Oil Wells, Wind Farms, and Roadkill Heaven

When you drive your rig 386 miles in a day with no one to talk to, it gives you plenty of time to talk to yourself. ;) What a road trip it was today! I started out from Fort Stockton, TX, and headed east on I-10. I've been trying to find a good word to describe western Texas...desolate?, seemingly uninhabited by humans?, starkly scenic with buttes and mesas?. Probably, all of those things apply. It seems that man has found a way to take advantage of this landscape by drilling below for oil and grasping the power of the wind above ground. I saw lots of oil wells pumping away and numerous wind farms with turbines plying the air.

As I got closer to San Antonio, I entered the "Texas Hill Country". Some steep grades, marvelous fall colors from atop the hills, and increased traffic were surrounding me. Since Emma was in her traveling crate, she didn't seem to appreciate my comments on the passing scenery.

A common factor to the changing terrains was the abundance of roadkill. Mangled deer were abundant enough throughout the trip to remind me of I-90 in Wisconsin. There were also raccoons, a few skunks, and an armadillo (now I really know I'm in Texas). It wasn't until my second trip to Texas that I saw a live armadillo.

The passing traffic, that left me in their dust, seemed to be dominated by deer hunters. I saw many buck racks in the backs of pickups going by. Each pickup also had several coolers on board. I'm sure these were packed with the butchered deer. That was quite unlike driving the roads in Minnesota and Wisconsin at this time of year. Hunters there just drape the deer over their pickups as they motor on down the road. Because of the warm temps in Texas, hunters must butcher their kills right away and transport the parts in coolers.

As I merged back onto I-10 after a stretch break for both Emma and me, I ended up right in the middle of the other four ladies (Maxine, Connie, Jo, and the fourth lady) from LoW-Hi. I waved and tooted as I moved around them, but don't know if they recognized me.

Eventually, I ended up at River Bend RV Park in Luling, TX, about 50 miles east of San Antonio. I had put the park's address in my GPS and it led me right to a cow pasture! Luckily, I had studied the map and knew that my destination was about five miles down the road. The cost for this Passport America Park is $12.50/night. I have full hookups and even ran into the resident goat, Sam, who has figured out how to get out of his pen to partake of the greener grass on the other side of the fence. ;)

Rain is forecast for tonight, but as long as it's not severe, I'll head out in the morning. I think it's under 250 miles to Anahuac NWR from here, so I should be able to get through Houston and settle in tomorrow. Since it will be my third time volunteering there, it should feel like arriving home.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

The Sunday Blast from the Past

The pictures and text are all mixed up this week, and there appears to be nothing I can do about it. So, this is one of the endangered Ocelots that was captured by the biologist. The study of these rare cats has been going on for years, and the special habitat that they require can be found on the refuge.
The habitat is presently at capacity with no more territories available for young cats.

One of the things I did on the refuge was work the hunter check station. It seems odd to have a hunting season for deer, feral hog, and Nilgai when the temps are in the eighties.

This roadrunner hung around the volunteer village RV sites. More than once he plucked up birds to eat. First, he'd grab them around the neck and then beat them back and forth on the ground until they were dead. Kind of a grizzly scene to watch!

There were butterflies everywhere in the gardens surrounding the visitor's center.

Sunset at Osprey Overlook...

Armadillos abound on the refuge.

The next three shots are duplicates. I have no idea why that happened.

By the end of October, 2007, I arrived at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge for my first tour of duty there. This refuge is located on the southern Texas coast of the Gulf of Mexico, about twenty miles east of Harlingen.

(This was supposed to be at the beginning of the post)

One of the blue metal mark butterflies.

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It is a birder's paradise.

This, of course, was supposed to be the first picture.

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That's a kind of jumbled view of things at Laguna. Sorry about that.

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Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy