This series of caches is intended to take you to a number of places where The Gulf State Park's alligators like to hang out. The best time to see a gator is during the warmer season and they are usually more visible during the early morning and late afternoon hours. They like to hide in dark water and cool mud during the heat of the day.
Please do not feed or harass the alligators. When people feed gators, the gators start to see people as a food source and become aggressive toward them. When this happens, the gators are almost always killed. Also, it carries a $500 fine.
Congratulations to ???????? for FTF.
Georgia Girl (Isn't she a beauty! Just look how she smiles for the camera 
)
Local campers originally named this gator George, but when it was caught, Georgia seemed to be more appropriate due to her age and relatively small size of 6'9". Georgia likely lived most of her life in Middle Lake until she grew too old to defend her territory. Notice how most of her teeth are gone 
.
So, with an old and nearly toothless body, she wondered up to a drainage ditch near the end of Opossum Road to live out the rest of her days in peace. That was, until people found her and started feeding her.
It wasn't long before Georgia started seeing people as a food source and became VERY aggressive. This very nearly cost Georgia her life. Fortunately, State Park officials were able to find a place to relocate her where she will not pose a threat to anyone and should be able to live out the rest of her days in peace. If she had not been caught that morning, she would have been shot 
the next time she was seen.
Georgia Girl is a good example of the dangers posed to alligators by people who insist on breaking the law and feeding them.
Stage 1: This will bring you to a very popular fishing hole. Good luck getting to this one when the Reds are running or the blue crabs are in. I stopped by here are few nights back and met a very nice, older couple fishing, with their little dog standing on the bank with them. I asked if they had seen the gator yet and the lady responded, "Oh, I am sure there are not any gators here". So, I took out my flashlight and about 30' away was the resident 5 footer. The poor old lady about came unglued. I advised her that she didn't have anything to worry about, but that her little dog would make a tasty morsel 
.
Stage 2: We can thank Governor "Big Jim" Folsom (who led Alabama from 1947 to 1951, and again from 1955 to 1959) for this fine little fishing hole. As the story goes, the Governor was in town and touring the area and decided that we needed a fishing hole on the South West side of Hwy 135. So, this one was created. I am not sure how good the fishing is here, and rarely see any fishermen around it, but it does make a nice gator hole. Please do not park at the cache site, due to traffic hazards and possible mud. Instead, please park at the entrance to Lake Shelby, which is a very short walk to the cache.
Stage 3: When you get to this location, take your time and scan the far bank. Binoculars would be a plus here. We have two large gators (one 6' and one 10') that like to lay out there. This location is also a great spot to watch turtles, and snakes (particularly banded water snakes that like to pretend they're cotton mouths). Many years ago the State Park's nature center was in need of some new baby alligators. So, with net in hand, the Park Naturalist's husband waded out into the swamp and caught her a couple. Now that is love 
!
Stage 4 (The nursery): This is probably my favorite place to look for gators. While I was getting the coordinates for the cache, I saw a six footer, a three footer, a couple of second years and a couple of first years. Be sure to bring your binoculars to this one, as many of the gators can be a ways off and you may need to spend some time scanning the various dark lumps (for the older gators ) and vertical strips (for the younger ones) before you find them.
Stage 5 (Lefty's Lair): Congratulations on making it to this final location. This spot is as close to a sure thing as you can get, if you want to see a gator. This is the home of "Lefty" The Park's most popular gator. A few years ago, Lefty was severely injured, probably in a fight with another gator. The City of Orange Beach came and got her (the her part is purely speculation) and fixed her up. She earned her name, due to the loss of her right front leg and right eye. Lefty is very imprinted on people and I STRONGLY SUGGEST that you stay behind the fence. Gators can move very quickly, especially if they feel their young are threaten and Lefty frequently has young riding on her back.
Lefty with Pancho Villa on her back
I hope you have enjoyed this tour and sincerely hope that you were able to see lots of gators on your journey. You use this link to find a trial map that will help guide you on your way. Android phone users can also find an App for the Back Country Trail here. iPhone users can find an app here. The final stage was preloaded with some toys for the kids to trade, along with an Alligator for the FTF and STF.
I hope you have enjoyed all the geocaches we have placed in Gulf State Park, along with the rest of your experience here Please consider giving us some feedback here. We would appreciate it if you would include something about your geocaching experience. We hope to show the bosses in Montgomery how many people geocache, in hopes that they will encourage other Parks to invest in it like we have, here at Gulf State Park. Thanks, Dothenumbers.
P.S. Don't forget a Favorite's Point Please .