They have a sense of humor at Alligator Alley.

Wesley Moore has more than 200 American alligators at his refuge in the Alabama Gulf Coast. Visitors can hold a young gator (they feel like wet shoes...)

or watch Moore feed them.

But the greatest pleasure to be had in Alligator Alley is to watch these cold-blooded carnivores act like themselves. Granted, in the autumn, that means a lot of lethargic sunbathing.

I also had the opportunity to kayak in Graham Creek today, a brackish creek that leads into Wolf Bay. A north wind and low tide combined to make the water so shallow that one of my cohorts could see a stingray swim across the floor of the creek.

Mullet (a freshwater fish common to the area) would often jump from the water, but I wasn't quick enough to photograph it despite my best efforts.

-Jason Lea, JLea@News-Herald.com