On The Road Again During the arctic winter of 2014, my family decided to pack up and head south. A few weeks ago I shared the first part of our road trip when we explored Port Aransas, Texas. Today we continue our road trip from Minnesota to Texas as we drive south from Port Aransas, TX to the Rio Grande Valley via U.S. Highway 77. Onion fields and chicken farms dotted the sides of highway 77 as we drove south toward the valley. The shadeless and parched terrain offered no respite from the sun as the cattle slowly roamed the open fields. At one point, we passed a group of about 20 men, women, and children on horseback. I wondered where they were headed as we hadn’t seen a town for dozens of miles, and we wouldn’t pass another for about the same. I hoped that they had water for the horses and young children that traveled under the mid-day sun. Within three hours, my family and I reached our new destination – Orange Grove RV Park in Edinburg, TX. Orange Grove RV Park – Edinburg, TX That’s right! We were joining the Snowbirds for the next five days (Snowbirds: North American term for people who migrate from cooler northern climates to warmer southern climates during the winter). I had visited the park a couple of times in years past, as my grandparents overwintered in Orange Grove. The things I remembered most about the park were: the way the orange blossoms perfumed the air throughout the late winter months (the park was built on an old orange grove), how grapefruit hung heavy on the trees, how we played games late into the night, and enjoyed conversations with neighbors that regularly stopped. Nothing much had changed in the park since I had been there last. The orange blossoms still perfumed the air, grapefruit the size of my three-year old daughter’s head still hung heavy on the trees, and neighbors still stopped by to visit. My family also enjoyed the park pool and hot tub, and celebrating Great-Grandpa’s 80th birthday with friends and family in the community room. Orange Grove Park was the perfect place for our young family to relax and enjoy the warm Texas weather – fresh citrus fruit to pick and enjoy, a clean pool to play in, friendly people to chat with, quiet streets to walk in, and plenty of space for games, parties, and other social gatherings. Much of the second portion of our trip was spent in the park, but we did take one day-trip to the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge – a 2,088-acre refuge. Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge Established in 1943 for the protection of migratory birds, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge happens to be positioned along an east-west and north-south juncture of two major migratory routes for many species of birds. It is also at the northern-most point for many species whose range extends south into Central and South America. The refuge is right in the middle of all this biological diversity, which is what makes this 2,088 acre parcel the ‘jewel of the National Wildlife Refuge System.’ Though small in size, Santa Ana offers visitors an opportunity to see birds, butterflies and many other species not found anywhere else in the United States beyond deep South Texas. – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Throughout the winter of 2014, one of the coldest on record, my parents escaped the icy MN winter to volunteer at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. My father helped to rebuild bridges in the park while my mother traveled to local schools to educate students about monarch butterflies. On the day that we visited Santa Ana, my father was busy building a bridge, but my mother got the day off to show us around the refuge. We had our own tour guide! The first thing that my family noticed was all of the Spanish moss dripping from every tree and vine. The soft, gray moss gave every walking trail a storybook feeling. My son was amazed that the moss didn’t need to grow in the dirt. He was also delighted with the sabal palm trees. My family spent the day in the reserve observing green jays and listening to the loud cackle of the plain chachalaca, exploring the canopy bridge, and discovering new flowers on trees and shrubs. Many of the mammals, birds, and reptiles that would usually be out and active were not due to the unusually cold temperatures that Texas experienced in the winter of 2014 – Minnesota wasn’t the only state. I would love to return to the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in the future when temperatures are warmer and wildlife is more active, but the day at the refuge was still full of exploration, new experiences, and exciting flora and fauna. Thank you, Mom, for a great day! Thanks for joining me on the second part of our journey from Minnesota to Texas and back again. This week I will share my favorite tip for long road trips with kids and dogs – you may be surprised.
