Gators, Rednecks and Pirates

We spent a few nights in a state park in Ocean Springs, just outside Biloxi.

Biloxi’s waterfront has miles of pure white sand beach. You can park right on the side of the road. I had never thought of Biloxi as a beach town.

The main drag along the gulf is populated with dozens of casinos. We had heard that many of them have free or nearly free RV parking. We checked out a few with the car. Some RV lots were right by  the water but had no power, water, etc.  We have talked to some RV’ers who use casinos often for overnighting. I'm not sure if staying at a casino would actually save any money. For me it would however, having tried my luck (or lack of it) a few times. Gambling for me is like tearing up $20 bills and that’s not entertainment.

The waterfront at the state park, only a few miles away from the beach, looked more like this. The wildlife was ever present. I don’t know how long this guy was but he was neither young nor skinny and there were several more just like him.

I’ve heard it said “ If you have ever been involved in a custody battle over a dog……..you just might be a redneck”. Now who wouldn't fight to be the proud owner of this cute little puppy.

You might also be a Redneck if you are a frequent customer of this place.

We finally found someone selling Crawfish at a market in Ocean Springs. Not that there weren't numerous places along the highways offering them. The problem is, with the Unit travelling at highway speed, a quick U-turn to go back and get some is rarely an option .

Two pounds made a nice meal, but it took about an hour to eat them. They remind me of lobster but they are a lot more work. 

The next stop, Greenville AL. Not much going on here usually, but we happened to hit the very weekend they have their annual Medieval Festival. Participants travel from all over to dress up in period costumes and party for a few days. There was everything from jousting to axe throwing to demonstrations with birds of prey. You could get venison or rabbit, cooked in a cauldron over a fire. We passed on that, opting for a hot dog instead. There were stalls selling all kinds of paraphernalia. Things like pirate boots, swords, tin shields, clothing and so on. It seems that for some this is not just a hobby, it’s a business. And they take it very seriously. Many times as we strolled around the venue people would wish us “Good Morrow”, and the “art’s”  and “thou’s” were also abundant.

Here is a bit of the Grand Parade. The world of fantasy is alive and well.

So, we’re slowly working our way east before we turn north.

Actually, we’re waiting for the wind and the snow to stop at home.

On the Bayou

Thanks for dropping by. I haven't blogged in a while, all's well, just gettin' lazy.

If you feel like listening to a little local music in the background while you read this, just click on the highlighted text above. This is Cajun country. 

We found this little gem of a state park in Grand Isle Louisiana.

It's on the gulf, it's quiet and more than half the sites here are unoccupied, even during march break. A nice change from Galveston, which was a bit of a zoo last week.

This is our spot, the beach is just on the other side of the dunes behind the Unit.

This is the beach, a stark contrast to Galveston, and the weather has been fantastic. We've even had to swat a few mosquitoes at dusk. Not complaining!

Grand Isle is a ways off the beaten track about 50 miles south of New Orleans. The road ends here so it's not on the way to anywhere. We drove through miles of bayou country to get here. The drive was mostly along the Bayou Lafourche which is like a canal that leads to the gulf. Fishing boats were docked as much as 25 miles inland from the gulf, quite a commute to get to work.

Shrimp are big business here as is demonstrated by the countless "shrimpin' trawlers" we saw, moored along the bayou.

There are also miles of "fields" that look like this.

We guessed either rice paddy's or crawfish farms. It turns out they are both. These ingenious good ol' boys have combined the two. The rows of "dots" you see are crawfish traps placed in between the rows of rice. And what goes better with crawfish than rice?

Speaking of crawfish and good ol' boys, we stopped at a crawfish shack to see if we could get a few pounds "to go". We could barely make out what the owner was saying. It turns out (after we got a translation from another customer) that he only boiled crawfish to order and it would be about half an hour. It's a strange feeling when you know he's speaking English but you have a clue what he's saying. We continued on our journey. 

Unfortunately we found there are no such shacks on Grand Isle but they do have a few of these, which makes up for it.

There are pelicans here by the thousands. Yesterday afternoon we walked out to the end of the fishing pier and witnessed a pelican feeding frenzy. I had to zoom in a bit so the video is not too clear.

And here's just one more picture that I think says a lot, not really a food picture, more of a "what it's all about" picture. Who doesn't have fond memories of roasting weenies over a fire.

Tomorrow we continue our meandering drive home, stopping next, near Biloxi Mississippi for a few days. 

From Buzzards to Seagulls

I can't believe 9 days have passed since I last posted.

