By Thursday I knew it was time to explore my way south into the Lower Rio Grande Valley. I’d had three days to explore Aransas NWR, and a couple of delightful afternoons in Rockport. The Central Texas Coast had been generous with her gifts, but every knowledgeable person I’d communicated with prior to embarking on … Read more
I said my goodbyes to the Skimmer and her crew in Fulton Beach after a wonderful morning full of highlights at Aransas NWR. I fully expected to settle in somewhere nearby and get down to processing my ever-growing image collection, and process the files to prepare them for sharing on my website. I found a … Read more
I arrived at 215 North Fulton Beach Road in Fulton, Texas at 8:30am. Our departure aboard the Skimmer was scheduled for 9am, so I had some time to assemble my gear and wander the wharf looking for interesting subjects. It didn’t take long before I found Purple Martins gathering atop a tall spire on one … Read more
I drove to the city of Rockport after leaving from my second day at Aransas, and prepared for the boat ride I’d signed up for, which launched from nearby Fulton Beach Tuesday morning. I had a late breakfast at JJ’s Cafe near the Walmart and was planning to spend the night there, but I wasn’t … Read more
“Wow” hardly seems sufficient to describe my morning! I stayed in Austwell Sunday night and I was only 12 miles from Aransas NWR and I was able to achieve an early launch time. I arrived at the reserve as it was still dark. I parked by the Heron Flats Trail and walked out to the … Read more
As I write this episode, I’ve been so involved taking pictures this past week that I buried myself under a ton of work to prepare them for my stories. I also had to honor a request to deliver images for a published report from the amazing February 2017, nineteen day science expedition I took aboard … Read more
[Addendum: Because I was using the older Sibley’s Guide, where Tufted Titmouse and the Black-Crested Titmouse were lumped and I failed to check other resources, I misidentified the original images on this post. I’ve made the appropriate edits now, and all should be correct.] Crystal City provided me with a three day reprieve from the … Read more
I pulled away from Marathon early Sunday morning and headed towards Del Rio Texas on US-90 under gray and cloudy skies. It is a wide, flat valley where Marathon resides. There is hardly a bump on the landscape for dozens of miles in all directions. A century and a half of grazing has taken its … Read more
Friday night I stayed in Alpine Texas behind Penny’s Diner. It was a 24 hour cafe, so I set my alarm for 6 a.m. and had an early breakfast, then I headed south into Big Bend National Park. I set my sights on the Sam Nail Ranch, one of the earliest homesteads in Big Bend. … Read more
My stay in Las Cruces was extended several days because of issues I had to sort out with my RV generator. All is well now as I send this post off from Alpine Texas. I’m poised to explore Big Bend tomorrow (Saturday), but I don’t plan to exploit the whole park on this tour. I’ve … Read more
