February 6, 2010

On Saturday, we left for North Padre Island. We decided to stay at the Ransom Road RV Park in Aransas Pass to give us some time to check out the area. On Sunday, we took a free 5 minute ferry ride to Aransas Port. Along the way, we stopped to check out Mustang Island State Park and then continue on to Padre Island National Seashore.

 It is the longest undeveloped stretch of barrier island in the world. We see endless grasslands and tidal pools as we make our way to the Malaquite Visitor Center and the campground.

There are plenty of RV sites overlooking the dunes and ocean. The Seashore offers 70 miles of beaches and you can boondock for free right on the beach. We stopped at the Visitor Center in time to hear a deck talk on sea shells, sea beans, and other things found on the seashore. We also learned that this is a critical nesting beach for the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle.

We are anxious to get down to the beach and get a walk in and hunt for sea shells. It was fun driving 10 miles down the beach and going for a long walk and enjoying all of the shorebirds.

Even though it was windy, it was warm and it felt good to walk barefooted in the surf as I looked for treasures. While beachcombing, I found the prized Lightening Whelk, the official sea shell of Texas, some sand dollars, and star fish.

The next morning, we hooked up the 5th wheel and head back to Padre Island. Unfortunately, between the wind and high tides, the beach was closed to camping so we settled in at the campground tucked in the dunes with a great view of the Gulf of Mexico. As we sat out enjoying the sea breeze, we were rewarded with the sight of a great blue heron perched in front of us looking for his supper, along with brown pelicans
diving for theirs.

 For the next few days, we endured wild surf and high winds but it did not keep us off the beach.

On Wednesday, Bob’s brother Dan and his wife, Gail joined us at the campground. It is always fun spending time with them and we enjoyed several walks beachcombing, driving on the beach, and sharing gulf shrimp dinners. On Friday, we all went bird watching. It felt like we had our own personal guides as Dan and Gail pointed out a crested karakara, a long billed curlew and the many shorebirds, including the royal terns seen below.

 At 6 am on Saturday morning, we all were on the road as the sun came up over the Gulf. They headed to Florida and we went to Louisiana for Mardi Gras.