I learned about the location of this cache’s location, during my endless search for the elusive “cat faced tree”. I had stopped by and talked with Phillip West, Orange Beach’s Coastal Resources Manager, to see if he knew where one of the trees was. During the conversation, he mentioned the existence of a Dipping Vat on Gulf State Park property and so my research began.
It didn’t take me long to find the Vat, but it left a lot of questions about why it was there. First, I contacted Mr. Hugh Branyon, GSP Superintendent from 76’-09’. He was unaware of the existence of the Vat, but told me that during the 1920’s his wife’s uncle would bring his cattle down from Summerdale and “winter” them on the Island. At that time in Baldwin County, all the cattle were “free range”. Cattle and Hogs were branded and turned loose to graze, which explains why we have wild hogs in the Park to this day.
Mr. Branyon told me that in the early days of the Park (1930’s & 40’s) the Park’s first Superintendent (from 1942-1976), Monroe McCloud, allowed farmers to raise watermelons in the area of the Park that I found the vat. Mr. Branyon also advised me that the property in that area always belonged to the Park and never a private individual.
Next, I began to research Dipping Vats in general and learned that they had a very important place in history. During the 1800’s and early 1900’s our nation’s cattle industry was being decimated by Babesiosis or tick fever, which is caused by a protozoan carried by certain ticks, most notable the Boophilis species. Farmers lost as much as 30% of their herds to these pesky little bugs. In 1906, the Federal Fever Tick Eradication Program began. The 1924 Code of Alabama required that each county provide dipping vats and everything else that was needed for farmers to treat their cattle. This included the arsenical (arsenic based) dips that were very strong and very dangerous. It is not uncommon for ground water in the area of these vats to be contaminated to this day.
It was, to say the least, a controversial program with reports of farmers blowing up some vats with dynamite. The Federal Fever Tick Eradication Program ended in 1940, with the disease wiped out everywhere, except a quarantine zone in Texas. In 2007 (100 years after the program began), Texas expanded this quarantine area, as the disease has expanded beyond it.
So there you have it, a history lesson while geocaching.
There are two good ways to get to this cache. The first is to play a round of golf at the State Park Gulf Course, as the cache is located about 300 ft from the #5 Tee Box. You can also follow the fire road from the included Way Point, which is on Gulf Oakridge Trail.
Please do not try to access this cache from Canal Road, as you will be crossing private property with “No Trespassing” signs.
I placed the log in a waterproof matchstick container, which was placed inside an old bottle I found near the dipping vat. Please let me know if you can identify the bottle and I will add it to the cache page. You will have to get “Dipped” to score this cache 
. Don’t worry, there shouldn’t be any (or much) water in the vat.
This cache is located near the Gulf Oak Ridge portion of the Hugh S. Branyon Back Country Trail. I have included a link to a trail map. Android phone users can also find an App for the Back Country Trail here. iPhone users can find an app here.
Reference: http://www.alafarmnews.com/index.php?view=article&catid=38%3Afrom-the-state-vets-office&id=1295%3Aa-ticking-bomb&tmpl=component&print=1&page=&option=com_content&Itemid=23&6ed3af3a7fb3f305843385fa292f20df=a83c6e4
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.