Today we head further west to Texas. We are booked into the Wilderness Oaks RV Park in Rockport about 30 minutes out of Corpus Christi.
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| Headin' west on Interstate 10 |
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| We stopped at the Texas travel center. Some helpful folks here. |
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| Sunday traffic is a bit light thankfully. |
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| Lots of refining activity near Beumont. |
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| Heading into downtown Houston. I wouldn't try this during a busy weekday, but Sunday traffic wasn't too bad. |
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| Some tight underpasses. |
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| Wide open freeways. |
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| Flat and straight |
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| Lots of Navy T6-Texans doing touch and go's at the airport adjacent to the campground. |
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| Our site. Nice to have an end site. Doesn't seem so crowded. |
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| Busy campground. Very nice folks and well maintained. |
On this portion of the Gulf coast there are barrier islands just off shore that protect the mainland from storms. The islands are mostly sand, have great beaches and of course are popular with tourists. The islands are fully exposed to the elements and are constantly shifting and being rebuilt. Hurricanes have hit this area as they have in other areas of the Gulf. The most recent was Hurricane Harvey that hit the Rockport area in August 2017. It was very devastating and costly. Damage was estimated at $125 billion which ties with Katrina for the costliest hurricane to hit the US.
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| Some prosperous areas |
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| Still rebuilding |
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| Lots of work yet to do. |
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| Heading over to Port Aransas. |
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| Three drilling rigs in dry dock. |
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| Heading across the channel to Mustang Island |
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| A free ferry ride across the channel. They had four ferries running across the channel so the wait time was under 15 minutes. The ferry ride takes under 5 minutes. |
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| A quick trip across town to the beach. |
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| Always a breeze. Great for kites. |
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| Ships make their way through the channel to port. |
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| Great kite-surfing weather. |
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| Miles of solid sandy beach to traverse |
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| More remote beaches too. |
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| Although some of these beaches had some very soft sand. |
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| We made our way further south from Mustang Island and then onto Padre Island. |
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| Padre Island has been occupied by many folks in its history. Natives, the Spanish, cattle ranchers and oil companies have used the resources of the Island. Now much of it is protected by a National Park. |
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| Vast grasslands cover the sand dunes. |
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| The Gulf coast collects a lot of 'stuff' The water and wind currents bring in material from a long way. Sea beans from South America have appeared on its shores. Along with a lot of garbage too, unfortunately. |
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| You can drive down the beach for 60 miles. Just don't get stuck. It can cost you thousands of dollars for a tow! |
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| We only went a mile down the shore. |
....and that was Our View From Here!
Love that area around Rock Port have been there many times before Harvey, we camped right on the beach on Mustang Island next to the pier in 2006, loved it there. The USS Lexington in Corpus Christi is an amazing aircraft carrier to explore when you are in the area.
ReplyDeleteWe have always wanted to make it to that area, if fact we had plans to do so last year but the hurricane damage kept us away.
ReplyDeleteGreat beaches. Wanted to see that area at some point so thanks for showing us your pictures.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to that area. Thanks for taking me along, I enjoyed the sights. Keep on having fun and staying safe.
ReplyDeleteGlad I got to see South Padre through your eyes, since we weren't able to get there this year! You guys are sure having a great time and seeing the country! Love it!
ReplyDeleteThe weather was so crappy (snow) when we were in that area that we skipped Padre and Corpus Christie so it's nice to see it through your blog.
ReplyDeleteThis is perfect because we want to look here next year! Show me all the good stuff, oh and find nice looking cheap campsites too please. Lol.
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