Wednesday, March 25 Rockport

 Wednesday, March 25

Beautiful sunrise this morning! 69 degrees and breezy.

First stop this morning is Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.  We have been here before, but not since they built a pretty new Visitor's Center after Hurricane Harvey in 2017.   Nice displays, mainly about the Whooping Cranes, which are a great conservation success story. In 1941 there were only 15 or so migratory birds and today there are around 800!  This is their main wintering grounds.  

We liked their welcome sign.

There are many organized tours for spotting them, so we were lucky to see this pair from an observation tower.  I overheard an avid birder say that there are only 2 families left in this area, as the others have already headed north.

This snake scooted across the road as we left the center in the Trek.  Greg stopped where he had gone into the grass and he popped up to check us out.  Interesting how about 12 inches of his body just stood straight up!

Saw a few alligators, white ibis and other birds.  It is obvious that they really need rain as one of the stops, Jones Lake Pier, looks out on little more than a big puddle.  The refuge butts up against the Gulf in spots, so at least there is water there (at the end of this boardwalk).

This refuge is rather out of the way, with only one way in and out, so it takes us a while to backtrack to the point where we can head south again.  Quite a few fields, some planted with corn and others recently plowed but nothing showing yet. 

We've decided to stay at Goose Island State Park, near Rockport tonight.  We opt for a nice wooded lot with electricity and showers for only $25 a night.  We reserve our spot and then head into town to the Texas Maritime Museum.  Rockport is a sweet spot on the coast, with a nice beach and quite a few shops and restaurants.  It is filled with hummingbirds during migration in September and fishing is big business.

The museum gives some history of the area, going back to the Karankawa and other native Americans who lived here centuries before Europeans arrived.  Also has some pirates in its history.  As well as oil exploration, including the Bullwinkle Project which involved a 1,736-foot-tall structure (taller than the Sears Tower) built by Shell in 1988 which produced over 50,000 barrels of oil.  Apparently quite an engineering feat.

We wondered around the marina across from the museum for a bit.  Interesting to see where many of the boats docked there were from - all over the States and Caribbean.   Nice statues and picnic area too, and of course the ubiquitous bait shops.  They are everywhere along the coast.

Greg came across these oysters for sale.

On the way back to the campsite, we stopped at "The Big Tree" which is a huge sprawling oak estimated to be over 1,000 years old, also on Goose Island.  Lots of big oaks on the island.

Long hot shower feels good, but as conscious of water as we've become, I keep it reasonable.

Greg is having some issues with his hearing aids, and this evening Beth's left one begins making annoying clicking noises.  What a pair as we try to communicate!  "Can you hear me now?"

Tuesday, March 24 Texas Coast

March 24, 2026

After breakfast and clean-up, we headed back to  Sea Center Texas.  This facility is an aquarium for some Texas fish, but mainly is a fish hatchery run by Texas Parks and Wildlife, Fisheries division.  They raise 25M fish per year!  Mainly red snapper, black drum, spotted sea trout and flounder.   

We had a tour guide all to ourselves.  Tom, who has been here since the inception 20 years ago, was very knowledgeable.  They have 36 different ponds, about 4' deep,  where the young fish (fry) are placed when they are 3 days old.  With all the birds in the area, we were pleased to hear that the young fish never come near the surface, so they don't attract hungry birds!! 

Tom took us the tanks where the adult red drum are kept.  One female can spawn up to 2 million eggs in 1 night! But of these probably only about 1 in a million will live to adulthood.  They can live up to 40 years.

He explained a complex system of lines collecting seawater for the ponds and how they closely monitor water for salinity as well as phytoplankton, which is the main fish food.  We saw photos of the phytoplankton and plankton as Tom explained that 75% of our oxygen actually comes from oceans and wetlands. Another reason to preserve and protect these areas!

They are one of three hatcheries on the Texas Coast and operate on a 2.5M budget, most of which is derived from fishing licenses.  Greg asked what the biggest challenge is today and he said maintaining the speckled trout population, because of the drought in south Texas, the bays are becoming too salty to sustain the young.  

We looked around the aquarium, and then checked out the touch tanks where we touched crabs, sea anemones, etc.  One crabs was molting, shedding its old shell, becoming that delicacy "soft shelled crab". They do this 12-15 times a year!

Next up is San Bernard Wildlife Refuge, which I think we'd been to once long ago - I remember seeing bobcats there.   We passed some pretty wildflowers along the way and were greeted by some beautiful wild iris.

We first do an Auto Tour around Moccasin and Rail Ponds.  Gators, birds, flowers and mosquitoes.  Bobcat Woods Trail was a skip, as Beth was mobbed by mosquitoes when getting out of the Trek.

