I awoke early, and headed over to Fort Gaines, expecting that it would be accessible during the morning. When I got there, there was a guard detail posted on the bridge to the fort that informed me the person that could let me in would be there in about an hour. I figured I would use the time to walk around the fort again to see it on the daytime.
After walking around the fort, and waiting for a while, I went back to the gate, and asked them if they knew when I would be allowed to get in. They said they didn't know where the person was that could authorize them to let me in, but they hadn't shown up yet. Because they still expected them to show up soon, I hung around a while longer. This person of authority was apparently not coming any time soon, so I gave up on Fort Gaines for the day.
Just because one door was closed didn't mean another wasn't open. I walked to the ferry (located directly across the street from the back of the camp grounds), and waited for it to arrive so I could visit Fort Morgan. Along the way, I walked by the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Estuatrium, and looked at the water, oil platforms, sea birds, and some butterflies.
Dauphin Island-Fort Morgan Ferry
When the ferry came, I waited for all the cars to unload, and the new ones to drive on, then walked on, and offered to pay the attendant. He told me another guy would come around to collect my fee once they were underway, so I went up to one of the observation platforms.
As soon as the ferry was underway, these two attendants went from car to car collecting their $25 fee, and as they left one car, it's occupants would vacate their vehicle, and head to one of the two observation platforms or the forward part of the boat. They never came around to collect my $2 fee.
As we travelled across the mouth of Mobile Bay, I was able to observe Fort Gaines grow smaller behind us, the oil platforms got bigger as we approached them, and the Sand Island Lighthouse, located on a small island halfway between the sides of the bay and set out about 4 miles got a little bit easier to see.
When we reached the mainland side, I waited while the cars on the ferry disembarked, standing next to the attendant as he waved the cars off, and the new ones on. He collected money from the new walk-ons, and they boarded as well. I then walked over to the sidewalk that would lead me off the pier, and halted by him for a second, thinking he might now realize he hadn't collected my fee. He looked at me and told me that I'd better get going, because the other end of the pier would be locked as soon as the ferry left the dock. I started walking.
Just off the pier and to the right is the gate house to get into Fort Morgan. I stopped and paid my fee, then continued my walk to the fort.
Fort Morgan
It's a little walk to the fort from the gate, past the senior staff houses and ruins of some old support buildings for the fort.
As you approach the fort, there are several old and modern cannon sitting outside it's walls, and a couple of modern batteries, a torpedo casemate, and a wharf are just outside of the old fort's walls.
I checked out the torpedo casemate, which now has a cannon positioned on top of it, and climbed around the batteries - Batteries Schneck and Thomas. Battery Thomas was built over one of the original bastions of the fort, allowing access to a ramp that provides alternate entrance to the outer wall of the fort. 
From here, I walked around the dry moat, checking out the shot furnace near the Lighthouse Battery and other parts of the outer walls. As I approached the main gate to the fort, I climbed up the outer wall, and over the glacis (the earthwork sloped outside of the wall), making my way back around to the main gate.
Walking through the long postern (tunnel through the glacis), you arrive back at the dry moat, with the central gate leading into the sallyport. Over the gate is the name Morgan and the date 1833, which is the year the fort was named, though it wasn't completed until 1834.
After checking out these structures, I climbed down through Battery Duportail while checking it out, then went around the corner the battery limited access to, and finally, crossed the parade ground and departed the fort.
Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge Beach
After finishing my tour of the fort, I headed back to the pier to wait for the ferry back to Dauphin Island. After getting there, I realized I still had a lot of time to wait, and that I had forgotten to see if I had a better view of the Sand Island Lighthouse from around the fort. I decided to walk back to the fort to take a look.
I had to walk to the far side of the fort to get closer to the lighthouse, where I found out that surrounding that side of the fort is the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, leaving little access to the beach. I walked around the fort until I got to the edge of the refuge, then made my way to the beach. On the beach, I had a little better view of the lighthouse, and it was also a nice beach and had a number of birds to watch as I walked.
The signs for the refuge indicated that you can't cross it except at designated crossings. I continued to walk around the island, expecting to see one of these crossings, so I could go back to the pier. There were a few other people and footprints as I walked, indicating such a crossing would be nearby. It wasn't.
I ended up walking a couple of miles around the island before finding a crossing. When I started up it, I found a van stuck in the sand to it's front bumper. A couple of girls who were at the beach had driven off the narrow, poorly maintained roadway. A couple from Kentucky in their 4x4 F150 were trying to help the girls get their van out. I helped dig out the front of the van, and after a few tries, the Ford pulled the the van out of the sand. The couple offered me a ride back to the pier, which I greatfully accepted.
Dauphin Island-Fort Morgan Ferry
The ferry was just arriving as I got dropped off. There were a number of other walk-ons on the ferry ride back to Dauphin Island. All of us walked on and went to one of the observation platforms, and yet again, the attendants either forgot to collect our money or didn't care. Again, I stuck around to the end after disembarking, but they still took no interest, so I walked across the street, back to the campground.
Seagrass Festival in Fort Gaines
Since it was still a bit early, I decided to check out the Seagrass Festival, since I would be able to see a few of the acts. Along the way, I ran into the security guard named Simon I wrote about earlier. We talked for a while, then I headed on to the festival. By the time I arrived at the gate, the second to last performer had just gotten on stage. I went to the ticket tent, and asked how much it cost to get in. The lady there told me they only had an all weekend ticket, so I'd have to pay the full price, even though I would only get to see two shows. I considered it for a bit, then decided to go ahead.
I got my ticket, and headed into Fort Gaines. As I listened to Sara Watkins, I strolled around the grounds, taking a look at the fort. After looking around, I sat down to enjoy the music.
After Sara was done, the last act - the headliner, Ricky Skaggs, came on. As I listened to him and his band, I took a few photos.
A couple of girls were dancing in the back of the aisle, and wanted to get their picture taken, so I did, which I already posted so they could see it. Though I paid more per performance than most of the people there, I think it was well worth it, and it was a great way to end the evening.
Night Time Photography
But the evening didn't end there. I went back to my campsite, grabbed my tripod, and waited a little while for the crowd to clear out. Then I walked back to the fort, to take some night time pictures of the oil platforms in the gulf. They light up like Christmas trees at night, and are really quite stunning. During one of my long exposures, a boat cut across the frame. The twisted streams of light give testament to the windy, choppy night.
Quite an adventure for a single day.
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