What a fabulous 3 days we had at Goose Island State Park!

We had plenty of things to see to keep us busy. The first morning I spotted these Roseate Spoonbills in the nature viewing area at the end of road in our campground.

Blondie and I spotted these Roseate Spoonbills in the nature viewing area near our campsite

Roseate Spoonbills and Egret,Goose Island State Park

Everything is bigger in Texas! A must see in Goose Island State Park is the Big Tree. This 1,000 year old Texas Live Oak  is the largest of its kind on public land in the state of Texas. The live oaks here are not as tall as the ones in coastal Georgia because the gulf breeze affects their height. The tree measures 11 feet across the trunk, 5 feet around, is 44 feet tall, and 89 feet across the crown.

The tree is surrounded by a fence and is well taken care of. While we were looking at the tree we met a delightful native Texan who has been coming here all her life. She remembers when her 15 year old son could climb on the tree. She also told us a story of her grandfather or great grandfather (I don’t remember which) caught a record sting ray and has  a picture of his record catch hanging in the big tree! These days no climbing on the tree is allowed.

The Big Tree

The Big Tree in Goose Island State Park in Texas is a 1000 year old live oak

Fishing is very popular here and we enjoyed going to the dock when the boats came in. We saw White Pelicans hanging around the docks waiting for a handout every day.

Some of the fishing charters go out in airboats

One group of fishermen had a great catch

Hey, you’re in our space!

Waiting for a free meal

Take off

White Pelicans, Goose Island State Park

One pelican got a free lunch.

It’s a mouth full

Yum!

Lunch!

Almost done

There was a lot to see in the state park.

Our campground is in the background as we took a walk to the pier

Fishing Pier at Goose Island State Park

Red head duck

Sandpiper with a tasty crab

The recreation building was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps out of shell crete using oyster shells

Love the blooms here

Deer at Goose Island State Park

Windswept oak

View from our campsite

Morning sky from our site at Goose Island State Park

We enjoyed seeing the sights around Rockport and Fulton. Our favorite drive was along Fulton Beach Road with homes on one side of the road with their docks jutting out into the bay on the other. Many of the homes were beach cottages with windswept oaks in the front yard. It felt like we had stepped back in time before condos and highrises became the norm along the coast.

Shrimp Boats in Rockport, Texas

Windswept oak

Big Blue Crab in Rockport, Texas

Big Blue Crab in Rockport, Texas

Of course we had to try some of the local restaurants. Lunch at Moon Dogs on the docks in Rockport was fun. My fried soft shell crab salad was delicious. Our last night we had a feast of boiled crab, heads on shrimp, crawfish, sausage, potato and corn cooked with a Cajun seasoning. The servers poured it all on the butcher paper covered table like we serve our low country boil back home. Delicious and fun!

Our main reason for coming here was to see some endangered Whooping Cranes. We saw them every day and they are so spectacular they deserve their own post. Here’s a preview of those magnificent birds. Look for another post coming soon.

We camped in site 34 of the Bay campground near the nature viewing area. There are more sites near the fishing pier The sites are on hard packed sand right on the water. Each site has water and electric hookups and a shelter with a picnic table. Many people fish right from their campsite.