Texas With the Stocks - 2010

ArdraF said:

On our very first trip through Tucson we stopped for the night at the Voyager RV Park.  Went for a walk around the park after dinner and there was a javelina within a few feet of us.  I didn't even know what they were before that!

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Ardra,

Several years ago, javelina were quite a problem here at Voyager. Our next door neighbor often had the javelina clean up his dog's food at night. It got so bad that he had to make sure there was no food remaining in the dog bowl. For the last 4-5 years the park has figured out how to keep them out. BTW, way the javelina never seems to have an interest in his dog which stayed outside all night. He was a large lab and I never once heard him bark. The pack of four or five javelina made the rounds every night; we often heard them running out side of our motor home.

Richard

DAY 4?March 16?Spring Branch
It rained all night and until about 9:30 this morning?great to sleep by.  We went to the University of Texas at San Antonio?s Institute of  Cultures (AAA rated as a gem).  It had exhibits about the contributions made to Texas by many cultures?African-American, French, Jewish, Swiss, Belgian, German, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, American Indian, Lebanese, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Tejano, Wendish (a sect from two river areas and two valleys in East Germany who have their own language and religion), English, Irish, and Scottish.  I learned so much!
Did you know that the Mexican government paid an Englishman to bring over 100 English, Scotch, and Irish families to settle Texas as a buffer between the Americans and Mexico?  They had to agree to change their religion to Catholic, not keep slaves, pay Mexican taxes, keep allegiance to Mexico, and learn to speak Spanish.  They kept their religion (the Irish were already Catholic, but the English were Anglican), rebelled at paying Mexican taxes, fought on the side of the U. S. at the Alamo and in other skirmishes, brought 40 slaves with them, and did not learn to speak Spanish.
I taught about the Plains Indians for 13 years, and I read about them and visited them, learned their stories, and bought buffalo skins, other relics, and CD?s of their music.  I didn?t know 20% of the information the museum had displayed.
I learned that the U.S. interred Germans, Italians, Japanese, and Peruvian Japanese at Crystal City during WWII.  The museum had TV?s with people telling their personal stories in many of the exhibit areas.  The people who had been interred and were telling their stories said they really enjoyed Crystal City.  They had many organized sports and crafts programs, as well as a good school.  Some said it was nicer than what they came from.  However, at the end of the war, you had to either have someone who would sponsor you or you had to have a job.  But, you weren?t allowed to leave to interview for a job.  Catch 22!  Some were interred for 2 years after the war ended.  They had confiscated the Peruvian Japanese?s passports, so they couldn?t go home to their homes in Peru.  The U. S. didn?t want them, so they deported them to Japan, even though many of them spoke no Japanese, only Spanish!
We only left because they closed.  It was SO interesting!  I have put it on my ?Re-visit List?.
We encountered Rush Hour in San Antonio traffic.  Texans are so nice; the very first car always let us change lanes when we needed to.  They put a capital C on Consideration!
We had a nice bar-b-q brisket dinner with Ned & Lorna at a local restaurant .  It?s really great to be with RV Forumer?s.  The thing I like least about traveling is always being a stranger, and ir was nice to have good conversation with friends.  I learned about places to go and things to see in the future.

Miles traveled: 0
Temperature:  High was 70?
Stayed at Ned and Lorna?s

DAY 5?March 17?Spring Branch
We had saved the San Antonio Zoo (AAA gem-rated) for a rain-free day, and so had thousands of other parents whose children are out for Spring Break.  The freeway was jammed as we approached our exit, and it got nothing but worse.  We decided to take a pass, as we figured that the nearest parking lot with empty spaces was at least 1 mile away.  It goes on my ?Next Time? List.
We then went to the Witte Museum (AAA gem-rated). We had planned on visiting yesterday, but we were so enthralled with the Institute of  Texan Cultures that we never got there.  The line of people waiting to enter stretched around 2 sides of the building and wasn?t moving at all. 
We then decided to go to Costco.  The GPS took us through a large pretty park.  Unfortunately, the park roads had gridlock?along with tall, pretty trees and birds chirping many different songs.  It was shady; we put our windows down and enjoyed nature?s music and aromas.  When we left, 40 minutes and ? mile later, we were glad to be free.  As we drove toward Costco, we saw a Regal Cinema.  So we made lemonade from our lemons and saw ?Alice in Wonderland? in 3-D.  The theatre and movie were both very good.
Costco had more fish products than at home and fresh raspberries.
Miles traveled: 0
Temperature: High of 75?; Low of 40?,
Stayed at Ned & Lorna?s

