Visiting "Old" Mission, Texas

Our main activity for the day was a trip downtown to see the older part of town. It is only a couple of miles from where we are staying, but it is not on the beaten path for any other place we have gone so far.

Unfortunately the museum was closed today, but a stroll down Conway Avenue gave us a better feel for the heart and soul of this city of over 80,000.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Mission, Texas

We did have the chance to go inside Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, which was originally constructed around 1903. The stained glass was stunning from inside the building, as the sun shone through the glass, making the interior so vibrant.

Lots of gorgeous stained glass was lit from behind on this sunny day.

We also enjoyed squeezing our way through this old-timey hardware store that was packed to the rafters with touristy stuff, as well as all kinds of hardware. All the employees and other customers were hispanic, but funny signs and other things were all in English. 

Silly sculptures/yard art, and, yes, baby chicks, and everything in between....

 

Who wouldn't want one of these horsey seats?

Here is a historic, old movie theater that has been re-purposed to community events, etc. I wonder if there is dancing during the big band jam?

A stroll through a pawn shop revealed two accordions for sale, as well as dozens of used cowboy boots, along with the usual stuff you might find anywhere such as electronics, electric guitars, watches, etc.

We wrapped up our visit with lunch at a Mexican restaurant. I had soft steak tacos and Ron had brisket tacos. 

Our trip downtown made us feel a sense of place that we had not felt in the RV park. It was a fun diversion, and different than the other sightseeing we have been doing, which has mainly been bird walks and hiking.

Which, by the way, we also did - later in the afternoon. And I got a pretty good picture of a kestrel and I spotted a female blue-gray gnatcatcher, which I had never heard of before today! 

The Kestrel is North America's smallest falcon. 

---Mari

Avid Birders

What a day we had seeing birds we never really knew existed before, and meeting avid birders who are so very passionate about birds. This is a new scene for both of us, as we love watching birds, feeding them in our own backyard, and learning to identify them by their calls. It seems that up until now, we have been but babes when it comes to birds and bird watching. Perhaps one reason we feel like such beginners is the sheer number of new species we have seen since coming to southern Texas eight days ago. We have been on three guided bird "walks" (well, one was in a van and another was on a tram, so today's was really the FIRST "Walk") in the past week.

The beautiful covered patio at Estero Llano Grande State Park near Weslaco, Texas overlooks a large, shallow lake. 

Here is an example of a bird surprise: we have always loved seeing the red-bellied woodpecker at our backyard feeder. Little did we know there is a similar bird down here, the golden-fronted woodpecker. It is similar in many ways to "red-belly", but has yellow at the nape of its neck. Even its call is similar.

Golden-fronted woodpecker

I have heard of a yellow-bellied sapsucker, but I would not have known one if it landed on my head. But today I spotted this one while we were out with the group. If it hadn't been for one of our guides, I still wouldn't have known what it was I had seen. I figured it was "just a woodpecker".

Yellow-bellied sapsucker...I never did see yellow on its belly.

Once in awhile the park rangers and volunteers enhance the habitat for a particular species. In this case, McCall's eastern screech owl is nesting in the box provided. 

McCall's eastern screech owl inhabits south-central Texas and parts of Mexico.

Ron was the first in our group to spot the roseate spoonbill, certainly a new bird for the two of us. It is listed as a "visitor" to this area. One of the few pink birds, it lives mainly in South America.

The large pink bird is a roseate spoonbill. It was seen today at Estero Llano Grande State Park, part of the World Birding Center network in Texas. 

Today alone, we saw at least 60 different species of birds, many of which do not occur in west-central Illinois. We have seen the chachalaca and green jay before today, as well as the kiskadee, the brown pelican, and the vermillion flycatcher. But, for those and even for birds that we have seen in Illinois, such as the American white pelican, it is great to see them here as well. One bird that we have seen in high numbers is the red-winged blackbird - a sign of spring when it is finally seen in Illinois in about three more months.

I have never seen one of these hummingbirds before - I believe we were told it is a buff-bellied hummer - very beautiful!

