We took off for a quick road trip to the gulf. Our first destination was Lake Corpus Christi State Park (no photo's taken) but we stopped to have a picnic lunch and to swim in the cool lake. Nice!Afterwards we arrived in Corpus Christi, and crossed the bridge over the ocean that leads to Mustang Island.
Due to severe drought, the beach was very sandy and treacherous for driving, not to mention windy. With care, we parked on the beach after paying for our campsite. We pitched our tent behind the dunes and headed for some sun and sand.
Man of war jellyfish.
Near the dunes, the sand was so soft and thick, we sank like we were walking in snow.
Back at camp, we started dinner...
After dark, we took our flashlights and walked the beach, catching crabs.
Breakfast outdoors taste the best!
Bold and beautiful birds!
We packed and left this morning and drove through Aransas Pass, stopping at another beach. If you look closely, you can see a lady doing stretches on the surf.
Driving through the island...
Taking the ferry across to the mainland...
Heading back home, we stopped at Choke Canyon South Beach State Park... To be honest, I was shocked at the size of the lake. We had to drive through some small towns off the beaten path to get here and I never realized this state park existed. Thanks to Texas Highways, we've learned to watch for those brown Texas state park signs!This lake was like looking across the ocean. Driving several miles down the road, we visited another state park, Choke Canyon Callahans, which shared the same lake. Beautiful!
Alligators at both state parks...
This is definitely not a good place to swim..
The fish here are HUGE. We spied this catfish head. While peering over "gatorville" we noticed large shapes swimming in the distance. Taking binoculars, Alan realized they were FINS, not gators that were swimming around. The fish were massive.If you are looking for a great place to fish, swim (they have designated beaches) and gator hunt, visit these state parks!
It was a great mini road trip. Only used up 1 and a half tanks of gas. Time to renew our Texas State Park pass and plan our next trip! Gotta love Texas!
Oh mom that was soo much fun!!!
ReplyDeleteI’m so jealous; you get to go to so many wonderful places! The water and sand was so pretty and the dog has grown so much! She is a giant!
ReplyDeletePatty, drive down here, and let's go. I'll split the cost for gas and food and don't mind camping again! It's a beautiful beach! We can use my camping gear. The tent is big enough for 8 people. We can stop by San Antonio along the way...
ReplyDeleteSounds like its time for me to head south again too :)
ReplyDeleteOh rats! I left a comment but then my computer got kicked off line. It's rainy and windy here today! I think Texas is beautiful and wouldn't mind vacationing there ...what an adventure that would be ... the beach is sooo nice and it looks like you had most of it to yourselves! What a nice road trip, it looks like LOTS of fun and the weather looks so lovely. Thanks for sharing your pictures with us!
ReplyDeleteIt looks as though you had the beach to yourself. Can anyone camp on the beach? I wonder if what you saw were redfish. My h goes down to the coast to fly fish for redfish. Aransas pass and Goose Island State park. Those redfish make wonderful eating.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you were able to avoid the alligators! Looks like a wonderful trip ... hooray!
ReplyDeleteYes, anyone can camp on beach after obtaining a state park permit. You can camp primitive on beach, or use a water/electric site, which to my reluctance we had to do, but due to the high winds on the surf, I didn't feel like sleeping under a collapsed tent. All of Texas was under a high winds advisory...
ReplyDeleteOur next visit, I will bring a smaller tent and try the primitive beach. Have up to 2 miles of secluded coast.
The fish we saw were at another state park, several miles north on I-37/detour country roads. No where near the coast, but the lake was so huge, it was amazing.
We will have to try visiting Goose Island state park. Sounds interesting. Last year we camped at Galveston Island, (just before hurricane) and found ourselves attacked at night by some type of stinging bug (not mosquito)... these things would sting through our clothes. Thankfully they aren't at Mustang Island!
Y'all just be sure and pick me up and bring me with you when you stop in San Antonio!
ReplyDeleteAnd holy freakin ocean creatures, Batman! That Man o War is huuuuuge! But what a beautiful blue!
And lots of gators around the Texas coast. There is one State Park down in Brazoria County...Brazos Bend, maybe???...that we brought our bikes to once when we lived in Houston. Allison was on her own bike and although I can't remember exactly when we went, she could not have been older than 5. Ethan was in a trailer being pulled by Steven and I was on my own bike, of course. Anyway, we are riding along having a great time and start crossing a very low, wooden bridge, maybe 10 feet wide, and all of a sudden realize that there are alligators lined all up and down and around us! Of course we're in the middle of nowhere and it looks like 100 miles either way, ahead or back, to safety. I was sure my babies were gator bait!
Texas definitely deserves it's props for their State Parks! I think my favorite is Pedernales Falls.