DAY 6?March 18?Spring Branch
Please pardon my tardiness in posting this.  We are trying to learn how to label pictures using iPhoto and finally decided to do it the ?old-fashioned way?, but I haven?t given up.  We had a wonderful day!  Lorna led us over to the Wildlife Ranch.  We have visited this drive-in zoo at least 3 times before, and it draws me to it each time we?re within 100 miles, just like iron to a magnet.  It is just like being on a safari in your own car. 
It was very crowded, due to Spring Break.  We had to wait about 20 minutes to enter, but they have everything well-organized, as if it were a military operation.  We were greeted by aoudads and their babies (pictures 1 & 2).  The babies were running around with boundless energy, nursing from their mothers.  It was mid-70?s and sunny..  The ranch had been open for a couple of hours with a steady stream of cars, so their tummies were full.  When you pay your admission (about $15 per person), you receive a bag of food, and the animals usually are really eager.  The spotted Formosan Sika are very demure (picture 3), as were the fallow (picture 4).  The huge Watusi had enormous horns, but gentle eyes (picture 5),  The wildebeest doesn?t match the picture in the book we bought ($3), and if we?re wrong on the label, let me know.  Next came the gemsboks, and I chose picture 6 because he was using his horns to scratch his backside.  The blesbok (picture 7) entertained us while we waited in a traffic jam.  It wasn?t long before ranch employees in ATVs roared by, and we thought the ostrich who had decided to rest in the road might be the problem.  But, the ATVs continued on and soon a herd of zebras (picture 8) came running by.  They followed their leader as he zigged and zagged.
Next came the scimitar horned oryxes (picture 9) and the white rhinoceros (no picture because of the fence they had him surrounded by.  The bongo antelope were also fenced, but they were very pretty. 
As we crawled along, here came an ostrich just strolling along, looking inside each car.  We got a good picture (9) of him and then we saw a flurry of feathers which turned out to be an ostrich doing a courting dance (picture 10).  He used his outstretched wings like fans that moved on super-speed, and his body was low to the ground.  Dean had just put the camera down when another ostrich came over the pecked on our window 5 or 6 times.  It was exciting to be looking inside an ostrich?s beak, but he left before we could get a picture.
The addax (picture 11) were pretty. I?ve seen many Llamas (picture 12) before, but  I never knew there was such a variety of colors.
There is also a walk-around zoo area, where they had the Patagonian cavy (picture 13) and this darling 2-month-old reticulated giraffe.  It was such fun to see all these animals up close and personal.
We had lunch at My Place, ?a local joint? it says on its sign.  I had a wonderful bar-b-q beef brisket sandwich, which had 6 oz. of meat.  It was so big it was my dinner, too.  Dean had a chili-burger which was cooked just right.  Dean likes his meat well-done, and so often it comes charred.  Here, they took the necessary time to keep it juicy.  Dave, the owner, makes his own bar-b-q sauce and chili.  I would definitely go back here.
We went driving around, just enjoying the hill country, and then on to the Cibolo Nature Park, which is located in Boerne (pronounced Bernie).  We enjoyed going to the Visitors? Center?s back porch and watching the birds at the feeders, especially the cute little chipping sparrows, which are about the size of hummingbirds and the cardinals ( last picture).  The female cardinal had an orange beak and is brown in color.  We saw some Halloween-orange colored cardinals, and we were told that they are juveniles and become redder as they mature.  We also saw hundreds of pipevine swallowtail butterflies.  They were so busy and their wings were  flapping wildly as they went from flower to flower.  There were exhibits in the visitor center, and the lady there was wonderful.  We wondered if butterflies come in two sexes (they do), and she didn?t know.  We never expected her to research it, but she appeared a few minutes later, and told us that they join mid-air and fly around for many hours enjoying each others? company.
What a fun day!

Temperature: 70?s, pretty day
Stayed at Lorna & Ned?s
Miles traveled: 0

Day 6 Part 2,

More Photos.

Day 6 Part 3,

More photos.

