So much has changed since we last visited the Gulf State Park Hotel and Resort. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has moved ahead with refurbishing the property. From the sound of things, the results are amazing. Actually, the word used is "stunning":
Stunned might be the best way to describe the sensation when I walked into one of the new cottages at Gulf State Park.
As Herb Malone of the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau put it, "This is not your typical state park cabin. This is a home away from home."
Chandler Robbins recently attended an Association of Field Ornithologists meeting at the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory. He is known for his pioneering work in the field of Ornithology and literally wrote the book on bird identification. His birders reference, Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification, is a standard part of birders' field complement worldwide.
Among Mr. Robbins' accomplisments are:
During his visit to the conference Mr. Robbins was interviewed by the Houston Chronicle:
Ornithologist revolutionized the study of birds and their surroundings
Chandler Robbins, 88, has been called the father of modern ornithology.
Kiva Dunes in Gulf Shores will serve as host to the 13th annual Shrimp Festival Golf Tournament.
The tournament is scheduled for Sept. 8, 2006. It will begin promptly at 12:30 pm with shotgun start. The tournament format will be a four-person scramble with handicap. Each group's handicap will be determined by averaging the handicaps of the golfers in each foursome.
The Shrimp Festival Golf Tournament can accommodate only the first 36 teams to sign up. Entry fees are $125 per person ($500 per team). The registration fee includes cart fee, golf fees and lunch prior to play. Prizes will be awarded for the first, second and third low net and low gross teams, closest to the pin and longest drive.
It's hard to add much to this story in today's Register. If you're into the fishing thing now is the time to head for Gulf Shores and the Alabama Gulf Coast.
Fishing tournaments lately have been turning out the records and the amazing run of great fishing is continuing. How long will it last? It's anyone's guess.
Better not wait.
Offshore fishermen enjoying bluewater bonanza
For many offshore anglers along the Gulf Coast, it just doesn't get much better than it is right now.
The Alabama Beach Mouse is in the news again. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is designating areas in and around Gulf Shores as "Critical Habitat" meaning these areas are critically important to the survival of the species. The designation doesn't mean the areas are off-limits to development and use; but it does mean that those areas will be carefully monitored and maintained to ensure they remain hospitable to the Alabama Beach Mouse.
Economic analysis says between $18 million to $51 million needed to protect beach mouse
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has announced the release of a draft version of an economic analysis examining costs associated with designating parts of the Fort Morgan Peninsula and areas around Gulf Shores as "critical habitat" for the endangered Alabama beach mouse.
Records continue to fall all along the Alabama Gulf Coast as yet another fishing tournament meets with outstanding success. This year's Alabama Deep See Fishing Rodeo saw several records broken.
Anglers in last weekend's Orange Beach Billfish Classic turned in record numbers of huge fish. The great fishing off shore in the Gulf of Mexico continues. Look for even more records to fall in this weekend's Conde Cavalier Mardi Gras Fishing Tournament which will be held on nearby Dauphin Island (across Mobile Bay from Gulf Shores and Fort Morgan) at the Dauphin Island Marina.