maybe 16 miles overall.
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2 comments:
I just moved close to BM Creek and want to explore it for fun. I was wondering if you saw any aligators or if, in your opinion, they are a threat to kayakers? They scare the b-jesus out of me! I would appreciate any advice you have for me.
The Unexperienced Kayaker,
Miss Dana Lee
I also live near the BM Creek area (about 10 miles away) and I too am interested in this picturesque strecth of water. My wife and me years ago would rent canoes around Milton, FL area. But lately I've been getting the "itch" to get back into canoeing and include our children who are currently 6 & 4yrs old. I may wait until next year for them to mature just a little more, but the threat of alligators is pretty far down my list. My experience with these creatures generally has been, "If you don't mess with them, they won't mess with you". In a way, we are all lucky that its alligators, and not crocodiles that we have in this area. People I have talked to that have visited or lived in those parts of the world where they're common will tell you that they ARE maneaters.
Alligators by contrast prefer small game animals, and don't typically recognize people as potential food. As one expert I saw explained "Alligators are lazy about what they eat"
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