DAY 7?Spring Branch?March 19

Nothing interesting?just enjoyed the fresh air coming in our windows, hearing the birds chirping, as we did mundane tasks that needed to be done.
Originally we had planned to go move on to Brownsville and go to the Gladys Porter Zoo, but with the crowds at the SA Zoo, we scratched the trip.

Temperature: 70?, breezy
Stayed at Ned & Lorna?s
Miles traveled: 0

Linda,

I grew up with Blou Wildebeste, Gemsbokke, Blesbokke and all those beautiful South African wild animals. You have them labeled correctly!

Mariekie

DAY 8?Spring Branch?March 20
What an adventure!  We started with pounding rain all yesterday night  and early this morning.  It awakened both Dean and me several times throughout the night, and I thought it was hail pounding our roof.  It was definitely not the gentle rain that we slumbered by on our first night here.  Ned says that some years they don?t get a storm like this all year.  Lorna says it was a little less than 2? of rain.  I have to wonder how much rain we got in California all last year and how it  compares.
We knew it was going to be a long drive, but it was pleasant, with good traffic .  The wildflowers were blooming?yellow, gold, orange, pink, magenta, blue, white.  It was beautiful (picture).  At lunch, Dean grabbed the camera while I made a quick PB&J because we wanted to get to the RV park before dark.  There were many blooming yuccas (picture) which we enjoyed.  They have pink buds before they bloom with white flowers.  During the last hour of our drive, it got increasingly windy, and by the time we got to Port Isabel, the wind was howling.
We arrived at the RV park with half-an-hour of daylight left, and a black, grey, and white pelican was lazily bobbing along as we crossed the small bridge into the park.  A good luck omen?  NOT!  We went through the guarded gate with no problem; they had our reservation.  But, when we pulled up beside space 776, it was occupied!  But, space 774 was open.  We hurriedly called security, hoping we could swap.  Lo-o-o-o-ng story made short, the spaces are all owned, and the management here rents them out for the owners.  The owner of 776 had rented it on his own and failed to notify them.  After more than two hours of talking and driving, we finally were put into space 651.  As I sat waiting, I thought about the RV Forumers who responded to my question about where to stay in Texas and recommended Fun ?n Sun RV Park in nearby San Benito.  From now on, I will ALWAYS take the advice of RVForumers.  This is the only park I reserved ahead of time for the whole trip.  I found it in ?Trailer Life,? and it is a huge park with predominantly park models.  The roads are rather narrow, and part of our time was spent BACKING DOWN the long row of coaches in pitch black dark so we could go to another site.  I had called ahead because I was afraid that it might be dark when we arrived, and they had assured me that it was well-lit.  NOT!  The only lights at all were those inside the coaches where people were home.  When I called originally, they said our site was ?on the water?, and I assumed that meant ?on the Gulf of Mexico?.  It turns out that we are on one of many man-made canals.  It?s too dark to see if there?s any wildlife out there, but I doubt it.  I had pictured a site overlooking the gulf with many shorebirds.
Poor Dean!  He had all the grief and maintained a calm composure.  Tomorrow will be better.

Temperature: 70, windy
Miles Driven:  322 miles
Stayed at Long Island Village ($260/week + $5 for the toad)

Oh, the joys of RVing. At least you didn't get snowed on like we did on Saturday !

Enjoy
Wendy

Linda,

Sorry that Dean had to back down narrow streets in dark.  Terry said to  remind you that you are retired.  Consider  driving fewer  miles in a day.  If you get in at 2pm  you will have several hours of  daylight to find your space.  Have a good time there anyway.

I did get a chuckle  out of your descriptive story.

