Waterfront View
Yep, that’s me with my catch at Sargent, TX!
Day 7: February 16
It was 73F at 9:00 AM! What a change. We headed south to the coast. There were high water lines and dumpsters everywhere on the route, the results of Harvey and the tornadoes that were part of the storm.
We saw a giant Stephen Austin (not the Bionic one) statue on our route (not sure why) and a few other things:
- first Caracaras
- first Longhorns
- “Hand-fed Parrots For Sale” (a first)
- a stop at The Gulf Coast Bird Observatory (a misnomer)
We ended up at the West Moring Dock Park in Sargent, an awesome free camping area (here’s the view of our MoHo):
On one side was a gorgeous beach:
and on the other, a canal filled with barges going all afternoon:
And some nice birds:
I walked the beach, sat out and met Pen and Scotty from Fort Worth who helped me catch my Croaker! We ended the day sunburnt but happy.
Day 8: February 17
We’ll remember this spot for a perfect short stay next visit! Though we knew Goose Island State Park is closed to camping after Harvey, we still wanted to look for Whooping and Sandhill Cranes, so we headed towards Rockport.
We took some FM (Farm-to-Market) roads past cattle farms, nice houses, shacks, junkyards and little towns plus a huge Nuclear Power Generating Plant and the fields of “Cornelius Crawfish-Texas Fresh”!
Each time we visit, we bypass the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, but stopped this time. More Harvey destruction and not much to see, so off to the Cranes.
Thankfully, the “Big Tree” was intact:
and there were Sandhills and Whoopers in the distance:
We think some of the feeders may have been wiped out, since the devastation here is quite vast:
Fortunately after some begging on the phone, the Seaport Village RV Park let us stay one night ($25 FHU) and the attached “Stevie Lew’s BBQ”, though closed, let me buy two brisket sandwiches, our first (not last) BBQ of the trip:
After dinner, I walked to the coast just around the corner. Evidence of the disaster was everywhere:
was balanced by some lovely birds:
Here’s the view from my chair (why would people want this long term?):
Day 9: February 18
Time for new territory, but first, another tour of the Cranes (we saw eight Whoopers and many Sandhills):
and some other cool birds:
Can you guess why this is called a Cattle Egret?
Just outside our destination of Goliad, we saw our first oil well! We got to the beautiful State Park, attached to the Mission Nuestra Senora Del Espiritu Santo De Zuniga! We got Site 17 ($37.50-with coupon-for two nights, FHU) just in time to take the tour of the Mission:
along with the “Death Door” and the “Life Door”:
It’s nice to travel only a short distance and end up in a pretty place with this great view from my chair:
Day 10: February 19
We were up early and biked to the Bird Blind. Since they weren’t filling the feeders, there were only the “usual suspects”, but we saw our first Black-crested Titmouse and Great Kiskadee of the trip:
We drove into the centre of town for a mid morning snack:
and a walk around this historic town. VERY Western, complete with Hanging Tree and, in case you were wondering the politics of the area, a GOP office (you might see the “For Sale” sign in the window…just sayin’):
Next, we drove to the Presidio. Interestingly, the State owns the Mission and the Catholic Church owns the Presidio (fort):
along with the monument to Fannin, a Texan General and his troops killed by Santa Ana:
and The Angel of Goliad, a Mexican woman who saved many Texan lives:
The series of flags over the Presidio, including “The Bloody Arm”, and the history in this area suggests how Native Americans are bad, the French are bad, the Spanish are bad, the Mexicans are bad, but the Texans are good!
After lunch, we rode back into town on the Hiking/Biking Trail (lots of switchbacks that I walked!). It was a great day.
Day 11: February 20
I had a restless, hot night, perhaps compounded by my book, Elly Griffiths “The Chalk Pit” which I could not put down!
We got up early, headed out, got supplies and pulled into Lake Corpus Christi State Park for a two-night stay. This is the nicest Texas State Park we have been in. It is HUGE, built around a man-made lake, and has nice serviced sites. The unserviced were even nicer, most with waterfront views. But Site 18 ($30 E/W for two nights with coupon) was fine with our own little pond filled with American Coots, Blue-winged Teals and even a Long-billed Curlew:
We rode our bikes to the new Bird Blind (but they weren’t feeding, so no birds), saw some Gadwalls, a new Life Bird, on our way:
Next, we rode the fun trail with switchbacks that I DIDN’T walk this time!
Another nice day ending with this view from my chair:
Day 12: February 21
It was a quiet but hot night. We got out early since a storm was called for. We met neighbour Leo and shared stories about B Class MoHos (he has a Winnebago), the Middle East and Oil (he’s retired military and West Point teacher), and politics in general. Nice balanced perspective.
We walked up to the Bird Blind, and they better start feeding!
I rode across the lake through another group of tent sites (they call them Water Only sites, so we would happily stay in them another time). Oh, and I saw our first Yucca!
After lunch, I rode some more then, as I was heading back, the wind started to blow and the temperature dropped about 25 degrees! David even put his jeans on. So we’re tucked inside, wondering if it’ll storm (there was some thunder), and planning to head to the Rio Grande Valley tomorrow where the weather promises to be good for a while.
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