Davis Bayou MS Campground and Ocean Springs MS

Davis Bayou Campground

This is a very nice campground located in a little gem of town, Ocean Springs MS.  It is located within the Gulf Islands National Seashore.  The campground is nestled among live oaks and pine trees and is adjacent to a saltwater marsh. Most campsites offer some shade throughout the day and all offer a tranquil setting for migratory bird watching and picnicking.

Since it is a part of the National Park system, our America the Beautiful passes give us a 50% off the $22 daily cap rate.  At $11 per night, it is well below our target budget.  I like that.

There are also several hiking trails and bike paths, although some trails were closed during our stay due to Hurricane Nate damage.  The campsites had lots of green space between them and that is nice after being in some other parks without.

The only real negatives about the park were the lack of full hook ups (electric and water only), which was not an issue for us with our 5 day visit.  Our RV has 135 gallons of wastewater capacity.  The other downside was many trees overhanging the roads and close to campsites.  I had to be very strategic while driving through the campground.

Also, the back in only sites did not have a good angle to easily enter from the road.  The blacktop sites were also built up a few layers higher than the grass so it made “cutting the corner” not an option when backing in.

Our first selected site was just not accessible with the big rig so the nice camp host lady let us use another unoccupied site.  Very nice.

We were able to walk down to the boat launch area nightly to watch the sunset at just before 6 pm.  I dislike the short days this time of year and especially after the time change this weekend.  Dark outside by 5pm.

The boat launch area was very quiet and peaceful with glass like water in the bayou as we watched the setting sun reflect off the water.

We did see two alligators during our hikes through the park.  One was a 4-footer and another was about 8-10 feet long.  The park ranger told us that the largest one that he had seen in the park was about 15 feet.  Some other gator facts learned from the ranger are:

1. Alligators like fresh water but can tolerate salt/brackish for a while while hunting.  Crocodiles are just the opposite.
2. Gaters can run up to 20 mph.  Some people think they can outrun them by using a zigzag pattern – not true.
3. They have been found as far north as Illinois.
4. The sex of the offspring depends on the temperature in the nest.  86 degrees or lower produces females.
5. The mother will provide protection for about a year, then they are on their own.

Biloxi MS

We took a short drive over the bridge to investigate Biloxi Mississippi.  Maybe we were not looking in the right places, but we were disappointed.  The only real draw is the casinos and very nice white beaches.  There were maybe four of five casinos.  We stopped in the Hard Rock Cafe to look around and have a drink.  We did not contribute to the electronic bandits.

Ocean Springs MS

I asked the bartender at the casino where the locals eat in Ocean Springs.  It was Mikey’s on the Bayou.  Another good broiled oyster dinner on the deck overlooking the bayou.  That was a good meal.  Sorry, no pictures as we quickly dug in.

My next update will be about our Florida location, our new home for the winter!  Also coming up will be a photo tour of the RV plus an update on our budget and how we are doing compared to the budget.  Please make sure to sign up for the email notifications of blog updates and leave a comment if you wish.

Take care and God Bless.