Betty

DAY 9?March 21?Port Isabel
It was a good day!  We drove about ? hour to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. Laguna Madre is one of five known hypersaline bays in the world, and its unique seagrass beds provide nutrients and nurseries, as well as stabilizing the coast from erosion.
As we entered the photo area of the patio in front of the Visitors? Center, we saw halves of grapefruit stuck on trees and lots of birds eating from them.  A nice Texan told us that the sleek, shiny, jet-black birds were grackles (picture 1) and the small pheasant-like bird was a chachalaca (picture 2).  The VC had a short 6-minute film and a few exhibits.  A lady came in and excitedly told us about the ocelot that had run in front of her car as she and her husband drove the LA NWR?S 15-mile long bayshore drive.  The refuge is home to the majority of the remaining ocelots in the U.S., and they only think there are less than 30.  It  is the national center for ocelot conservation and recovery.  They also have bobcats, jaguarundi and cougars, but we were told that the cats sleep during the day and are rarely seen since the drives are only open from dawn to dusk.
We walked the trails around the VC and saw lots of birds.  I really wanted to get a picture of their GREEN jays, but they don?t stay still for more than 10 seconds, and most of the time when we saw them, they were in flight.
We drove out to the alligator pond with high hopes. There are 3 native resident alligators.  We saw something that looked like a log at the far end of a long pond which we told was an alligator (picture 3).
The 15-mile drive was very pleasant.  There seems to be a rule that if we know what the bird is, we can?t get a picture.  But, we got lots of pictures of unknowns, and I hope that I have figured them out using my birding book.  If anyone can identify them, please let us know.  We saw what I think is a Harris Hawk eating something on the beach (picture 4).  There were several others that looked just like him.
Out in the water we spied the Great Egret, (picture 5) which I had seen before in San Diego, CA.  There were many of them fishing in the shallow water. 
The cottontail entertained us for several minutes as he stood up as tall as he could on his hind legs and yanked the leaves off a tree and ate them (picture 6).  We were stopped in our car, just a couple of feet from him, but he was intent on eating.
The long-billed curlew (picture 7) is aptly named.  Dean patiently followed him with the camera to get a picture of him without the tall sea grass obscuring the view.
The semi-palmated plover (picture 8) saw us and posed.  We saw beautiful ducks, but they were far away.  They had striking colors, and I think they are shovelers (picture 9).  After we left, we saw a Harris?s Hawk (picture 10) just by the side of the road.
As we were unloading the car back at the coach, Dean heard a splash right behind the motorhome.  He grabbed the camera and ran to get a picture of the brown pelican (picture 11).  I loved the expression on his face!  Days like this are why we travel!  Awesome!

Miles traveled: 0
Temperature:  High of 75?
Stayed at Long Island Village & RV Park

Day 9 page 2,

More photos

Day 9 page 3,

I got the photos in the wrong order.  The attached photo was supposed to be the fifth picture.  The duplicated picture is photo # 6.

Sorry about that.

      Dean

Day 10?March 22?Port Isabel
We got off to a great start as Nellie (our GPS) took us directly to the Harlingen Convention and Visitors Bureau @ the Chamber of Commerce.  The lady was very informative and gave us a lot of brochures.  She told us that the Harlingen Thicket Bird Sanctuary was not worth seeing and saved us a trip.
The history of the Harlingen Cemetery reminded us of how our racial views have changed.  The graveyard was segregated into Mexican, American, and Negro sections with a separate area for babies.  After 1947, grave sites were no longer allocated by race or ethnicity.  The grave of Joe Callandret showed him as ?AN OLD FASHIONED LOUISIANA NEGRO? and said the headstone was ?ERECTED BY HIS FRIENDS AND ADMIRERS OF THE CAUCASIAN RACE.?
We went to the Harlingen Arroyo Colorado/Ramsey Nature Park address that I had, and the GPS repeatedly mal-functioned and we made a big many-block circle.  I used my new maps to navigate to the address, only to find that we were at the park offices in the Civic Center, not the park.  We found the park on our map and managed to find it.  The ratio of insects to birds is about 10,000:1.  Every now and then we would hear ONE bird call.  The feeders were empty, and we decided this was a dud. 
I had seen an ad for the TX Travel Info Center and that they had free birding and butterfly guides.  This would be a good one-stop info center for the whole Rio Grande Valley, but they were out of the free guides.  They told us that all the other possible places were also out, too.  Bummer!
We decided to go to a movie, and we looked up the theatre in Harlingen on our GPS.  We called the number to find out what was playing and when, only to find that the number is no longer in service!  So, we came home and posted.  Tomorrow will be a good day; I have lots planned.

Miles Traveled: 0
Temperature: High of 80?
Stayed at Long Island Village and RV Park

mariekie4 said:

I grew up with Blou Wildebeste, Gemsbokke, Blesbokke and all those beautiful South African wild animals. You have them labeled correctly!

Mariekie

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Mariekle, than you so much.  It's nice to know when I'm successful.  I was a teacher, and it offends my sense of responsibility to possibly pass on incorrect information.  Thanks so much!