After leaving Fort Stockton a day ahead of  schedule we spent a few days in Llano River State Park in Junction TX. They have tubes to float down the river but the water was a bit cold, "mountain stream" cold, so we passed on the tubing. Good hiking trails though.

This rig pulled in on our second night.  He said it towed just fine. A Subaru pulling a 20 foot Airstream.

This park is abundant in three kinds of wildlife. Turkeys, deer and armadillos. Armadillos have poor eyesight and hearing and since their sensitive noses are usually in the ground, you can get quite close to them.

Tara wasn't sure what to make of this armour clad beast.

Our next stop was Port O’Connor, between Galveston and Corpus Christi, on the gulf. It was nice to see some seagulls and pelicans again instead of just buzzards. We stayed here for 3 days.

Last August, Hurricane Harvey made landfall about 80 miles southwest of  Port O’Connor at Port Aransas, as a Category 4. Port Aransas was levelled and is still recovering. On it’s way back out to the gulf Harvey came within a few miles of Port O’Connor but as a category 1. There are a lot of new roofs here but damage was minimal in comparison.

Port O'Connor is a serious fishing destination.  Every morning I watched hundreds of pick-ups towing all kinds of fishing boats to the boat launches. Being on a protected bay most boats have very little freeboard and flat bottoms. There are some interesting setups. Here’s one that is both airboat and outboard (why didn't I think of that?). A nautical ATV.

We actually coaxed Tara to get her feet wet at the public beach in town. It took a bag full of treats to get her in this far. Definitely not a water dog.

For the past few days we have been on Galveston Island at Jamaica Beach. The weather has been cool but we finally got to spend a few hours on the beach today,using the beach umbrella as a windbreak, of course. Incidentally, today was only our third "beach day" of the entire trip. It is crowded in Galveston, march break. 

For the next few days we will be at a State Park in Louisianna. No beach, but quiet! 

Part 3 - In and around Lajitas

Well, that's it for our time in Lajitas. Stunning scenery, good food and great weather. It was 30 degrees yesterday, 32 today, And in the past two weeks here it never got below 20 during the day. Welcome heat after the frigid first 10 weeks of the trip.

Today we headed towards home instead of away from it for the first time in 13 weeks. Lajitas is 4200 miles from home. The plans we have laid for the next 40 or so days will include 9  stops over 2100 miles, ending up in Edisto Beach State Park, between Charleston and Savannah. Beach time has become a priority because we didn't get much of it on the way down due to the weather. Our beach umbrella has been infinitely more useful as a windbreak than for shade. So that's what's coming up in the next 6 weeks. 

Here's a (not so) quick recap of the past week in no particular order.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Lajitas has a world class golf course. The 18 holes are spread out over 13 miles of rugged terrain. Some holes have tee's several hundred feet above the fairway. And the best part, if you don't play golf, you can rent a cart and drive around the course. It took us over an hour and a half to drive it.

The Rustic Iron BBQ in Terlingua is allegedly the best for a hundred miles around (and possibly the only BBQ joint for a hundred miles). It doesn't look like much but this guy knows his business. We got brisket, turkey and a sausage link.

We've all heard the term "adobe" to describe south western traditional buildings. There are lots of remnants of these buildings here. Adobe is defined as a brick made of clay, earth and straw and baked in the sun. Works for a while and then slowly disintegrates. 

And the other, older architectural style, "pile of rocks".

According to the historical markers, these shelters were erected by shepherds and goat herders to protect them from coyotes and mountain lions. I would think, more likely, protection from the sun.

Wildlife is scarce here due to the harsh climate but buzzards abound. As for animals that walk on 4 legs, this is about it.

Javelinas. Finally got some pics of Javelinas on the hoof, not "napping" at the side of the road. They run wild here, and although they look like a pig they are more closely related to the hippopotamus.

And these guys grazing at the side of the road.

Here's a short video of what it looks like to drive off a cliff in a motorhome. This was just before Terlingua after we left Lajitas this morning. If you open it up to "Full Screen" it looks better.

Tonight we are in an RV park in Fort Stockton, TX. I think maybe I should have researched this one a little more. It's nothing more than a dust bowl, no grass, no trees, nothing.

And to add insult to injury we just came back from the Fort Stockton Walmart....at least 30 units parked there, people milling about, drinks in hand, BBQ's smoking, a real party atmosphere.

We were planning to be here for 2 nights. Instead we're leaving tomorrow, a day early, for a state park in Junction, TX. You can't win 'em all.