Finally, back to the islands and Port A on Sunday!! I most often went there at least once a week, but a lot of times more than one time!! It's been since May 28th since I've driven to the town of Port Aransas....when the supertanker,
ANNE, arrived with all the fanfare. Why such a long time since visiting? Well, the weather, the heat, a holiday [the 4th] and most of all road construction that hindered safe driving. The island highway is just two lanes and for the most part 60MPH speed limit. Under normal conditions it felt quite safe driving, but there HAVE BEEN several fatal accidents in the past few years and the state and county decided there needed to be some changes done. Widening the highway was their priority. So, for the last year or so road construction was imminent along the most 'crucial' sections, but the project has been going on for the last three years....Then, just recently, barricades and highway pylons made the road a lot narrower and the speed limit was cut down to 40-50 miles an hour, but here in Texas, speed limits and warnings are just guidelines...in other words, no-one pays heed. I really didn't enjoy driving there at all while the highway was torn up and road equipment and semi trucks loaded with road base and then hot asphalt on the cars' undercarriage was a forever happening!!. Lately, like the last couple of months, the highway was uneven, barricaded, and speeders. That kept me away for the most part. I figured that perhaps they're close to completing it by now, so I took a chance. NICE! About 90% done. They've widened it in critical areas, they've added a center lane near residential areas for those making turns into their neighborhood streets so they're not impeding in traffic, they've added passing lanes in areas that need it so the heavy traffic can get around those that drive too slow! It's gonna help with accidents, I think, with such heavy traffic going to the islands' beach access roads and into town. Port Aransas is growing leaps and bounds, the traffic will NEVER get lighter. In my experiences driving in this area of the county, the only time you're not in heavy traffic is on Sunday around 5 a.m. After 8 a.m. it's often bumper to bumper....during holidays and during college Spring Break, it's stop and go with advancing along the road at a turtle's pace...on an OPEN highway.
I arrived and hit my two favorite birding hotspots. Nothing much that early. A Least Bittern and American Coots along with the resident alligator [photo] at my first stop. The second area down the road...nothing but grackles and butterflies. So, off to Charlie's Pasture to walk the boardwalk. Golly, was it dry! Hardly any water along the salt flats. After walking there, the sun was beginning to beat down on my shoulders, but I wanted to drive to
ARK [a rehabilitation facility for wounded animals]. And from there, along the backside of the institute, I can walk a partial area along the jetty. For a while I sat on the huge boulders and just watched the boaters, the fishermen, and scanned the horizon, enjoying the sea breeze and slow motion of the sparkling water. Eventually, I walked a bit more and then left for home with a pitstop at the grocery store for...........more cat food! lol
Now that my narration is over, I'll share a bit with my Sunday Photo Album:
Fishermen along the NORTH Jetty and I think this is a pink trumpet shrub [not sure]
Brown Pelicans at the end of the South Jetty
Part of the Marine Science Research Pier and Passion Vine blossom
Injured Barred Owl at ARK and monarch butterly
Boaters on the Channel and Anchored tanker [waiting for pilot to board probably]
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From NBC "UNITED STATES -
It turns out that more people are walking at all hours of the day. A new study shows more Americans are getting out and walking. The data shows a steady increase in walking over the past decade for both transportation and leisure. Experts say walking is an easy way for people to get exercise."
