March Madness? (Conroe, TX)

It has been a slow month for us except for Dan fixing broken items in the motorhome, both of us running errands, and shopping.  We left Columbus over two weeks ago after the big cold front came through Texas bringing with it two days of rain with Flash Flood Warnings.  We spent the day watching the Colorado river rise behind our site.  We could not leave the park because the small stream at the entrance had flooded the small bridge. 

Lucky for us, the weather cleared up just before we got back on the road.  Dusty was not a happy camper about leaving our site.  He wanted more time to hunt for gofers or moles.  He was positive he was going to catch one any day now.

 We did not spend much time exploring the area, but Sandy managed to get a few photos of birds around the park while walking the cats.

Bluebird

White Pelicans on the river

We arrived on Conroe Lake to a very soggy campground.  We had a hard time finding a decent spot because we did not realize it was Spring Break.  The park was booming with families everywhere.

We finally found a 'less mud and more grass' site on the backside of the park with a field behind us.  We cannot see the lake from the site, but it is a short walk and we are down there almost every day.  The view is wonderful and the ducks come up to see if we have some food for them.  Once they realize we don't have food for them, they take off in a hurry....no food...no photos!

We will be heading east in early April.  We made a change in our travel plans.  We decided we were ready for another winter in Key West and cancelled our winter stay in Arizona.  Instead of heading west, we will be making our way east.  Florida!  Here we come!

Happy Trails

Birds, Alligators, and River Rats? (Rockport-Fulton, TX)

We have been enjoying our stay in the Rockport-Fulton area for the last three weeks.  We realized that we have missed the Gulf coast shores quite a bit, so we are making up for lost time with walks along the beach and visiting nearby wildlife preserves.

One of our first visits was to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.  This turned into a longer drive than anticipated.  We had to drive all the way around to the far side to the entrance.  About an hour later, past several farmer's fields, we finally arrived and were rewarded with close-up views of the resident alligators.

Our favorite sighting was of this little guy scavenging around the edge of water for food.  He did not seem to be too worried about us following his progress down the trail.

We saw a few birds, but none them were close enough for good photos...

Osprey

except for this Yellow-rumped Warbler that was flying over our heads.

yellow rumped warbler

We have been getting in our walking miles around the campground and at the Rockport Beach.  There are definitely better views, not to mention, a lot more entertainment at the beach.  

Rockport Beach City Park

We even saw dolphins yesterday in the canal.  No photos this time.  Hopefully, we will have a second chance for photo ops. 

Across from the park, we can see the water front homes on Key Allegro.

Key Allegro

Every house has water access by canal.

We could not ask for a more serene walk with lovely views and all of this is close to downtown and shopping areas.

On our way back to the car, we passed the fish cleaning station.  There were several pelicans floating nearby, but the Heron was the only brave one to stay close by for a snack.

We took the ferry to Port Aransas.  The ferry is free, but on busy days you are going to have a longer wait in line than the time actually on the ferry.  Still, they are quick and efficient.  The ride is so short, it is not worth getting out of the car to watch for dolphins.

ferry crossing - Port Aransas

 We wandered around Port Aransas for awhile.  Not quite sure what to do.  We were not in the mood for browsing beach wear stores or going to the beach since we would need to pay for parking.

 We had lunch at Port A Pizzeria and we were happy to find out that they accommodated vegetarians by adding a veggie pizza to the buffet for us.  So, after eating lunch, we decided to go to the Birding Center.

Roseate Spoonbills

 That turned out to be a good choice for us.

There was so much activity going on with ducks quacking, birds flying by or hunting in the water that we were having a hard time knowing where to look next.

Ruddy Duck

And then we saw this guy - a Nutria or big river rat!  According to the sign, they are considered a pest and destroy a lot of the vegetation.

 And yet, they were everywhere.  There was even a nest of little ones sleeping with the turtles.

 Just before we left, we saw this hawk perched above the walkway.  He looked like he was waiting for the sun to go down.  He ignored all the people taking his photo.  Such a regal looking fellow.

While we were at the Birding Center, Dan found out where to find Whooping Cranes from another woman.  We found them in a farmer's field across the street from the Big Tree near Goose Island State Park.

They were too far away from the fence to get a good closeup, but Sandy did manage to get a couple of decent action shots.

