campermom

Things at work were busy after our trip last weekend so the report is a week late. But there aren't deadlines when you're camping.

The drive to Goliad was easy, although we got turned around in the town of Goliad before spotting the brown sign again. It was pretty neat to see such a nice mission on the property. We made camp and high-tailed it over to where the "Eagle Lady" Doris Mager was giving her raptor presentation. The presentation was held in a CCC built dining hall. There were 10 picnic tables inside with an aisle down the center of the room. The kitchen at one end and a nice rock fireplace ( with fire going) on the other side. The room was packed, several troops of boy scouts were there. We got there early enough to sit at the front. Doris has rehabilitated eagles for 17 years and now travels giving lectures in addition to research. She asked if anyone had seen an eagle and 80% raised their hands. Then when asked if anyone had seen an eagle nest, only my son and I raised our hands. She was delighted and asked where the nest was. My son turned to me and asked "Where was that BBQ place mom, with the eagles on the way?" UUUUUH, Llano son (Cooper's BBQ, it's crazy the things kids remember right?) Doris had just spent the week observing that nest 24-7 and said she learned more this week than in 17 years of research.
She brought 4 birds with her, a Great Horned Owl, and baby Eastern Screech, an American Kestrel, and a Crested Caracara. The horned owl had the sweetest disposition. When the lady stroked it, the bird leaned into her touch like a cat. Her name was ET. The caracara was striking. She loved having her picture taken.

After that, we walked back over to the mission for a tour. We got there late and came in the middle, the group was a bit older than my son and the topic to boring for him. We pulled out and went into the museum. They also had 2 volunteers giving a presentation on textiles in the granary. They had several spinning wheels, and 2 looms. They showed us how to comb, card, pull, spin, and weave thread. We went back in to the church once the tour moved through and got to ring the bell. You know, the kind with a long rope in a bell tower.

We visited with the couple in the large rv next to us from Ontario Canada. They were making their way through the state. It was a cold night and being so close to the coast it was damp as well. The faucet at the site froze up. We broke camp quickly after breakfast was done.

I had been wanting to see Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and we finally got to plan it into a trip. We saw several White tail hawks and crested caracaras along the drive to Austwell. We spent half the day there seeing alligators, tons of birds, deer, armadillos, climbing the observation tower, seeing whooping cranes, taking a nature hike through some really tall trees, and exploring the exhibits in the visitors center.

Next stop, Goose Island State Park. We saw the big tree and played on the swings. We didn't really explore the park. The weather was turning and we still had some driving to do. It was a good chance to work off some energy for my son.

After a quick stop at DQ, we took the ferry to Port A. That was exciting. My son was thrilled at the whole idea of driving a truck onto a boat. Most folks thought it was weird that we were out of the truck looking around. Whatever. On to Mustang Island State Park. The parking lot was flooded from the rain but I drove right through it and parked close enough to the sand that we could step out without getting the feet wet. There was a troop of Scouts from Dallas beach camping. They had put tarps around and over the sun shelters where they were setting up their cooking area. My son played in the sand near the other boys for about an hour. It wasn't really raining, it was just an ocean breeze.

We got a room in Corpus. Monday morning we headed to Padre Island National Seashore. We picked up the Junior Ranger book at the visitor center, spent about an hour in there, browsed through the books, then headed out to the beach to pick up trash. (Part of the program, but not a bad idea for anyone, the bags are free, just ask at the desk). We picked up about 20 pounds before he got bored. He played in the sand for another 45 minutes or so while I just enjoyed being there. ( it would have been nice if it were warmer and the sun was out).

On the way back to San Antonio, we got side tracked and went to Choke Canyon. We spent very little time there. It was not somewhere I think I'll ever camp. It was primarily a fish park. With my son in tow, we need more to do. The park needs some maintenance work. We did see two caracara's in the "Residence" front yard sharing a rabbit.

It was a nice trip, even if the weather wasn't great.

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