We
finished our hunt in Gonzales, TX and our plan was to head south toward
South Padre Island and from there, to the west to Laredo. Laredo
is on the border and would offer an interesting contrast to the border
areas where we usually travel.
The photos below are what we saw.
South
of
Gonzales, we encountered huge fields of wild flowers with bright,
nearly painful, colors. The patch above was a particularly nice
one.
A
close shot of the red flowers. I do not know the formal name, or
the common name for that matter.
The
yellow flowers had a totally different structure.
We
traveled south until we hit Port Lavaca on the Gulf Coast. We
located a camp site right on the water, so we took it at Lighthouse
Beach. From our
site, we could see a large causeway to the north east of our position.
Our
site was right on the beach and could not have been closer to the water
without getting wet.
Surprisingly,
there
were some attractive women in view. Most of the bathers I saw
would
look rather odd in a bikini, if not downright offensive.
From
Port Lavaca, we headed for Mustang Island State Beach, right on the
coast. To get there, we had to take a ferry and we loaded first,
so we had a front row seat to the passage across the channel. One
of the other ferries is visible in the upper right of the photo above.
I walked to the top of a near-by dune and got a shot of our spot on the beach. The white object on the horizon is a fog horn that added an interesting mystique to the evening hours.
Mustang
Island
was a nice camp. On the beach the park had installed
potable water faucets and showers. But, sadly, the showers were
just "rinse off" showers and therefore cold. Best of all, it was
clean. We would definitely go back again.
From
Mustang, we headed to Corpus Christi to see the sights and visit a
friend. From Corpus, we headed south toward South Padre Island
right on the Mexican border. Along the way, we overtook this
motor pulling a sizable train headed south to Brownsville. I
think the trains have limited their speed at 55 mph and we just barely
overtook him.
A
monument to the Padre on South Padre Island. This statue is on
the south limit of the island. We stopped for lunch and then
toured the island.
On our tour of the island, we came upon this amphibious vehicle, so we pulled over for a photo.
We
went as far north on the island as the road would allow, then headed
back south on the beach. There was trash everywhere, every trash
can full to overflowing and trash blowing in the wind. It seems
that there was a Mexican holiday, and the partying was intense.
We
passed this utility truck that was stuck in the sand, so we were going
to pull him out if the forklift failed. But he was not that
stuck and the fork got him out on the first try.
When we hit the south end of the island again, we decided to stop early for the day. We stayed at a nice KOA there and did laundry and chores. From our camp, we had a commanding view of the long causeway that connects South Padre with the mainland.
From South Padre, we headed inland toward Laredo to see a friend of Kathleen's who lives there. Along the way, we passed through Mercedes. And you thought it was only a car brand!
On
our way to Laredo, we decided to stop over at Falcon Reservoir.
We were exploring one of the roads to Falcon Dam and nearly made the
mistake of crossing over the dam, which would have put us into
Mexico. That would have been bad, since we had our hunting rifles
with us.
We chose an RV park that was right on Falcon Lake. There was plenty of wildlife out at dusk. This park was no exception to that rule.
We
spent some time talking with one of the park visitors that was from
Argentina. She stated that Falcon Lake has world-class bass
fishing and that she and her husband fish daily. Above is a photo
of their boat after they launched it.
The
gal we were talking to was Monica, and she was the driver for the boat
launch. She had clearly done this before (like every day).
Kathleen took a photo of me taking the previous photo.
As
we were leaving the park, we encountered a bunch of Prickly Pear cactus
that were just coming into bloom.
From
Falcon Lake, we headed into Laredo and encountered a large collection
of Texas Rangers and Border Patrol personnel. We were passed by
several large passenger vans with tinted windows earlier and it seems
that they were transporting illegals from a pickup point near where we
were camped.
Once
we got to Laredo, we had lunch with a friend from Kathleen's TransCore
days. Above is Kathleen and Rafael Garcia. Rafael REALLY
liked the mog. But most "real men" do, so that was not much of a
surprise.
From Laredo, we headed back north toward Corpus Christi and then toward San Antonio. At one of our stops, I spotted the nice flower above.
Close
by, I shot this nice red and yellow blossom.
That
night, we camped at the state park at Lake Corpus Christi. The
park was nice, clean and well cared for. Many of the camp sites
picnic areas had gazebos to provide sun protection. While not an
issue for us, I am sure that in a few months they would be very
valuable.
When
in San Antonio, you have to visit the Alamo (state law). We
decided to see the IMAX show first before visiting the actual
site. After the movie, the physical site was somewhat
underwhelming. Historically relevant, no doubt, but the size
belies the importance of the site.
I
was totally surprised by the size of some of the oak trees at the
site. This one was huge.
The
oak trees were filled with squirrels that knew how to work the visitors
for treats.
Some
of the cactus at the site had odd looking shoots.
When
we finished at the Alamo, we decided to hike over to the "River Walk"
along the San Antonio River. The area has been developed into a
nice walking experience. In the river, there were tour boats as
well as "booze cruises" where they served liquor and food. We
chose a restaurant right on the edge of the river and had a nice steak.
From
San Antonio, we headed north toward Austin to visit a work mate from
Musicmatch days. Along the way, we camped on the outskirts of San
Antonio and then along the Guadalupe River outside of New
Braunfels. Our camp at Braunfels was first rate, we were right on
the water's edge with nobody close. We had a great view of the
cliffs on the other side of the river.
We
visited our friends Kevin and Melody in Austin and then headed east
toward Houston to meet another work mate. Along the way, we
stopped at Lake Bastrop and again got a great camp site in an uncrowded
area. Above is a shot of the large grassy areas behind our camp.
From
Bastrop, we continued east to Brazos Bend State Park. I was
surprised to spot a 'gator on the banks of the lake.
A
tried to get a bit closer for a better shot, but he spotted me but did
not bolt. In the shot above, he is blinking. Note the
covering over the eyes that helps him remain stealthy while hunting.
Brazos
Bend had some nice big trees that were covered in Spanish Moss adding
some additional ambiance.
During this segment
of the trip we met some great folks and stayed at a few really nice
spots. This section of Texas is very scenic and is worth some
extended visitation to get the full flavor. In fact, we may make
a trip to this area of the state as the focus of the journey.
There are many state parks in this part of the state and the parks are
nice and in good repair. Brazos Bend was quite nice and the thick
trees were a real treat. Tomorrow, we head into Houston to meet
another work mate from Muze days and from there, back to the gulf coast.
| Previous Adventure | ||
| Trip Home Page |
Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2010, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.