We realized that we  missed seeing the different wildlife along the gulf coast.  With warmer weather, we hope to see more activity and new sightings.  We will be moving north west of Houston soon.  In the meantime, we are going to soak up all the warm sunshine and breath in as much sea air as possible.

Happy Trails!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

We have been living near Medina Lake for the last week.  We are about 40 miles west of San Antonio.  Of course with traffic and just a couple of days before Christmas, it took us over two hours travel time to drive into San Antonio.  Big mistake on our part to go on 23 December, but we did get a lot of shopping done.

From the Medina Lake campground, we can no longer see the lake.  It is so low that it just looks like a valley, but the campground is nice with tree covered sites and it is very quiet.  We are also surrounded by hungry deer looking for a handout.  Our neighbor decided to feed a couple of deer on his site.  Deer came running out of the woods from all directions. Within minutes, he had at least 20 or more  female does and fawns with one stag.  The next morning, he still had quite a collection of deer waiting for him to come out and feed them.

The deer do not like our cats.  Every time we take them outside for a walk, a doe will alert on them with stamping hooves and making their horsed bugling sound.  They sound like someone who lost their voice while trying to yell.  The cats seem to ignore the 'mad' deer and do their own thing.  If the doe gets too close, we chase them off with a shout and a wave of our arms so they do not try and kick a cat.

We visited the German settled town of  Fredericksburg last week to see their Christmas decorations and Trade Days nearby.  We did not stay late for the lights.  We stopped in a bakery for a snack and were entertained with carolers who stopped in.

Christmas Pyramid in the park.  Fredericksburg, TX

This is the Nimitz Museum with Admiral Charles Nimitz statue standing out front.

 The museum used to be a hotel with a ship's bow when you see it from across the street.

After walking up and down the main street enjoying the sights as well as the old well-maintained buildings, we drove to Trade Days a few miles away.

Decked out for the holidays!

You can find all sorts of items at the Trade Days.  Food, artwork, and lots of junk.  You can probably refurnish a whole house with all the old items for sale.  It's a good thing we are living in a motorhome with no room to spare for new items, because Sandy saw all sorts of items that she would have loved to bring home including an upcycled yard art sculpture that looked a lot like Shrek's Donkey! 

Trade Days

We know it has been a while since our last posting, so here's a quick catch up of what we have been doing since November.  Our first stop was in Oklahoma to visit with our daughter and our granddaughters.  We took the girls shopping for early Christmas gifts of clothing and shoes, and out to lunch while Misty was at work.  We had a wonderful time getting to know our granddaughters again.  As you can see, they are a close and happy family.  We are very proud of all of them considering the many hard times they have had over the years.

After our wonderful visit with the Ladies, we headed south into Texas.  

leaning tree - Bridgeport, TX

We stayed a couple of weeks in Bridgeport before we moved on down the road to Whitney.  

Site in Bridgeport, TX

Whitney is not too far from Waco and Hillsboro.  

Campground site in Whitney

We could not have asked for a better location to spend a few weeks.  Weather was great for November/December.  We celebrated a quiet Thanksgiving by ourselves this year.

Blue skies, Fall colors

The cats have been happy with all our latest locations.  Trees to climb, lots of bushes to explore, not a lot of noisy neighbors (with diesel trucks) to scare them and best of all - lots of room to wander around.  Even Max has been enjoying the outdoors and going outside more to explore with the others.

Max on the prowl

We had lunch at the Cafe Homestead located on Heritage Homestead's 510 acres near Waco for Sandy's birthday.  The cafe offers a fresh organic limited menu.  The best part was the quiet atmosphere.  No loud talking customers or music to talk over.  After lunch, we walked around the grounds visiting the different craft buildings. 

Heritage Homestead is a religious community living a simplistic lifestyle using basic hand tools to work and live off the land.  No machinery is used.  The farmland is plowed by horses.  Sheep are hand sheared.  Wool is hand carded.  Everything is handmade...metal work, woodwork......weaving, spinning, sewing, quilts, pottery, soap, and so much more. They do have electricity, phones, and computers, and some motorized vehicles.

You can see some of their fine craft products on this link.  They even have classes for anyone interested in learning the traditional ways. They also hold a fair twice a year to show visitors how they till the earth and make their crafts. 

