Feb 24, 2013 - Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

Off to another wildlife refuge for the day. This one, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, is renown as the winter home of the extremely endangered Whooping Cranes. Fifty years ago, there were only 17 cranes left in the wild. They now number about 500 and spend the winter months at this refuge. Their summer breeding grounds are in Wood Buffalo National Park, Alberta, Canada. So, they are making a comeback but are still very endangered. We were able to spot some in the distance from the observation tower that is in the refuge. They have a...

Feb 22, 2013 - A glimpse of Rockport

We did a little exploration of the Rockport/Fulton area today. This is a lovely area and we are looking forward to seeing more of it. We had originally planned to stay at Goose Island State Park. When I checked availability online, they were full. The picture above is one of two areas that are available in the park. There is also a wooded area with expansive sites. The sites on the bay are much closer but you are right on the water and each site has a picnic-type shelter over its table. I can see why it is such a popular park, especially...

Feb 21, 2013 - Rockport, TX

Only traveled about 100 miles on Thursday to Rockport, TX. But first, a little more about Kingsville. We had not finished exploring the quaint western town of Kingsville on Wednesday. So we decided to overnight there and see the rest on Thursday morning. So I picked an RV Park from the guide and off we went. It is called Country Estates RV Park. OMG! We have never stayed in a place like that before. It was only $22/night/full hookups. It was overpriced! Probably 90% of the park was trashy mobile homes with working (or not) families. There...

Dec 19, 2012 - Merry Christmas from Rockport

It was in the 80s today and it is only 6 days away from Christmas. Somehow it just doesn’t feel right to these Michiganders. Christmas lights on palm trees, Santa wearing shorts, boats with snowmen and Santa Claus on their decks........it blows our mind. But we seem to be dealing with it okay. (Smile) We have been in Rockport, Texas for almost 2 weeks now and have kept ourselves very busy. We have been to the beach several times, watched the oyster boats come in with their haul, taken a few bike rides on the new bike/walking trail here in...

Jul 20, 2012 - Week Ten: July 18 - 20 ( NM, TX)

Day 1 we began by heading south from Sante Fe on Hwy 285, a road we would remain on all day. Southeastern New Mexico is a lot like West Texas...lots of open highway & few cities. Only difference right now is there is a little more green in the fields & on the roadside, but that probably won't last. We gassed up at Cline's Corners then headed on to Vaughn, located at the intersection of two major railroads, which explained their nice classic, two- story train depot. Nearly 100 miles later we entered Roswell. I wonder how many of the...

Apr 16, 2012 - Planning for Alaska Trip Summer 2012

One month from departure, we have been busy readying "Therapy," our 2012 23-foot Keystone Bullet Premier and our 2011 F-150, six cylinder super crew truck with ecoboost engine. All that's left to do is pack!

Apr 15, 2012 - Rockport, TX

Left San Antonio this a.m. & headed southeast towards Corpus Christi,TX. On the way there we decided to head off the beaten path & passed through a small town called Goliad. There was some historical sites immediately in the area (mission, fort & gravesite marker where there had been a massacre of Texans by the Mexicans back in the 1700's. Checked that out while we were in the area. Man, is it getting warm down here!......not complaining!.........We've checked into a hotel in Rockport tonight, just north of Corpus Christi. We are thinking...

Apr 9, 2012 - Belt Sander Racing

Where would you expect to see "Belt Sander" races; only in Texas. Saturday we attended our first ever belt sander racing. I must say it was quite interestering. This is a sport that is taken very seriously, at least in Fulton, TX. They played the Star Spangled Banner before starting the races. The timing is all done electronically by computer. They operate just like an official drag racing event. They race two lanes at a time and each contestant pushes his start button based on the starting lights just like the big boys. Some of the...

Apr 6, 2012 - Rockport, TX

We left San Antonio yesterday and drove to Rockport, TX. Rockport is right on the gulf coast, only a street separates the rv park and the ocean. We have a nice site year the back of the park which is where we wanted. We wanted to be as far away from the salt spray as possible when the wind blows. At 10:00 A.M it is 80 degrees and only 76 percent humidity, not bad huh. Our friends, who are staying here, have told us there is usually a breeze blowing off the ocean so it doesn't feel as hot but the humidity is still pretty high. The evenings...

Apr 3, 2012 - Back in Rockport

We made the fairly short trip from Fredericksburg to Rockport today - arriving early afternoon. It was stormy but no rain the entire way. Serious, damaging tornadoes in the Dallas/Fort Worth area this afternoon so we're thankful for our safe weather & travel. We went from Hill Country to Aransas Bay - quite a change. It was 82 & 99% humidity this afternoon. Air conditioning - yeah! We had a warm welcome from the managers & 1 of the other workcamper couples & it didn't take us long to get set up. We'll be workcampers here until the first of...

Mar 2, 2012 - Home Sweet Home

Date: March 2, 2012 Tonight’s Location: home! Mileage: End - 101513 Start - 101219 Total Miles for the day: 294 Weather: mostly sunny and windy Temperature: start 47º High 47º Wildlife count: Canada Geese, Crow, Turkey Vulture, Cormorant, Red-tail Hawk, Robins, Northern Cardinal, Kestrel, Snow Geese Left McAlester, OK at 7am with clear, crisp skies. Our drive home was easy, although driving through Oklahoma shows mostly interstate, when in fact, the road moves through town with lots of stoplights. We stopped at Braum’s at Nixa for lunch...

Mar 1, 2012 - Up and out of Texas

Date: March 1, 2012 Tonight’s Location: McAlester, OK Mileage: End - 101219 Start - 100659 Total Miles for the day: 560 Weather: cloudy in the am, sunny pm Temperature: start 67º High 80º Wildlife count: Whooping Cranes, Feral Hog, Northern Harrier, Long-tailed Grackle, HUGE mosquitoes, Crested Caracara, Kestrel, Red-wing Blackbird, European Starling, Crow, Merlin, Belted Kingfisher, Meadowlark, Canada Geese Hook-up was uneventful and we pulled out of Lagoons at 7:05 am with an overcast sky. On the way up past Aransas National Wildlife...