Tag: Nature

Prairie Dogs and Wildflowers at Lake Arrowhead

Posted in Road Trip, RVing, State Parks, Texas, Wildflowers, WildlifeTagged , , , , , , 25 Comments

Every once in a while we discover an unexpected gem of a park. We just needed a quiet, restful place to stay for a couple of days after our adventure in Palo Duro Canyon. A place where we could buy some groceries and just chill. Lake Arrowhead State Park south of Wichita Falls sounded like it would fit the bill. As it turned out we enjoyed it so much we stayed an extra day.

It was wonderful seeing so much green after the brown plains of Texas. We had a nice big site with plenty of green grass and trees. There were hardly any other campers in the park and we sometimes felt like the only ones there.

Green all around at Lake Arrowhead
A great place to chill

Texas has been going through a drought for several years and many lakes have suffered because of it. Lake Arrowhead is really low and has been for a while. The fishing pier is high and dry and all of the boat ramps are closed.

Lake Arrowhead is really low
Lake Arrowhead is really low

There is a Prairie Dog Town in the park that has spread to some of the campsites. Some of the holes were right beside the road and Blondie tried to stick her nose in them as we walked by. The Prairie Dogs would scamper away to their hole and disappear as Blondie and I approached on foot. They would stay around longer when we drove by in the truck.

Prairie Dog Mama and babies
Prairie Dog Mama and her pups next to the picnic table in one of the campsites
Prairie Dog at Lake Arrowhead
Prairie Dog protecting his turf
Prairie Dog at Lake Arrowhead
Prairie Dog at Lake Arrowhead

There is a working oil pump in the campground. After seeing so many of them in the fields as we drove through Texas it was interesting to see one up close. The engineering term for this type pump is a walking beam. More common names for it are horsehead pump, nodding donkey, beam pump, rod pump, grasshopper, thirsty bird, pump jack or jack pump.

Inspecting an oil pump in the park
Inspecting an oil pump in the park

I was happy to see bluebonnets and other wildflowers growing beside the road.

Bluebonnets at Lake Arrowhead
Unknown Wildflower at Lake Arrowhead
Unidentified wildflower Lake Arrowhead
Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush at Lake Arrowhead

It was a great place to chill before continuing our trek east.

The ranger who checked us in was very friendly and helpful and gave us great directions to shopping in Wichita Falls. She also recommended the Branding Iron for barbeque and it was delicious.

Our site was a pull through with paved pad, large grass sitting area, a covered picnic table and fire ring. The site had water and electric hookups. There was a bath house close by, several picnic areas and hiking trails in the park.

If you would like to read my detailed campground review of this park, click here.

An Unexpected Visitor in the Neighborhood

Posted in Birds, Georgia, WildlifeTagged , , , , , , , 13 Comments

Coastal Georgia is home to many wetlands birds. Herons, Egrets, Wood Storks and Ibis are regularly seen in and around the salt marsh, creeks and rivers here.

One July afternoon this summer I was surprised to see a large pink bird flying over the marsh. It was too far away and flew by too fast for me to to tell for sure but I thought it must be a Roseate Spoonbill. Spoonbills nest along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana and in south Florida but they are considered uncommon this far north.

A neighbor confirmed that yes, I did see a Spoonbill. In fact, she saw a pair feeding in the creek at low tide. I continued to see the brilliant pink of the pair as they flew by our house almost every afternoon for about 3 weeks. One day I finally saw where one landed so I grabbed my camera and ran out to capture a few pictures.

Roseate Spoonbill with 2 young juvenile little blue herons in Georgia
Roseate Spoonbill
Roseate Spoonbill eating oysters
Roseate Spoonbill in Georgia creek
Tri Colored Heron finds a snack in a Georgia creek
Juvenile Little Blue Heron
Roseate Spoonbill in Georgia Tidal Creek

Other Roseate Spoonbills have been spotted in other coastal Georgia locations in recent years. I know from now on I will always be on the lookout for pink birds among the flocks of Herons and Egrets I see in the salt marsh.

Looking Back on our First RV Trip

Posted in National Parks, Road Trip, RVing, Tourist Attractions, WildlifeTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 17 Comments

Has it really been eight years since we bought our RV and took off on our first adventure across our beautiful country?

We purchased our Titanium fifth wheel on June 29, 2006 and spent a couple of nights in the dealer’s lot to get familiar with our new home on wheels. After returning home to Georgia it took about two weeks to pack and get ready for our maiden voyage. With no reservations and no set itinerary we set out on our two month adventure across America and into the Canadian Rockies.

Here are a few highlights of that first amazing journey:

Grand Canyon North Rim - Vista Encantada
Grand Canyon North Rim – Vista Encantada (Arizona)

 

Bryce Canyon Hoodoos (Utah)
Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)
Canyonlands National Park (Utah)
Arches National Park – Delicate Arch (Utah)

 

Elk in Yellowstone National Park (Woming)
Old Faithful (Wyoming)
Lower Yellowstone Falls in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)
Bison in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)

 

Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)

 

Glacier National Park, Montana
Glacier National Park, Montana

 

Columbia Icefields, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Columbia Icefields, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
Devil's Tower National Monument, Wyoming
Devil’s Tower National Monument (Wyoming)

 

Mount Rushmore National Monument in the Black Hills of South Dakota
Mount Rushmore National Monument in the Black Hills of South Dakota

We were hooked!  We knew this was the first of many amazing trips to come.

Wandering Dawgs Wander Again

Posted in Birds, COE Park, Georgia, RVing, Sunset, WildlifeTagged , , , , , , 14 Comments

Not all of our wandering is to far away places like Alaska or the Yukon. Sometimes we wander close to home. On Monday, we hitched up the Titanium for a road trip to Auburn, Alabama to watch the south’s oldest football rivalry between Georgia and Auburn this coming Saturday. We decided to take a few extra days and explore a new to us Corps of Engineers park on West Point Lake in West Point, Georgia just off of I-85 near the Georgia/Alabama line. It’s great traveling during the week during the off season. We are almost the only ones here.

R Schaefer Heard COE Campground on West Point Lake Site 113
View out the back window site 113 R Schaefer Heard on West Point Lake, GA

We spent three relaxing nights in site 113 in the campground with no other campers in our loop. The trees were wearing their fall colors and the sunsets were spectacular.

West Point Lake, Georgia
Fall Colors on West Point Lake, Georgia
Beautiful Fall Colors across from our campsite
Sunset on West Point Lake, Georgia
Foggy morning on West Point Lake
Morning Fog
West Point Dam is a short drive from the campground
Looking at our campsite from across the lake
Floating dock next to the boat ramp
Another beautiful sunset on West Point Lake

Our only neighbors were the geese.

Gathering of geese behind our campsite
Geese on West Point Lake
The geese swam by our campsite
We watched the geese in front of our campsite

R Schaefer Heard Campground on West Point Lake is one of three Corps of Engineers campgrounds on the lake. Our site is about 40 feet from the lake and like most COE parks we have a large site with plenty of room between our site and the ones on either side.  Our site is a paved, back in site with water and electric hookups, a tent pad, fire ring, picnic table and a beautiful lake view. For more information about the park or to make reservations you can go the Recreation.gov site for R Schaefer Heard