Heading to the Lone Star State

On Thursday, March 23, we drove from New Orleans through Baton Rouge and into Texas. Traveling on I-10W was an experience to remember. I am not a big fan of interstate travel under the best conditions, and, unfortunately, conditions were not the best this day. Actually, I doubt that the day had much to do with those conditions. Interstates in Louisiana had already proven to be far less than ideal, and towing a trailer on those bumpy roads caused us both misery.

Much to our sorrow, when we crossed the Texas state line (still on I-10W), road conditions did not improve for a while. Eventually, the worst parts were interrupted by patches of much better road surfaces, so at least we had a chance to breathe deeply for a little while.

Texas I-10W Visitor Center boardwalk over
Blue Elbow Swamp.

A stop at the Texas Visitor Center just over the state line was a welcome relief, plus we wanted to get some information about spring wildflowers and other things of interest in Texas. This center was very much like going into a national park visitor center. Two knowledgeable employees were available to help visitors, and behind the center was a boardwalk over a large marshy area called Blue Elbow Swamp. We stayed quite a while, watching some small snakes and turtles and finding several interesting sets of tracks. The ecology of this swampy area has changed since the interstate was built, causing the bald cypress to struggle to stay alive.

Broad-banded water snake.

Dragonfly, female (Pachydiplax longipennis).

We think this is turtle tracks.

Alligator tracks. How cool, right?

Back in the truck and bracing for more bumps, we continued to Beaumont and found Hidden Lake RV Park. Another gem of an RV Park, we happily pulled into our spot and settled in for the evening. After dinner we walked over to the hidden lake for which this campground is named, and it was beautiful in the fading light.

Hidden Lake at our campground by the same name.

Smoky had found what looked to be a promising bird-watching area just a short distance from our campground, so after breakfast on Friday, March 24, we headed to Tyrrell Park to check out its Cattail Marsh, covering 900 acres of wetlands, surrounded by walking trails, with several boardwalks and viewing platforms. What a treat to spend the morning and part of the afternoon watching a variety of ducks and wading birds in this beautiful area. Smoky was ecstatic because this was his first opportunity to photograph some of these birds. I'll post photos from that shoot later.

--Shann