Day 8

March 4, 2013
Warm morning when we drove to the north end of the park to see the 'Big Tree', a 1000 yr old Live oak.   Impressive, but I think some on Jekyl Is, GA have it beat.   But the main attraction in this area was the Whooping Cranes that were in the area and quite close to the road, so we could get very good looks at them and see their behavior.   With a few Sandhill Cranes present as well, you could get a sense of their larger size in comparison.   Personally, I enjoyed their proximity to the cattle grazing there.  We went back to the Aransas NWR for the day to enjoy more of the trails.  The Crested Caracara was a new bird, and the first of what would turn out to be the ever present (but hard to spot) White Eyed Vireo.  High of 73F

Whooping Cranes enjoying cattle pasture

Turkey Vultures had something 'tasty'

The 'Big Tree'

Whoopers in flight

Sandhill and Whooper comparison

Live oaks along the coast

Yuca in bloom.... blossom is 18" or more tall

Day 7 Texas trip

March 3rd
Leaving Galveston Is SP with Goose Is. SP as our destination.   Fairly cold last night in the upper 30's.  The Boyscout encampment  in the loop next to us , were up late and up early today.   We birded our way off the island, and meandered to San Bernard NWR.  Savannah Sparrows and Yellow Rumped Warblers galore, a few alligators.  Nice hike on the Bobcat Woods trail.   100's of Sandhill Cranes on the auto loop.   We had to drive more inland to get around to Aransas NWR.  Much of this part of Texas is flat, flat, flat.  Huge agricultural fields that I would guess approach several 1000 acres each.   Plowed ground to the horizon.   Made us aware that if it weren't for the NWR, it would be plowed right to the coast.   Highway speeds reflect the flat, immense terrain.  Even side roads have 70-75mph limits... if you dare.  Aransas was very user friendly with good roads, numerous trails, and the world's largest viewing tower.  We did see Whooping Cranes at a distance.  

Goose Is was beautiful with many live oaks and nice (available) campsites.  High of 70F today.

Bobcat Woods trail

It was keeping an eye on us.

LARGE viewing tower overlooking the shoreline to see Whooping Cranes

Whooping Cranes, but not very close.

Talk about mindless work... I hope they have autopilot.

Day 6

Mar 2nd
42F this morning.  Few sprinkles overnight, but clear in the AM, with winds at 20mph.   Hiked trails here and at Pelican Is.  There are vast marshlands and beaches.   Houses on stilts everywhere... none with bracing, but perhaps its not necessary (?)... good luck.   54 species for the day.

trail at Galveston Is SP

Eastern Meadowlark

Vast sand beach parking at north end of island

Picnic area near the beach.  Storm resistant, but not appealing

Day 5 Texas trip

Mar 1, 2013
Early start with our first stop at Anahuac NWR.   A short hike and then on to the wildlife drive.   This is flat country along the coast.  Sunny and 66F

Cave swallows were a find, and we loved the Vermillion flycatchers.

Male

and Female

The Snow geese had a high percentage of Blues (50% or more) whereas at home we get at most 5%.   The central flyway effect with SNGO coming from a different region.

Snow Geese in flight

zoomed in view of SNGO

We stopped at High Island which is famous for migrating warblers stopping en masse a little later in the year. but it was easy to see why they stop.... its the only place with trees for miles.

We traveled by ferry to Galveston Island and set up camp at the state park there.

Laughing Gulls are the predominant gull here

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Day 4 Texas trip

Feb 28th
Woke up to a chorus of songbirds.  At least a few that we didn't recognize.   Went for a cool walk, but it felt like spring to us.  This state park is a gem.   Would love to stay.   Offered to pay for our site, but they didn't charge us.

Bathhouse was pretty posh.

cypress swamp

Drove along the Gulf coast on Rt 82.   Stopped at Cameron Plains NWR to walk and drive.  Lots of birds, nice boardwalk and visitor center.

Alligator relaxing

This 'RV' pulled in behind us

Roseate Spoonbills 

We crossed into Texas at Port Arthur...   from the natural to the industrial.   Our plan to camp at Sea Rim SP was cancelled due the apparent destruction of some past hurricane.  Beyond the fact that there was a porta Jon available, there were no other amenities.   Back up the road to a motel.  69 species for the day.

Refineries in Port Arthur.... necessary to our venture.

Other old derelicks

Harvesting clams????  Farming takes many forms.

Day 3 Texas trip

Feb 27
Long day of driving.   Lunch at Huddle House hit the spot with better food than we expected.   Across Mississippi and into Louisiana where the roads were surprisingly bumpy.   Some sections of I 10 consisted of miles of pier supported "bridge" over the swamps.   We seemed to have the knack of arriving in the larger cities at rush hour.   We need to plan our timing better.

We finally reached our goal... Palmetto Island State Park.... and we are confronted with a sign stating that the campground is closed due to construction.   Argh!   What to do?   Camp here anyway.   Very nice campground and facilities.   Wish we could stay longer as originally planned.

GPS giving a reading of 0 feet above seal level in Louisiana.   It was a bit dubious and occasionally had us well below sea level.  Needless to say it was  low and wet.

Illegal? camping

Ranger came by and said it was OK to stay one night.  Beautiful night 68F, clear skies.... Note Orion is much higher in the sky down here.  Fireflies, (and mosquitos, but not many), coyotes calling, Barred owl calling... and no more marathon driving for a while.

The road leading into Palmetto Is. S.P.

Day 2 Texas trip

Feb 26
Rain started as we hit the road.  We stopped in Kentucky to tour Mammoth Cave.  It is mammoth because of its length... one of the longest caves with over 400 miles explored... all in an area only about 7 miles across.  We went on the "new entrance" tour which was great.   It was a very steep stairway down very narrow passages until we reached the larger caverns below.   The exit out a revolving door was an effort to not introduce bats to this end of the cave.  The National park above ground was beautiful with an extensive trail system.  There were Daffodils in bloom! and the Wild Turkeys were surprisingly unwary.

There is a ferry that operates within the park to let you cross the Green River.

Day 1 of the 2013 Texas trip

Texas Trip Log:   Feb 25 2013
After much planning and lots of anticipation, we started the journey to Texas.   We don't care much for long days of driving, but its a bit of a necessity sometimes.  

We were both on the down side of a cold which manifested as a hacking cough from glop in our upper chest.  We have high hopes that it will clear up soon!

A long day of driving put us south of Columbus, OH where its not Kansas, but pretty flat.   At our motel we had Killdeers calling and Red Winged Blackbirds, which made it seem much more like spring than at home.

Burger for supper had no flavor.... realized my cold was the cause.

 Homemade car top carrier worked well.   Held the tent, tarp, poles, porta-jon, and ropes.....

Chest on the tailgate held the
cookstove, utensils, some food, etc.




Below is the earth bermed Ohio welcome center.