Beans & rice
Palacios, Texas: Seems we brought the fog
and wind with us from Port Aransas. Even DT didn't want to run this morning.
We decided to take a drive around the area to explore a bit. The guide books
do not offer much information about Palacios... except it was named by three
shipwrecked Spanish sailors who had visions of three palaces on the shore
here as they swam towards the beach. Sorry, no palaces here.
Palacios is home to the largest shrimp fleet on the Texas Gulf Coast... but
few boats left port this morning. The other industries in this area are
power production (coal-burning, gas-burning, hydro and nuclear), cattle and
rice production.
This area is very marshy, with the Colorado River (not THE Colorado River,
of course, but the Texas Colorado River, as it is called around
these parts) running to the sea - and much of the estuary is natural bird
habitat. Extensive dikes and levees have been built to protect the land from
storms and tidal surges. Most of the homes are set up on pilings (making for
a convenient covered carport).
We drove down to Matagorda, at the mouth of the Colorado River, to visit the
Matagorda Bay Nature Park. Part of the Lower Colorado River Authority
system (LCRA -
they control the water, electricity and sewer for the river basin), the
Nature Park serves as an education center - with displays on animal and
ocean life.
Matagorda Bay Nature Park - Natural Science Center
The Nature Park also has a great RV park on-site
Most
of the displays inside the Nature Center were geared towards school
children, but I found a fascinating display about all the beans and seed
pods (sea
beans) that wash up on the local beaches.
I had never seen most of the seeds before (well, except for the coconut).
Some of the most interesting were called "Hamburger Beans". The bean to the
right is called a Red Hamburger Bean (mucuna urens) and floated up
here from Costa Rica. This sample was about one-inch across.
The State is replacing an old draw bridge with a huge new bridge between the
mainland the the barrier island.
The new bridge is being built next to the old draw bridge. Trucks to the
right belong to
construction workers - cars lined-up on the left are waiting for the draw
bridge to open.
Close up...
... and from a distance
We had lunch at the
Waterfront Restaurant - it was a very good place, set up over the
Matagorda marina with good views of the surrounding area - and the new
bridge project.
Matagorda Harbor
We made a loop back to our RV, returning through Bay City
(where, as far as we could determine, there is no bay). One topic discussed
today: where is the Texas dairy industry? In Oregon, with all that flat,
salty, marshy land - we would have dairies. I guess here, they decided to
grow rice instead. Discuss amongst yourselves.
Stupid Oregonian - this is beef country!
Tonight, we will hunker-down inside the bus, where this wind
is rocking us like we were a ship at sea. I think we have seen enough of
Palacios, so will continue east in the morning. Until my next update, I
remain, your Chamber of Commerce correspondent.
RV Park:
Serendipity Bay RV Resort. This campground is at a marina. They have
campsites of every configuration - from grassy sites to gravel sites to
paved pull-throughs. Lucky campers look out over the marina. We paid $28.50
for a paved pull-through with full hook-ups and 50 amp service. Many campers
are here for the winter - and they are fishing!