Category: Wildlife

Goose Island State Park, Rockport, Texas

Posted in Birds, Parks, Road Trip, RVing, State Parks, Texas, WildlifeTagged , , , , , , , , 10 Comments

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.

Pair of Whooping Cranes
Pair of Whooping Cranes

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.

A great first stop in Texas – Galveston Island State Park

Posted in Birds, Lighthouse, Parks, State Parks, States, Texas, WildlifeTagged , , , , , , 24 Comments

As we continued west through Louisiana on I-10 we passed by many crawfish farms. After a stop at the Texas welcome center we were loaded up with maps and brochures. We also got directions to Galveston which included the instructions “follow the road to the ferry”. Ferry? We didn’t know we would be taking a ferry! What a great surprise!

As we approached the ferry dock Henry noticed a lighthouse through the fog on my side of the road.  I was able to get a couple of pictures before we got in line for the ferry. The three mile crossing is on a free ferry operated by the Texas Highway Department.

After departing the ferry in Galveston we had about a 12 mile drive to the state park. As soon as we finished setting up camp we took a walk on the beach. The beach was practically empty. The sound of waves crashing on the beach was like music to my ears.

Point Bolivar Lighthouse, FL
Riding the Ferry from Point Bolivar, TX to Galveston
On the ferry to Galveston
Path to the beach
Path to the beach at Galveston Island State Park
Blondie chilling after a day of traveling
Blondie was fascinated by the jellyfish

The next day we took a drive to the wildlife viewing area in the park with hopes of spotting some Roseate Spoonbills. The hiking trails were muddy and flooded in places so we passed on doing any hiking.  We enjoyed the views from an overlook and walked down a relatively dry trail to the kayak launching area. From the parking lot we stopped to watch some Egrets in a pond when I saw a splash of pink. A flock of Roseate Spoonbills entertained us before suddenly taking off.

The marsh reminds me of home
Roseate Spoonbills
Roseate Spoonbill at Galveston Island State Park
Roseate Spoonbills
Spoonbill and Egret

Our campsite was in the beach campground at Galveston Island State Park. Our site was a paved back-in with a covered shelter, picnic table, fire ring, and water and electric hookups. The beach was just a short walk from the campsite. We enjoyed the park and wish we could have stayed longer.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Express Yourself

Posted in Birds, Photography, WildlifeTagged , , , , 19 Comments

The WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge this week is: Express Yourself

Sometimes we like to take the RV and wander around Florida in January and February. Three years ago our wandering took us to the Midway Campground in the Big Cypress National Preserve. One day we drove to the Shark Valley Visitor’s Center in Everglades National Park to take the guided Tram tour on the 15 mile paved path through Shark Valley. The path is a popular place for bicycling and walking.

There is an abundance of wildlife to be seen there in the heart of the Everglades. We had a couple of up close and personal encounters with the wildlife that really stand out.

First was the alligator right in front of us that crossed from one side of the path to other. He didn’t care that there were tourists all around. Then there was the Great Blue Heron strutting across the road like he was king of the world.

This gator let us know this was his territory as he walked across the path
This is MY path!
This Great Blue Heron strutted across the path as if he owned it
This Great Blue Heron strutted across the path as if he owned it

 

 

 

Lake Chicot State Park, Arkansas

Posted in Arkansas, Birds, Parks, Road Trip, RVing, State Parks, Sunset, WildlifeTagged , , , , , , 2 Comments

We continued exploring the Mississippi Delta at Lake Chicot State Park in Lake Village, Arkansas. Traveling south on Highway 165, a section of the Great River Road, we passed fields of cotton on both sides of the road.

The largest natural lake in Arkansas, Lake Chicot is also the largest natural oxbow lake in the United States. Our campsite was surrounded by wild pecan trees with a nice view of the lake. Our first day there, we drove across the mighty Mississipi River to Greenville, Mississippi to bring home 3 dozen delicious hot tamales.

Cypress Trees on Lake Chicot
This little raccoon is much cuter than the ones at home
Sunset at Lake Chicot
Sunset at Lake Chicot

Located in the Mississippi Flyway, the park is a great place for bird watching. In addition to egrets, herons and ducks, we were surprised to see a huge flock of White Peliicans on the lake.

White Pelican flies by blue heron over Lake Chicot
White Pelican on Lake Chicot
Far at the other end of the lake we saw this huge flock of white pelicans

We took a self guided driving tour along the Mississippi River levee. Most of the 20 mile tour was right on top of the levee. On one side of the levee were borrow pits with cypress trees, lily pads and many birds. On the other side was farmland.

Egret in the tree on the levee tour
Borrow Pit beside the levee
When traveling the backroads, you never know what you’ll see crossing the road
Cypress Trees beside the levee

We camped at Lake Chicot State Park in site 7 on October 21-22, 2014. For my review of this campground click here.

Crowley’s Ridge Parkway and the Great River Road in Arkansas

Posted in Arkansas, Birds, Parks, Road Trip, RVing, State Parks, WildlifeTagged , , , , , , , 6 Comments
Driving on the Great River Road
Driving on the Great River Road

Our home base to explore two scenic byways through the Mississippi Delta was Mississippi River State Park in Marianna, Arkansas. The large visitor’s center is less than 2 years old and has an excellent interpretive center about the Mississippi Delta area. The staff and rangers were friendly and helped make our stay here memorable.

The park is located in the Mississippi Delta on the Crowley’s Ridge Parkway and the Great River Road within the St. Francis National Forest. We stayed in the Beech Point Campground on a peninsula in Bear Creek Lake. It is one of the best state park campgrounds we have ever seen. There are only 17 sites in the campground with 14 full hookup waterfront sites and 3 tent sites.  Ours was a large pull through with a big patio area for the picnic table and fire ring. For my review of this campground click here.

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To ask about exploring the area we talked to Park Ranger John as he was patrolling the campground. After getting directions, we had a plan for the next day.

Crowley’s Ridge rises 200 feet above the Mississippi River Delta flood plain and stretches more than 200 miles from just below Cape Giradeau, Missouri to Helana, Arkansas. The Crowley’s Ridge Parkway in Arkansas traverses the entire ridge. The section of the parkway we drove is called the “high road” by the locals.

The Great River Road and Crowley's Ridge Parkway run together for a few miles
The Great River Road and Crowley’s Ridge Parkway run together for a few miles

We started our drive to Helena-West Helena on the “high road”. On top of Crowley’s Ridge, the gravel road wound through the St. Francis National Forest. Only a few of the tall oaks, sycamore and buckeye trees had started showing any fall colors. The only other vehicles we saw belonged to hunters. I hope they had better luck with deer than we did. We only saw one all day. Except for a couple of National Forest campgrounds there was no other sign if civilization.

After about 20 miles we were back on a paved road and soon were on Cherry Street in Helena-West Helena to visit the Delta Cultural Center. Oh No! Closed on Monday! We felt like the Grizwalds when they got to Wally World to find it closed for repairs!

We took the “low road” back to the campground. This gravel section of The Great River Road is just a small part of the 10-state route from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico along both sides of the Mississippi River. In Arkansas the road rarely goes right beside the river.

As we drove along the “low road” we passed through Cypress swamps and took a side trip to the mouth of the St. Francis River where it joins the Mississippi River. With Willow Trees growing along the banks of the river, the mighty Mississippi is about a mile wide in this location.

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We enjoyed two delicious meals from local restaurants that day. The meals were so memorable I will post about them in a later post. Stay tuned!