Highway and backroads photography in Alabama: Robertsdale on the fly

The trip from northern Alabama to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach seems all the longer since Baldwin County, a coastal county, runs in an enlongated north-south fashion. You get to Baldwin County and think, "Oh, man, I'm gonna jump out the car and head straight for the waves!" An hour later you're still on the road, fighting both local and tourist traffic.

One of the more pleasant urban interludes along AL 59, however, is the town of Robertsdale. Home of the Bears, Robertsdale is the rare old town that hasn't been bypassed by four-lane hurricane escape route. At least, not yet. AL 59 is always being widened, it seems, to reduce travel times and thus increase the draw of Alabama's Gulf Coast.

These are digital captures from footage I took in May of 1997. The quality is poor but you get the idea of what Robertdale looks like.

The Robertdale website had a good shot of one of the town's water towers. Unfortunately, as of Jan. 2004, the webpages are inaccessible.

Just north of Robertsdale, AL 59 meets US 90, which runs west to the Mississippi Gulf Coast and New Orleans. Some maps mark this as a scenic route. The portions I've travelled, tho, are quite urbanized. Strip malls and red lights almost outnumber shrimp boats.
It's busy viewing.

downtown Robertsdale on AL Highway 59 just south of Loxley

Florida water towers
and assorted photos

other Alabama highway pics

Mississippi highway shots

So. Carolina Coast