Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Texas Gulf Coast - Mar 12
We are still in Fulton, TX, enjoying the sunshine, warmth (sometimes too warm), and, to a lesser extent, the humidity. The cats seem to have finally gotten used to the heat -- they aren't barfing up hairballs anymore, but that could be a result of the Hairball Diet food that we are mixing in with their Dental Diet and regular diet, which, of course, depends on whether they are picky (and slim), or not picky (and round). They seem to think we live here now -- won't they be surprised when we pack them up to move again on 3/21!
We have been keeping ourselves busy in a variety of ways, mostly birdwatching, but also sightseeing, reading, trailer maintenance, etc. We drove to Aransas Natl Wildlife Refuge, which is most famous for being home to the large (180, up from 14 in 1937 when the refuge was founded) whooping crane colony. Numerous attempts to found a second colony have, thus far, proven unsuccessful, which is a major cause for concern, since one storm or plague could conceivably wipe out the existing group completely. We saw two different pairs on that particular day, both at least 1/2 mile away. With the scope that they had at the platform we could see them pretty well -- I have to say that that was the best public scope I've ever seen.
We have also visited Padre Island Natl Seashore, a 60-mile long barrier island that acts as a natural deposit for just about everything in the Gulf of Mexico, including seaweed, dolphin carcasses, toxic/medical waste, etc. etc. The Visitors' Center has a display showing the variety of stuff that gets washed up, and warning you what not to touch (storage drums, mainly). It also warns you that if you choose to go driving on the beach (which is legal) and get stuck, you're on your own. We opted not to drive on the beach!
We attended the local Oysterfest, which is a pretty big thing for little Fulton -- over 70 entries in the parade (including the obligatory Shriners). The Arts & Crafts tent was quite large and popular, as well as the Food tent ("food" including beer, the most popular stand of all). We walked the midway and watched the rides -- there were a surprising number of kids rides, and all the people running the rides were very good and patient with kids, and VERY safety-conscious, rechecking the safety belts, etc. In my day we didn't even have safety belts, and if anyone got hurt, they were growled at and sent away feeling like they were lucky to have gotten off so easy. The downer of the day was seeing that they gave away live animals (rabbits and iguanas) as prizes. We complained to the local Humane Society, but they told us that unless there was actual physical abuse involved, there wasn't much that they could do. I shudder to think how few (if any) of these unfortunate creatures survive the travels from one stop to the next, or even worse, how easily they're replaced, with a quick phone call to the supplier.
Back to more cheerful topics. We have found a yoga class at a local health center, three times a week. We will probably go twice a week, even though it's quite different than the yoga we're used to in Boulder. Of course, everything doesn't have to be done the Boulder way; it's just that we're used to certain poses (and their Sanskrit names!); this is more of a stretching class with relaxation interspersed. And we went on a whooping crane boat tour (Captain Ted's) -- we saw 34 whoopers. The first two were only about 100 yards from the boat.
On an impulse (that hopefully we aren't going to regret), we made reservations to come back to Port A next year -- for three months, starting 12/20/00. This came about because of a birdwatching tour we took in a van -- a van that broke down, stranding us in an RV park within walking distance of the beach -- in fact, just across the dunes from the beach. Naturally, we both immediately fell in love with the park, and found that it was not any more than the other RV parks we had been looking into. So hopefully you know where we're going to be next winter and can make plans to visit us. We have always wished for an extended stay by the ocean, so we'll see how it really is.
We went to several "Mini-Birdwatching Seminars" held at Goose Island State Park, a lovely coastal park about 6 miles north of Fulton, in Lamar. The seminars are held four days a week, but we could only go to two of them last week. They were wonderful, and just being in that state park was a wonderful experience. Dennis, the leader of the seminars, is a volunteer who is an avid birder. He is quite good at sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with others. He also tends to draw together interesting people, so meeting others was an added bonus to the gatherings. On Friday, after the seminar, we went outside the park and looked around at the lovely town of Lamar. While we were there, we saw three Whooping Cranes go flying by. What a beautiful sight!
We couldn't go the the seminar on Saturday, but did go over later in the day and spent some companionable hours visiting people we had met earlier in the week and watching birds on our own. At the end of the day, we saw an amazing sight. Just at dusk, at a nearby pond right outside the park, huge numbers of herons and egrets come in to roost for the night. The trees are full of birds, and more just keep flying in. Then, just when things start to settle down, out come flying 30 or 40 night herons, setting out for a night of fishing after a day of sleeping. Boy, no rest for those poor fish! This was certainly a special day.
