Aransas Refuge & Padre Island Seashore

Thursday we set out early (for us) with Mark and Dortha at 9:30 for breakfast and on to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.  We went here last year but that was before I had my National Parks Passport.  We’ve had to backtrack to some places just so I could get a stamp in my book.  It was so cold and dry last year that there wasn’t a lot to see in the way of wildlife.  The alligators in the lake were all bunched up in a mud pit because there was no water in the lake.  Well, that wasn’t the case this year.  There has been SO much rain here this winter that we were amazed how different everything looked.  Even the whooping cranes that come here every year weren’t hardly around last year.  We did manage to see a few of them this time.  We also saw A LOT of butterflies.  I’m not an expert in naming them, I just think they are pretty.

I DO know what a Monarch looks like

 

And a Swallowtail

 

 

The alligators seemed to be very happy with all the water in the lake this year

This huge raccoon seemed to think we had something for him to snack on but we were very well behaved and obeyed the signs that said, “Do Not Feed Wildlife”.

The whooping cranes were pretty far away but Mark let me use his telephoto lens.  I LOVE that lens and I’m going to have to buy one before we head to Alaska.

Mark & Rod had to use binoculars to find the whooping cranes

Did I mention how much I LOVE Mark’s lens??

Mark spotted this little armadillo foraging on the side of the road

We spotted this crop duster on the way home.  Did I mention how much I LOVE Mark’s lens??

Friday was going to be a beautiful day again so we headed out to the Padre Island National Seashore.  This is another place for Dortha and I to get a stamp in our books.  They do a lot there to protect and save the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles (click on anything in blue to learn more about  it) so Dortha and I decided to adopt a sea turtle.  I’m so excited to do something to help the turtles.

First we had to wait our turn to board the ferry

Then we drove along the causeway to the beach

After Mark put the jeep in four wheel drive we even got to DRIVE on the beach.  There were a lot of people camping but most were packing up and heading home because it got REALLY windy.

After leaving the beach we stopped at Whataburger By The Bay for a late lunch.  Corpus Christi is where Whataburger started so we had to stop there even though I had a chicken sandwich.

So that ended another GREAT day of site seeing with Mark & Dortha.  Thank you, Mark for letting me use your lens again today.  Did I mention how much I LOVE it??