All in all, we had a wonderful day, and we look forward to spending more time with the wonderful park volunteers and rangers who lead these bird adventures for us. They are extremely knowledgeable and passionate.

---Mari 

Two Parakeets in a Palm Tree

Here we are, feeling settled in for the most part, at the Americana Birding Center RV Park in Mission Texas. We have been warmly welcomed as Winter Texans by many of our neighbors.

Big D at the Americana Birding Center RV Park

The people have been very friendly, and they pride themselves on that. This afternoon we attended one of the many "Happy Hours" around here (we are told); this one was held at our next door neighbors', Dave and Gloria's. We met maybe eight or ten other couples, many of whom are staying at this RV Park.

Each day here the parakeets have flown through or over. Sometimes you just hear their raucous noise, and sooner than you can grab a camera they are gone. Today, though, I was able to grab my camera, and get quite a few good shots.

Parakeet Flock

They stayed around long enough for me to have a conversation with one of my neighbors here...and turns out he's from Macomb, too! I thought I recognized Herb Edwards right away, but I thought, "naaahhh, can't be"...but it was and is! Herb and I don't know each other well, but our paths have crossed a few times, both of us having taught at the university; he in Biology and me in Agriculture.

Queen Butterfly

A real treasure that Herb and his wife Chris share with residents at the Americana Birding Center RV park is a 2-acre plot that Chris' dad bought back in the 1970s. It is adjacent to and accessible from the RV Park. They have allowed nature to take it's course on the lot, while maintaining a walking trail. They also installed a bird feeding and watering area, complete with chairs for viewing at the back of the lot.

Today I saw some thrashers and a couple of unidentified birds around the feeders. Also, the wildlife area was full of Queen butterflies.

Herb told me that the parakeets come and eat the fruits on the sugar hackberry trees. Then they leave. So, we feel lucky to have been here for the couple of weeks that they will also be here. I'm also glad that I could get a few good photos of them. I am still learning how to use my camera and all its functions, but when all else fails, "Automatic" seems to work pretty well for the most part....

Parakeets in the sugar hackberry tree

Parakeet Pair in a Palm Tree

---Mari

Happy Winter!

Only a few short hours until the shortest day of the year. We feel fortunate to be in southern Texas, even though the day was mostly cloudy and "only" in the 60s. Each day will be warmer, with highs in the 80s this weekend.

Our first priority today was to visit the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley state park down the road from where we are staying. Since we are staying in an area known as the "World Birding Center", we figured the state park would be a good place to begin our bird-watching adventures.

As it turns out, we saw our first couple of "new" species right here in the RV park where we will be staying for the coming month, before we even left this morning. To start with, yesterday we saw a flock of green parakeets that live here in the neighborhood. Then, this morning, one of our neighbors showed us the kiskadees at her water tray. We saw another one at the state park:

Kiskadee seen at Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park

I didn't get a photo of the parakeets, but here are some of the other birds we saw today:

The chachalaca is a chicken-sized bird that is found in mesquite woodlands.

The green jay was a colorful surprise at one of the feeding stations set up at the park.

This kingbird could be seen flying out to catch flying insects and returning to a perch such as this bare branch.

I assumed I was photographing a cardinal when I took this picture. Only when I looked at it on the computer did I see that it is instead an Oriole! It happens to be an Altamira Oriole, which I have never seen (or heard of) before.

Whereas it was too cloudy and cool to see many butterflies today, this region is known for its butterflies. In our hike through the woodland today, though, we did see this brown butterfly, which resembles a monarch, although it was smaller than a monarch. Also, it was all brown on the topside of the wings, without the usual stained glass pattern seen on Monarchs. I have learned today that this is called a Queen Butterfly.

I wasn't sure if this insect was a moth or a skipper, or a butterfly....I was pretty sure it wasn't a dead leaf because I had seen it flying just moments before taking this photo. It is orange on the upper-side of it's wings. Turns out it is called the American snout butterfly. There were lots of these in the woodlands where we hiked.