This was proabably the biggest gator we saw,  About 12-14'

We continued down the coast.  Quite a bit of agriculture going on, with many corn fields with 3-4" tall corn stalks.  Quite often there is irrigation equipment in place - all of south Texas is hurting for water.  Lots of cattle too, including a few longhorns.  And one new addition in the past few years is the plethora of wind turbines!  They are hard to see in this picture, but they march across the horizon quite often.

We stop at an HEB grocery store in Bay City.  It is almost identical to the one by our house.  We will see many of these stores, some really huge,  so I guess they've captured the Texas market. 

There are a lot of long bridges near the coast, with all the inlets, bays and wetlands.  

We cross over Lavaca Bay and stop at the Half Moon Reef Lighthouse in Port Lavaca.  A bit of display about Texas lighthouses.  There are only 3 remaining, so no Lighthouse Trip in our future here!

Again it is a bit early to camp, so we stop at the Calhoun County Library for a bit.  Really nice library with many computers.  Greg notices a section featuring China News papers, and another area with Spanish books.  There is totem pole also, but we didn't get the story on this.  I asked one of the librarians if there was a large Chinese population in the area, but she just said these were donated items.

Next stop is Magnolia Beach, a very popular free camping beach, although the camping is either in a large paved lot, or next to small shaded pavilions with picnic tables.  Many snow birds from Canada, Idaho, Minnesota, etc.  You are allowed to stay here for up to 14 days for free, and it looks like some take advantage of this.  There is a nice, clean, bathhouse and water, but no electric connections. 

 

We are fortunate to find an empty pavilion and make ourselves at home.  

Some pretty flowers in the grass bordering the sand.

Nice breeze.  We enjoy a walk on the beach and from our site we can watch a group of pelicans "fishing" for dinner.  Interesting that several gulls follow them closely, looking for a free dinner.  They even sit on the pelicans heads as they scoop for fish.  Doesn't benefit the pelicans at all, but they seem to tolerate it.(Google Pelicans and Seagulls Fishing Relationship if you want to know more.)

Worsts with sauerkraut and potato salad for dinner as the sun sets.  Temperatures go down also, so we'll need that blanket again tonight!

TEXAS COAST AND RIO GRANDE VALLEY MARCH 23-30, 2026

 Monday, March 23, 2026

It has been a while since we went anywhere in the Trek, so we are anxious to get back on the road!  (Since Greg's back surgery in September.) We've decided to do a shorter, more local trip as our trial run... down the Texas coast and to the Rio Grande Valley, and we've waited till all the Spring Breakers are back at their schools.  It has been a few years since we've gone this way, so it will be some repeats and some new places.

First up is the Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge which is just about a 2 hour drive, southeast of Houston.  Some nice wildflowers once we leave Houston behind.

We find the Visitors Center closed,  but there is a nice boardwalk/trail there and quite a few things to see!   Lots of ducks and other birds...

.. along with a few gators from baby size (we later learn that they were probably born last August) to some larger ones.  The little ones are very cute, about 18" long.

A few mosquitoes, so we don't do the entire trail, instead opting for the Auto Tour around The Big Slough (slough is pronounced sloo, rhymes with zoo).  

Dowitchers

Ibis

After the auto tour, we head to the nearby Cannan Bend Unit of the park.  This was originally a sand quarry, so is nearly 50' deep.  Fishing seems to be the main attraction.  We do a short trail through huge old oak trees and then move on.

Next is Sea Center Texas, which we find is closed Mondays.  But it has a nice outside boardwalk area, so we wonder around a bit.  Birds, fish, turtles.... more baby gators.

Little blue heron

gr

great egret

As we begin walking back towards the Trek,  I tell Greg I'd like to see a snake (from up here on the boardwalk 🙂 and not more than two minutes later, this guy comes into view.  I yelled "snake" which made both me and the snake stop abruptly for a moment.  Then it swam on and I followed and got a few pictures.

We are planning to camp on the beach at Surfside, but decide to stop in the Lake Jackson Library for an hour or two to stay cool and relax before heading to the beach.  Nice library.  Greg finds the magazine section and Beth connects the laptop and checks out today's photos.  We have found libraries great havens over the years, and everyone is always so friendly and kind!

It isn't difficult to find the public beach which allows vehicles and camping.  We are using a program called Roadtrippers, which includes GPS.  Only a few other rv's and a couple of tents, none near.  The sand is quite firm and the water far enough away that we don't worry.  

Lots of gulls and pelicans.

The pelicans coast on breezes so are often in formation.

Love the rhythmic sound of the waves and there is a wonderful breeze.   We have a few snacks, then some taco soup from home.  The temperature drops with the sun and we end up with blankets before the night is over!  Beautiful sunset.