Our first week has been wonderful. It is such a joy to be back on the Texas coast. This is our third time to volunteer at this park but we have been camping here for over 20 years.
We’ve been birding every day
and seeing some wonderful birds. We have
some favorite spots to bird here in the park.
We’ve only been on the new fishing pier once so far. It is really nice.
One of our favorite excursions on our day off is to take the ferry over to Port Aransas (Port Aransas is a city on Mustang Island). I always think of it being good luck to see a dolphin during the ride and we always do see them.
The Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center is a hot spot for birding. Hurricane Harvey took out the boardwalk three years ago and it has been rebuilt and is even better than before. There are an unbelievable number of birds to see. We spent a couple of hours watching the action.
There are a few other places that we like to bird. We stopped at this park and saw several dolphins.
For the first time since his back surgery last year, Mark played disc golf. This is a brand new 9-hole disc golf course. He took it very easy.
It’s not all play - we have started our volunteer work here at the park. Our official bird walks will start next week. But in the meantime, there is plenty to keep us busy.
There are two birding areas and a couple of other places around the park that have bird feeders that need to be filled.
The hummingbird feeders have been sitting in the sun for months and needed a really good scrubbing.
We also do roving birding where we walk around the park in our volunteer shirts and answer any questions anyone might have. Since we’re going to be walking around birding anyway, it’s a great way to get in volunteer hours.
For the first time ever the Texas state parks have been issuing t-shirts instead of the collard shirts. The shirts are a pretty hunter green color that doesn't show up on the pictures.
We’ve returned to a few of our favorite restaurants and will be trying some new restaurants in the future. The weather has been very nice and comfortable. Every evening we take a walk around the park. The sunsets are beautiful on the Texas coast.
Looks like you are in your happy place! That is great. It will be a nice break after house stuff. Will you need to run back periodically?
ReplyDeleteHow do you feel about T-shirts vs. collared shirts? It seems they might be cooler but I don't like wearing T-shirts nearly as well.
We don't plan to return on any specific schedule, and probably not at all on these two months. We both very much prefer T-shirts to the heavy, collared shirts. The old shirts looked exactly like staff shirts, and we prefer to be clearly labeled as volunteers!
ReplyDeleteLooks like the state park is up and running. VC at Santa Ana is still closed but trails open. Volunteers aren't returning until thanksgiving. So we are the only volunteers here still. There are 8 SCAs to help biology though. We have been busy cutting down many tepehuaje trees that overhang the RV pads. Life span on them is about 10 years. Some came down during Hannah. Nine RV pads are covered with branches and tree trunks. Enjoy your time at Goode Island.
ReplyDeleteVirginia
I think all the state parks are open with some covid rules in place. Sounds like yall are getting some good work finished.
DeleteI am glad Mark's back is good enough to get back to some disc golf. How did it go? Any pain or strange feelings? Enjoy your two months at your favorite place..
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to say! I have varying numbness and tingling, and sometimes pain. I've had a bit more since we arrived here, but we are spending a great deal more time on our feet and moving around, so who knows??!!
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