We are getting settled in to our new neighborhood where we will remain for the coming month. The people here are quite friendly and we are looking forward to the Christmas potluck on Sunday. There are lots of bird lovers nearby, most of whom maintain bird feeders on their patios. There are jam sessions once a week, as well as game nights. Tomorrow we look forward to a guided bird walk with a park naturalist, as well as warmer temperatures, so maybe we will see more than the ten or so species we saw today.

Happy Winter, everyone! Try to stay warm.

Mari

Sun-Day at the Beach

Yes, we did! We escaped the polar vortex at last! (If only for a day, because it is hitting this area starting late tonight).

We drove over to Padre Island and adjacent Mustang Island for a day at the beach and some very welcome sunshine.

We took a nice walk, then after lolling around at the beach for awhile, we went to a local Mexican restaurant for some fabulous fajitas and tacos, then headed back for the afternoon. We lucked out because no sooner had we arrived at the National Seashore visitor's center than they were loading a van for a guided birding tour. We enjoyed the information shared by our very capable volunteer hosts (who are from Wisconsin, but wintering in this area).

We saw some birds we had seen earlier in the day, but hadn't known the names of, as well as many more, including both brown and white pelicans, harriers, various plovers, sanderlings, terns, ring-billed gulls, and even sandhill cranes!

I didn't get photos of most of them, since we were mostly riding in the van, but here are a few that I did get earlier in the day that turned out pretty well:

Brown Pelican

Yellowlegs

Tern?

Willet with crab

Various shore birds

Willet

This is what you get when you can't really see your object on the camera's screen in the bright sunshine and the bird has already moved, but you see something, so you click anyway!

The Texas Wild Life

Yesterday we re-visited McKinney Falls State Park, a very nice park outside of Austin with decent-sized camping spots in a tree-filled location.

 It was a quick set-up at our site, leaving us enough time for a hike down to Onion Creek before sunset. Within a couple of minutes we saw a deer, followed by several more at various spots during our hike.

This morning we saw a bobcat up on the ridge as we walked along the creekside trail; two coyotes crossed our path on the trail, and we saw and heard a variety of birds. The temperature was a comfortable 57, although it was misting/foggy in the beginning of the hike. Not bad compared to back home where it is supposed to snow today, along with an "icy mix".

We are heading further south in time to escape the lows in the 20s tomorrow in Austin. So far our new home away from home, Big "D", has proven a more-than-satisfactory upgrade from "Little" Dora. 

One thing we hadn't anticipated when parking in a WalMart parking lot the night before last was this scenario:

In addition to the several vehicles parked immediately in front of the RV, there were also vehicles parked right behind the Jeep. Fortunately, we were able to disconnect the Jeep and back up the RV to pull out alright. A WalMart semi truck that was parked in the next aisle of parking spaces to us was able to pull straight out because the front end of the semi was at the end of the row of parking spaces. I guess this is something one has to consider  (in spite of the fact that there were plenty of empty spaces all over the parking lot...). 

Now that we are in southern Texas, we are looking forward to some home-made tamales and a good molé.

¡Adiós!

Mari and Ron

A Race with the Polar Vortex

We didn't leave early enough to escape it's ice-cold grasp, but we have found brief respite as we reached northern Texas today. We also learned this evening that even northern Texas, and points south, will not escape an extreme temperature drop in a couple of days. Right here in Sherman, Texas, where it is 38 degrees (F) (compared to 12 F in Macomb) at nearly 10 PM, it will drop from  low Friday night of 53, to a low Saturday night  of 18! On Sunday it's even worse, with a high of 27 and low of 16.

This can only mean one thing: keep going south!

We intended to, anyway. But it would be nice to flush the anti-freeze out of our water lines and fill the tank with water, but we have to make sure we are out of the freeze-zone first. One more day should get us there.

