Still at Lost Maples. I’ve worked on everything I downloaded before we left on this trip. I’ve answered every email I can. Now I need internet again. I need fresh stuff to work on. Took a morning walk and got the black-capped Vireo. Didn’t get the Golden-cheeked Warbler. We might be able to get internet at the Ranger Station. If you get this on Tuesday, we did.
Monday
Went a little farther, but not much; another 175 miles. Lost Maples State Park west of San Antonio. One of our favorite places. Winding back roads all the way. No internet service. I’ll put everything in the outbox so it can go as soon as we stumble across internet service again.
A hot afternoon and a cool stream.
Eddie and Annie swam to Survivor Island.
Sunday
On the road. We didn’t go far, Choke Canyon State Park, about a hundred miles. No internet service so I can’t update the trip map yet.
Saw some cool birds: Verdin, Bullocks Oriole, Bewick’s Wren, Olive Sparrow, Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Heard a Pauraque tonight.
Here is our campsite.
That’s Jeff and Carol’s fifth wheel trailer in the next site. We’re caravanning for the first part of the trip, then they’ll peel off and head back to the beach while we continue on to Nevada.
In Colorado
Heat builds during the day, moisture collects, and thunderstorms blow up in the afternoon. Here on the gulf, there is always plenty of heat and moisture around. Thunderstorms can happen at any time. A giant one happened this morning. Here is what the satellite image looked like just after the weather band passed over us from the west and headed offshore.
An inch and a half of rain. It happened pretty fast and we had nice weather the rest of the day.
Meanwhile, on the beach:
Red Knot.
Spotted Eagle Ray.
He was not having a good day.
We finished up with a Life Bird at the Birding Center. Black Rail. We weren’t even looking for a Black Rail, but Jon called and told us it was there. We didn’t actually see it. You don’t get to see Black Rails. You just get to hear them. If you actually got to see one, that would be like an Uber-bird.
We heard several of them.
The bad news is.
Our refrigerator died. It’s five years old and as the weather warms, so does the internal temperature. It wants to stay in the forties. That doesn’t keep food well.
The good news is that Wes and his crew could come right to our site, take out a window, and pass the old refrigerator out, the new refrigerator in, and put everything back together!
The window the 250 pound refrigerator is going to go out.
Going out.
The new one going in.
Put the window back in place.
And, two hours later, done.
Now our refrigerator temperature is back in the 30s.
Tires and refrigerator. We’re ready to roll. We’re leaving on our Summer Trip on Sunday. First we head west to a conference in Las Vegas in June. Then for Colorado and a family reunion in July. After that….