Linda

Day 11?March 23?Port Isabel
We had a busy, exciting day filled with lots of discoveries.  We started at Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco, and it is the richest wildlife area we?ve seen.  It was what I had pictured the Gulf area would be.  There were wonderful ponds and an alligator lake.  We lingered at each pond and discovered more and different birds. Many of the birds we saw today were at multiple sites, so I combined the pictures to give the best picture of each bird.  I need help identifying #9, 11, 13, 15, and 18.
Estero Llano is on my MUST SEE list.  Admission to each of the parks today was $2 for me and $1 for Dean (he?s a senior).  At Estero, f you reserve two days in advance, they will take you out with an expert who has a scope in a multi-seat golf cart, and the price Is free!  I think we saw everything there was to see on our own.  There were lots of knowledgeable birders here, and almost everyone we met was from Canada.  We were both thrilled at all  we saw here.  Estero has scheduled 8:30 walks on Wed., Sat., and Sun., and they have lots of special events.  Call ahead, and ask what?s up.
We passed Fat Daddy?s BBQ & Burgers, ? mile south Business 83 on FM 1015 (956) 969-3668.  It had a full parking lot (a good sign!), including a couple of Border Patrol cars.  We hung a U-turn and came back for lunch.  We both had the barbequed ?chopped pork?, which was really shredded, and it was out-of-this-world.  People we passed in the parking lot were all very pleased with their meals, particularly the chicken-fried steak.  I will DEFINITELY COME BACK on this trip and buy a pound or two for later.  One meal would feed two people easily.  There were lots of other people there who are RVers and come to the area for extended periods.  They gave us lots of good information.
We then went to Quinta Mazatlan in McAllen. There is a beautiful 1930?s large adobe home with Spanish architecture and nature trails and it reflects lots of love and attention.  It is extremely well maintained.  The feeders were full.  It is a small, serene urban oasis with tropical gardens, native plants, butterfly attractors. Trails were extra wide and paved or gravel.  We saw lots of chachalacas, red-winged blackbirds, and two very well-fed squirrels with gorgeous tails, who just sat inside the food trays and enjoyed the free lunch.  We also saw a gorgeous kiskadee with a bright yellow belly, but couldn?t get a picture.  They are anxiously awaiting the parrots, parakeets, and hummingbirds who are usually in by now.  I?d come back here on another trip.
We went about 20 minutes down the road to the Edinburg Scenic Wetlands, an amazing lake which was full of a variety of waterfowl.  We didn?t have to walk far on trails; everything was in the lake right outside the Visitor?s Center. But, it was loaded with marine birds.  This is a pretty quick stop?30 minutes to an hour, but well worth the drive. 
The restroom at Edinburg was immaculate.  I only mention this because I have discovered the importance of carrying my own TP and some of the sites, especially Laguna Atacosa, were really bad.
What an amazing day!
Picture 1--brilliantly colored red-wing/ tri-colored winged blackbirds & chachalaca share a feeding tray
Picture 2--BIG Texas turtles
Picture 3--cinnamon teal on a log
Picture 4--Shovelers dancing on top of the water in a courting ritual
Picture 5?A great egret & snowy egret share a roost
Picture 6?Tri-color heron
Picture 7?Blue heron
Picture 8?Striped alligator
Picture 9?Cute brown unknown
Picture 10?Well-fed squirrel with gorgeous trail
Picture 11--Large brown birds?we saw lots of these
Picture 12?Herons & snowy egret share a roost
Picture 13?Tall black bird with orange beak
Picture 14?Blue teals in flight
Picture 15?Unknown ducks in flilght
Picture 16?Cinnamon teal
Picture 17?Beautiful male shoveler being chased by two ladies.  Bigamy?
Picture 18?Unknown different ducks

Miles Traveled: 0
Temperature: 80?
Stayed at Long Island Village

Day 11 page 2,

More photos.

Day 11 page 3,

More photos.

Linda,

On your return trip, consider a stop at Pedernales Falls state park.  Its about 8 miles east of Johnson City (  http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/parkguide/rgn_hc_014.phtml ) .  The reason I suggest this is the birding is fantastic there.  They have just built a new bird blind and the viewing of the birds will be extremely close. 

Of course you are in a great area to view the spring migration.  We have a birding trip planned to Fennessey Ranch in Rockport in April.

Have fun and enjoy our great state.

Jim