Interesting or unusual birds we have seen include Fulvous Whistling Duck, Crested Caracara, Common Loon, Eared Grebe, Catbird, and of course the many wonderful Whooping Cranes.
We have been keeping ourselves busy in a variety of ways, mostly birdwatching, but also sightseeing, reading, trailer maintenance, etc. We drove to Aransas Natl Wildlife Refuge, which is most famous for being home to the large (180, up from 14 in 1937 when the refuge was founded) whooping crane colony. Numerous attempts to found a second colony have, thus far, proven unsuccessful, which is a major cause for concern, since one storm or plague could conceivably wipe out the existing group completely. We saw two different pairs on that particular day, both at least 1/2 mile away. With the scope that they had at the platform we could see them pretty well -- I have to say that that was the best public scope I've ever seen.
We have also visited Padre Island Natl Seashore, a 60-mile long barrier island that acts as a natural deposit for just about everything in the Gulf of Mexico, including seaweed, dolphin carcasses, toxic/medical waste, etc. etc. The Visitors' Center has a display showing the variety of stuff that gets washed up, and warning you what not to touch (storage drums, mainly). It also warns you that if you choose to go driving on the beach (which is legal) and get stuck, you're on your own. We opted not to drive on the beach!
We attended the local Oysterfest, which is a pretty big thing for little Fulton -- over 70 entries in the parade (including the obligatory Shriners). The Arts & Crafts tent was quite large and popular, as well as the Food tent ("food" including beer, the most popular stand of all). We walked the midway and watched the rides -- there were a surprising number of kids rides, and all the people running the rides were very good and patient with kids, and VERY safety-conscious, rechecking the safety belts, etc. In my day we didn't even have safety belts, and if anyone got hurt, they were growled at and sent away feeling like they were lucky to have gotten off so easy. The downer of the day was seeing that they gave away live animals (rabbits and iguanas) as prizes. We complained to the local Humane Society, but they told us that unless there was actual physical abuse involved, there wasn't much that they could do. I shudder to think how few (if any) of these unfortunate creatures survive the travels from one stop to the next, or even worse, how easily they're replaced, with a quick phone call to the supplier.
Back to more cheerful topics. We have found a yoga class at a local health center, three times a week. We will probably go twice a week, even though it's quite different than the yoga we're used to in Boulder. Of course, everything doesn't have to be done the Boulder way; it's just that we're used to certain poses (and their Sanskrit names!); this is more of a stretching class with relaxation interspersed. And we went on a whooping crane boat tour (Captain Ted's) -- we saw 34 whoopers. The first two were only about 100 yards from the boat.
On an impulse (that hopefully we aren't going to regret), we made reservations to come back to Port A next year -- for three months, starting 12/20/00. This came about because of a birdwatching tour we took in a van -- a van that broke down, stranding us in an RV park within walking distance of the beach -- in fact, just across the dunes from the beach. Naturally, we both immediately fell in love with the park, and found that it was not any more than the other RV parks we had been looking into. So hopefully you know where we're going to be next winter and can make plans to visit us. We have always wished for an extended stay by the ocean, so we'll see how it really is.
We went to several "Mini-Birdwatching Seminars" held at Goose Island State Park, a lovely coastal park about 6 miles north of Fulton, in Lamar. The seminars are held four days a week, but we could only go to two of them last week. They were wonderful, and just being in that state park was a wonderful experience. Dennis, the leader of the seminars, is a volunteer who is an avid birder. He is quite good at sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with others. He also tends to draw together interesting people, so meeting others was an added bonus to the gatherings. On Friday, after the seminar, we went outside the park and looked around at the lovely town of Lamar. While we were there, we saw three Whooping Cranes go flying by. What a beautiful sight!
We couldn't go the the seminar on Saturday, but did go over later in the day and spent some companionable hours visiting people we had met earlier in the week and watching birds on our own. At the end of the day, we saw an amazing sight. Just at dusk, at a nearby pond right outside the park, huge numbers of herons and egrets come in to roost for the night. The trees are full of birds, and more just keep flying in. Then, just when things start to settle down, out come flying 30 or 40 night herons, setting out for a night of fishing after a day of sleeping. Boy, no rest for those poor fish! This was certainly a special day.
Interesting or unusual birds we have seen include Fulvous Whistling Duck, Crested Caracara, Common Loon, Eared Grebe, Catbird, and of course the many wonderful Whooping Cranes.
# posted by Doug and Willie @ 9:56 PM 
