Texas

Feb. 11 through Feb. 18

We are in South Texas and the area is flat and we see lots of Mesquite trees, Live Oak trees and cattle.  I especially like seeing the Texas Longhorn cattle.   Jean has bird feeders in her yard that attract birds I have never seen before such as green jays and cardinals.  The land is vast and not populated.  There are small towns around the area and if you want a large town, San Antonio is only 70 miles away.  Pump Jacks are scattered in the area also.  New oil wells are being drilled as there is an oil boom going on here.  The campgrounds are full and more are being built.  They are mostly for the oil field workers.  Some companies are putting in campgrounds for their workers.  We did some exploring of the towns nearby and found some good restaurants.  We made one trip into San Antonio.  The weather has been warm but there is a wind blowing which makes it feel not so hot.

Pump jack

New well being drilled

Green jay

Cardinal

Feb. 19

After breakfast today we go to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge which is located on the Gulf of Mexico.  We spent about and hour and a half driving the refuge.  A tower at the end of the road gave us a great view of the gulf.  We saw a couple of alligators and birds but didn't see any cranes.  Aransas NWR has the largest flock of wintering whooping cranes in North America with over 250 birds.  By mid-April, they depart in pairs or small family groups for a hazardous journey 2,400 miles north to nesting grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park in Northwest Territories, Canada.  There was lots of wet lands in the reserve.  We drove into the town of Rockport and found a good seafood restaurant.  We had a good day seeing the Texas countryside. 

Smallest Alligator we have seen

Jones Lake where we saw the little gator

This is the closest I could come to a Crane

Feb. 20

We stayed around the campground today and Dick watched the Daytona 500 race on TV. 

Feb. 21

It's a sunny day today so we go down to Corpus Cristi.  As we enter the town we see oil refineries everywhere.  Each company has a refinery and they are enormous.  The tall chimneys can be seen in the skyline from quite a distance.  We cross the causeway to the town of Port Aransas.  This is located on an outer bank island of Padre Island.  At the end of the island is Padre Island National Seashore.  We have fish and chips for lunch before going to the seashore.  At the visitors center there is access to the beach along the gulf.  We take a walk on the sand but didn't find any sea shells.  Lots of people were enjoying the sunny day on the beach.  People can drive down the sea shore on the sand but four wheel drive is recommended after the first 5 miles.  There were motor homes and campers camping on the beach.  Several years ago we drove the entire 60 miles down Padre Island seashore with our friends, Bill and Jean.  We rented a four wheel drive car for the trip and it was quite a trip.  On the way back the tide was up and we had to drive partway at the edge and in the water.  Five of the world's seven sea turtle species have been documented nesting on Padre Island Nat. Seashore.  They work to protect the threatened or endangered sea turtles and from April through mid July, volunteers and staff search the beaches of Padre Island daily to detect and protect nesting sea turtles, eggs, and hatchlings. 

Refinery pretty at night with the lights

Oil refinery in Corpus Christi

On the beach on Padre Island

Feb. 22

It's raining in the morning when we get up but stops by 9.  Late in the morning we go into the town of Beeville to do laundry and have lunch.  There is a great market that smokes beef, chicken and sausage and also has a place to buy cooked food to eat there or take out.  Their prices are very reasonable and at lunch time the place is busy.  This is the second time we have lunch here.  We also buy some meat to take home. 

Sun setting over Texas

Feb. 23

We have decided to move closer to San Antonio so today we leave the campground in Calliham and move to a campground west of San Antonio.  This is located in the hill country and on Medina Lake.  The road to the campground was very Windy.  This campground is full of deer.  I think there are more deer than people.  They are not afraid and just stand there and look at you and come right up to the camping rigs.  We plan on staying here for at least a week and maybe two.  Definitely Happy Travels, Barb

Deer in campground