Our first day on the road was sunny, and we had a pretty sunset. After that, the full moon rose over the horizon as a bright orange ball. In the car with only a cell phone to record it, it is difficult to get a good photo of such beauty, yet to witness it without sharing is somewhat unsatisfactory. So, stubborn as it may be, I am sharing what I can. Here is a photo of the sunset and a video of the moonrise as we raced along the highway.

I hope you enjoy them!

Mari

If you can't play this video, you can see it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qwELLVCpj0w.

Big D - Ready for Action!

We took our maiden journey in Big Dora (Big D for short!) a couple months ago. After spending a week in Nashville, and both taking turns driving, we decided to try it out for the long haul this winter. It is more spacious and comfy than "Little" Dora, but very different to drive!

In preparation, Ron did some important upgrades to battery, the heating system, internet capability, and other things; we had new tires put on the front; and perhaps the biggest job, getting the Jeep ready to tow.

Temperatures this morning are in the teens, so it is high time to hightail it out of here and seek the warmer climes of the southern tier. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

--Mari

Wandering in the Desert

The Sonoran Desert, to be specific.

Moon at sunset in Anza-Borrego

After returning from Hawaii, we moved right out to Anza-Borrego, a place we had visited before our trip to Hawaii. We had already experienced the implacable winds, which we had read about on someone's blog.

But the way it howls as it passes metallic corners and edges of Dora, the banging about of anything loose, such as an empty 5-gallon water bottle, or a string tied to the camper to hold the tent down, well, it is relentless. It is as if the wind is saying: "If I can't sleep, then no one else can, either!"

So, you wait. Eventually it will die down. Maybe in a few hours, maybe in a day.

But when the prediction of gusts up to 70mph came along, and a sandstorm that would last 24 hours, we decided that maybe it was time to move on across that desert to a less windy place.

The day we left Anza-Borrego - a rain storm moving in, to be followed by a dust storm.

Dust storm during our drive east out of California

And we found it at Lake Mittry, on the border with California, near the Colorado River. Also adjacent to the Yuma Military Proving Grounds.

Sand dunes in southern California near the border with Mexico

We were glad to see water, and the birds that come with it. Birds on the open land of the windswept dry arroyos were scarce and seldom seen. Without much effort we found a very nice hiking trail up into a canyon, that went as far as the eye could see, and farther than we could hike on any given day. So, we were entertained. The price was the same as in Anza-Borrego: $0.00.

Mittry Lake

But, before long, it was time to pack it up and move to Catalina State Park in Oro Valley, near Tucson. Mari had accepted a gig there that opened up due to a cancellation. Yay!!!

Enough words to describe the place, the beauty, the hiking trails, that together are Catalina State Park and the Coronado National Forest, cannot be found. The geology of the place is millions of years old, so how could we summarize it in a few minutes?

Vermillion flycatcher, Catalina Mountains

The audience at the gig could not have been more friendly and attentive. It rates as one of my favorite gigs ever. I really enjoyed myself, and interacting with, and performing for the audience. During my performance, we were treated to an appearance of the out-of-its-range rufous-backed robin. This occurred while I was reading my sister Colette's poem "The Robin's Nest"!!!!

Also, my nephew who is studying for his doctorate in Tempe - a 2 - hour drive away, came down to see us. It was truly a special afternoon and evening.

After nearly a week in the overflow lot called Ringtail, we decided to seek quieter environs. We threw darts at a map and came up with Roosevelt Lake, east of Phoenix, located in the Tonto National Forest. The drive there from Tucson was mostly beautiful. The copper mines at Globe were surprising. As we neared the lake, the views became breathtaking.

Open pit copper mining near Globe, Arizona

Coming into Tonto National Forest

A drive down Schoolhouse Road yielded this: A mostly closed, practically empty National Park Service campground. Dry camping at its best - there was water available at the restroom. The park host was on solar power, as are we. There was one other camper, about 200 or so yards away from us. Eventually, others moved in, but it has not yet been anywhere close to full.

We have finally been able to use two of the toys we brought along: our kayaks and our bikes.

There are more day trips and activities we can talk about, but this brings you up to speed about our doings for the past couple of weeks.