Most folks who drive on I-10 from Houston to New Orleans might think the Gulf Coast is a boring Who's Who list of energy companies. Just about every public and private and international energy-related company has some representation here.
But millions of migratory and resident birds don't seem intimidated by all the pipelines and rigs and boats. Soon, these White Pelicans will arrive in Canada and Montana and North Dakota to raise another family and then return in October.
The further south I drove, the more magnificent the huge trees, pecans and oaks. You'd think all the Gulf Coast hurricanes and floods and droughts would have decimated these old trees, but they're aging gracefully.
I spent two nights in a large driveway of Boondockers Billy Bob and his wife who live about ten miles from Brazoria, Texas. Across the street and next to their house were more magnificent trees.
On a 10-mile bike ride from Billy Bob's place to downtown Brazoria, I noticed nearly every home has at least one huge beautiful old tree in their front yard. This home had straight and crooked old trees, plus a flock of beautiful chickens.
During my bike ride, I saw this woman on a bicycle leading two horses. Not many horsewomen can do this!
Lavern told me she was putting her horses out to pasture for the day, and would be back later to get them. We exchanged our horsewoman tales, of course. The stories usually include at least one broken bone or cracked rib.
Lavern rode with me to show me the least congested roads to Brazoria's Civic Center where four traditional bluegrass bands were performing. They were good bands, but if you're gonna play in Texas, you gotta have a fiddler in the band. Was disappointed none of the bands included a fiddler.
The Civic Center includes a room dedicated to Doctor Sophie, showcasing her medical office which resembled a natural history museum. Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1846, she was quite a character in Brazoria, Texas and elsewhere. Click here for her story. I guarantee you'll be amazed and amused.
Continuing east pass the colorful village of Surfside Beach, there's a scenic drive on the 40-mile Bluewater Highway which ends at Galveston. Dodging Galveston's human crowds on its scenic miles-long seawall isn't my thing. But who can resist enjoying the seagulls; just toss them food for cheap entertainment!
Doesn't matter if you're a big or little kid, Black or white, rich or poor, seagulls entertain everyone equally! I like the photo below taken on the ferry from Galveston to Bolivar Peninsula; Papa's pants are falling off and the child's Mama is lovingly attentive.
I'm pretty good at finding unofficial roads like this levee road. Hint, it's near Port Arthur, Texas.
Three or four miles later on this lonely secret road, a ship passed by! optical illusion of course, but still, a very close passing.
The fishing boats bobb in the Gulf's gentle swells . . . . . almost makes one forget about devastating hurricanes.
The most awesome find was this free boondocking spot in Texas. See the birder with his zoom lens on the left? His partner is on the beach in the middle-right, and their RV and towed-vehicle with a kayak on the roof-rack is to the far right. The view is the Intracoastal Waterway where thousands of migratory birds mingle with resident birds. These RV'ers had this place to themselves, because no one realized there was access back there.
If you want to boondock here, email me and I'll divulge the coordinates if you promise not to publish its whereabouts.
In Louisiana, I used Ultimate Campgrounds to find a unique camping spot at Calcasieu Parish along the Intracoastal Waterway. Here's a view of one of the many barges going by, from inside my van.
This beautiful tugboat has a proud Louisiana owner!
Butte La Rose has a friendly roadside park for RV'ers, thanks again to Ultimate Campgrounds' database downloaded on my GPS. It's worked well for me when I really need to find a campground NOW!
I eventually met up with kayaking comrades at Lake Fausse Pointe State Park. We met under crazy circumstances; Lynn and David pulled into the adjacent parking lot and accidentally got hung-up on a landscape stump. After successfully using a jack to get off the stump, they then got stuck in the muck! Sometimes bad things happen to good folks. Lots of white knights came to their rescue.
A good time was had by all. Most of the campers at this campground were super-friendly native-Louisianians. Really enjoy listening to their speech cadence, too.
In the photo below, I'm the little ski paddler in the rear. I don't paddle in alligator country without a group; there's safety in numbers.
I saw three little alligators about half as long as my ski (yellow fiberglass ski below). David, the paddler across from me, paddles a high-tech inflatable kayak. But I suspect a large alligator could puncture his kayak just as well as it could snap my ski in half. I took a photo of an alligator, but it's the same color as the water, so it doesn't show well.
Coming up next, another Texas road trip to hear a lot of bands with fiddlers! Stay tuned :)
Now that's a spring break to remember! Thanks for sharing,
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