Camped at Mesquite Campgrounds on North Padre and watched hundreds of pelicans fly north, in groups of 20 – 50 birds. Decided to head to SPI (South Padre Island, of course. Seems like every beach town needs its own acronym) to spend a night in a hotel for laundry and a shower. La Quinta had a good deal so we pulled in and registered for the night. Should have realized something was happening by all the out of state license plates in the parking area – Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota. Turns out spring break was still in full swing and the 19 – 20 somethings were all over the place, wearing flip-flops and beads and flirting madly. We did our laundry and tried to settle in for the night but our “neighbors” had other ideas. Their music was so loud it sounded as if it was coming in via a high def headset. They finally calmed down around 3:30 am and we slept until 7.
Got to the nature center across the street just as it opened and walked the boardwalk with a couple of volunteers from up north – winter Texans as they are called here. Saw many good birds including soras, black-bellied whistling ducks and pectoral sandpipers. But the best birds were the scissor-tailed and vermillion flycatchers that flew into the marsh just as we entered the walk.
Had a nice lunch and scoped out the county park at the tip of the island but the $60 fee seemed way too high so we left SPI and booked two nights at an over 55 resort – at no cost to us. Sort of like a timeshare for RVs; they gave us the literature but spared us the sales pitch.
We visited Estero Llano Grande SP early the next morning to see if we could tag along on the bus tour they had planned but it was full, so we did the park on our own. Added the fulvous whistling duck, the green jay and the Audubon oriole to our RGV list and left, hungry and happy, to have lunch at Nana’s Taqueria before going to the Frontera Audubon Sanctuary and adding the clay colored thrush to our list. It’s starting to get really hot. The temperature reached the mid 80s but luckily there was a strong breeze (wind, actually) blowing at the campgrounds so we didn’t really need to test the air conditioner yet. It’s just a matter of time, though; New Mexico is only about a week away.
Got to Santa Ana NWR the next morning for the 8:30 guided bird walk with volunteers (and winter Texans) Sue and John. Saw white faced ibis and least grebe, two trip birds. We left the walk half way to catch the afternoon tram around the park – a welcome respite from walking as the temperatures climbed through the 80s to near 90. At one point we disembarked from the tram and took a trail to the banks of the Rio Grande, only a stone’s throw from Mexico. Our guides warned the group that surveillance cameras were all along the border pointing towards the river and picking up everything, so if anyone needed to relieve themselves in the woods, they should sure to stand on the south side of a bush facing the Rio.
Walmart keeps showing up as a place to “camp” in our travel guides and apps so we decided it was time to try one. There was a Supercenter on our way to Falcon SP and we needed a few things so off we went. Walmart is becoming a go-to destination for us this trip. They are outside of every populous area on every major road. They carry everything! We’ve bought dishes and washcloths, peanut butter and milk, velcro and charging cables, sunglasses and gallons and gallons of spring water. After using their rest rooms to get ready for bed, we video -called home from the parking lot and had a nice virtual visit with everyone at Jen’s for pizza and Allie’s haircutting before pulling the shades and calling it a night.
The Ultimate Road Trip 