Texas
Port Aransas, Texas: From Minnesota to Texas and Back Again
I’m happy to report that since my last post, almost all of the snow (18″) that was dumped on us here in Minnesota on April 15th has melted away. Mother Nature gave us what seemed to be an epic ending to our winter weather as spring has finally arrived. The scilla in the garden have bloomed and the daffodils are close behind. Relief! The same feeling we had after we decided to drive south during the cold and snowy winter of 2014. The winter we drove from Minnesota to Texas and back again. We left our house on the morning of February 27th, 2014 when the air was frigid enough to freeze exposed skin in 10 minutes or less… …and arrived at our destination – I.B. Magee Beach Park in Port Aransas, Texas within 36 hours. I.B. Magee Beach Park is located on the northern tip of Mustang Island in Port Aransas. The park consists of 167 acres, and offers 75 modern camping sites that include electric and water, plenty of primitive camping space just feet from the warm Gulf of Mexico waters, extremely clean bathhouses (if you know me, you know I can’t do dirty public bathrooms – I’d rather find a wooded area), fishing, birding, shelling, swimming, and is pet-friendly. We pulled into the park at 10:30 pm – the park was dark and quiet, but we could hear the lapping of the waves on the sand. We couldn’t see a thing on that moonless night; however, I opened the windows and asked the kids “What do you smell?” My 5-year old son replied “Fish!” and my three-year old daughter asked “What is that smell?” as she wrinkled up her nose. “That, my dears, is the smell of the ocean.” I replied as my husband and I started to laugh. I guess maybe it’s an acquired smell. As we pulled up to the park office, friendly staff members were awaiting us in the lobby. We were quickly checked in, given a park map, and guided to our campsite. We tried to be quick and quiet with our set-up as campers surrounded us. Luckily, my parents were our neighbors to the East as they were spending the winter in Texas volunteering at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. So, they took the kids while my husband and I set-up the pop-up camper. Within an hour we were all settled and ready for bed – excited to explore the island in the morning. When we awoke the next morning, we found that my parents had gone into town and bought a variety of bakery treats to greet us with. Eating outside in the sunshine with green grass beneath our feet was a gift. Bakery goods were a regular treat that our family shared up at the family cabin on summer weekends for decades, so my parents thought they’d bring that special tradition to us on the first morning of our trip. Immediately after the kids finished their doughnuts, they made a bee-line for the ocean – through the campsites, over the bunkers, and out to the sand they ran. They couldn’t wait to see this large body of water we had discussed before our trip – the thing that incensed the air with the smell of fish. Ha! The Beach I.B. Magee beach was expansive, offering a lot of play room for our family. Picnic tables lined the backside of the beach, and a fishing pier could be seen on the north side of the park. The sand was soft and clean with very little seaweed littering the ground, and the ocean waters were warmer than expected in the middle of winter. Our first morning on the beach was quite cool and windy, but it didn’t stop my daughter from making sand angels (which turned out to be much different than the snow angels she was used to making at home) in the soft sand that was warmed by the sun, and turning our dog, Brook, into a sand pup. My son was most excited to try out his new metal detector on the wide beaches. He found fish hooks, tent stakes, old cans, and a few treasures – coins that had been eroded by years of salty water and sand washing over them The next few days were warmer, so the kids braved the ocean waters, and even gave it a little taste. As you can imagine, we got a laugh out of seeing more wrinkled noses as they figured out just how salty ocean water is. The beaches at I.B. Magee were relatively empty at the end of February. There were a few walkers here and there, a couple of surf fishermen and women in the evenings, but for the most part, we had miles of open beaches to ourselves. This was perfect for treasure hunting, dog walking, shelling, sand castle building, and exploring the wildlife on the beach. Oh, and for my three-year old daughter to pretend that she was hunting the seagulls. At least, I think she was pretending. Port Aransas offers much more than stunning beaches, and we didn’t wait long to continue our explorations. Aransas Pass Ship Channel Two days into our stay we took a walk to the north end of Mustang Island where the Aransas Pass Ship Channel runs. The walk to the channel was full of wildflowers… …fishermen sitting in lounge chairs with their poles in hand, and kids flying kites. Our favorite observations were the brown pelicans flying by… …the massive shrimp boats of different shapes and colors moving at a snail’s pace through the channel… …and the playful dolphins swimming alongside the boats hoping for a shrimpy treat. I bet you’re wondering if we were lucky enough to eat some fresh Gulf shrimp. We sure were! Into Town Downtown Port Aransas is what you would expect to see in a small island town. Businesses and small homes of bright island colors paint the town happy. Funny signs greet