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?"