They also save old barns by restoring them to their original beauty.  We talked to one woman about how the building we were standing in had been built in the 1800s in New Jersey and had been relocated to the Homestead by the community.  

Below is a restored barn appropriately called The Barn filled with all kinds of wonderful handmade items.  You can see some of their fine crafts here.   You can see a little bit of the inside of the barn if you go to Gift Barn and click on more photos.

That should have everyone caught up with us for now.  So, we will leave you with one more photo of Hillsboro's Courthouse.

If we don't post before the end of the year.....have a Happy New Year!

Good-bye Rockport

We finally kayaked by the Aransas Pass (Lydia Ann) Lighthouse (1855). The only access to the lighthouse is by boat. We had decided not to go deep into the Lighthouse Trails since it is easy to get turned around in the mangroves or get stuck in the mud or on the oyster beds. While we were looking at a laminated map on the water, another retiree was kayaking by and stopped to see if we needed help. He knew the area well and had been kayaking here for years. He offered to guide us through the maze of mangroves with shallow water over large oyster beds to the lighthouse and back through the channel. We had a great deal of fun and saw many birds in the mangroves and dolphins out in the channel. We never dreamed we would get so close to the lighthouse. We want to thank our volunteer guide.

Our Kayaking and Surrounding Area album includes pictures of the lighthouse and the Fulton area. We also have some great action pictures of different birds eating at the docks in Feeding Time on the Docks.

A few of our friends and family have asked about our future travel plans. The following plans are tentative - all subject to change.

We are leaving Rockport on 1 May for Padre Island National Seashore, just across the sand dunes from the open water. No hookups for the motor-home (no incoming water, power, or sewage drop). There is a sewage drop and fresh water a couple hundred yards away from the camping - just drive over to dump and refill. We have 7 large 12 volt batteries, 3 solar panels, 100 gallons of fresh water, 50 gallons each for black and grey water sewage storage, and a 10K Kilowatt generator on board. Fridge, hot water, ice maker, yep we will be roughing it with no hookups. Quiet hours (no generator) are 10 pm to 8 am. The rate is only $4 per night with our national park pass.

After Padre Island, we need to be in McKinney TX just north of Dallas May 10 thru the 15. We are having all the day night blinds and the front windshield pull curtain removed, and a nice blind system installed instead on all but the 2 bedroom windows (we already went to traditional curtains in the bedroom). We are putting in the American Duo blinds http://www.mcdinnovations.com/ . Manual on all but front windshield, power there so we can use it a sunshade while driving.

Next we will head back to Lawton OK to see the kids. Not sure how long we will stay, probably 1 week, maybe less, maybe more. After Lawton, we will take our time and head towards South Dakota for some business in our new domicile state.

EDIT:
1 May update on travels. Winds have been heavy along the seacoast. We have decided to stay 1 more week at Drifters RV resort in Rockport Texas, versus parking right next to open water with heavy winds and potential blowing sand.

Texas State Aquarium and Texas SandFest

We kayaked Redfish Bay and Light House Trails between Aransas Pass and Port Aransas for several hours one day when the winds let up. We discovered Redfish Bay and the Trails are very shallow, with many oyster fields. We scraped the kayaks and were hung up on oyster beds many times while navigating through the mangroves and openings between bay areas. We hope to kayak a couple of more times in different bay areas with more water depth before leaving Rockport.

With windy weather making it difficult to kayak more, we explored more of the local area. It is very entertaining to go to the docks and watch the shrimp fishermen cleaning out their catch. They have quite an audience of Brown Pelicans, Laughing Seagulls, and Cormorants who want the discards from the nets. It is so unusual to be in a local parking lot and see a Blue Heron or a Great Egret fly over.

We spent a day in Corpus Christi for shopping and to see the Texas State Aquarium. Sandy enjoyed shopping and taking lots of pictures at the aquarium. We were able to touch Sting Rays on their backs – very slimy! While the Dolphin show was entertaining, we had more fun watching the dolphins relaxing and playing ball on their own after the show was over. You can see photos in the Texas State Aquarium album in Webshots.

We saw our first sand-carving contest at the Texas Sandfest on Mustang Island. The artwork and the attention to detail are truly amazing! If you ever get a chance to see one, do so. The pictures just don’t do the artwork justice.

Where is Rockport? Click on Rockport to see the surrounding area in Google.