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Monday, March 3, 2014

IN LIFE, IT'S NOT WHERE YOU GO...........

Who you travel with...
And those you see on the way. 


Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge and Judy, Bird Lady of Blogland is on our target after leaving Palmetto Island State Park in Abbeville, Louisiana.  

                                      We travel an obscure Route 82 through marsh, rice fields, oil fields and swamps that border the Gulf of Mexico.
The day is foggy.   It is hard to have the photos not look like every subject is in a cloud.  But it is .... it is in a cloud of dense fog.  Often we cannot see more than the span of two telephone posts along the highway.  

    We strain to hear the warning bells of the Oregon coastline that peal in the fog.   We hear none.  Of course, there are no rocks to collide with here.  

Suddenly, we come to the end of the road where a ferry is coming from the shore on the other side of this waterway for boats to leave the inland ports and enter the Gulf.  I guess free ferries are less expensive to run than to build a large bridge. 

We are second in line behind a pick up truck that suddenly drives out of line, leaving us at the head of the line.   
 




Being directed into position on the ferry. 

How nice!  An unobstructed view!    




This is our destination.  Even though it is mid-day, lights are on everywhere due to the fog.   



 Approaching the other side of the waterway.



               Our ferry slips under the flange of the road on the west side.





                                                                                                                            Now that the ferry and the road are at the same level, the crew member signals for the gate to lift so we can drive onto the road and eastbound traffic can enter the ferry once it is empty of the westbound traffic.   

Now we head to Port Arthur and on to Winnie, Texas and Anahuac National Wildlife Reserve to meet our friend, the Birdlady of Blogland, Judy.  

We stop at a Wal Mart with the intention of spending the night in the parking lot. I let Judy know where we are and she most graciously invites us to park next to her at the Reserve maintenance area.  We settle in and make plans for our tour that is the next day.  



Saturday, with our lunch packed, our water in hand, we pile into Judy's vehicle and take the grand tour.  What a great tour guide she is.                          


I cannot take many good photos with my Motorola Droid smart phone, but am fortunate to get a few.  It just does not pay to have your camera disappear.  Then of all things, Santa forgot to bring me another.  All I got was lumps of coal. 

I did get a shot of the critter below.  Judy said this alligator is about a year old and that mama was lurking somewhere in the area keeping an eye on this one and another that Judy got a great shot of with her camera that I wanted to swipe.  


We saw Rosegate Spoonbills.....from about fifty yards away, but still, we saw them!  

The Reserve is a wonderful place and I can see why Judy enjoys volunteering here.  We missed many birds as they had passed through in their migration north, but just being there was a treat.  

Judy also was able to take a photo of a Tri-Color Heron....her first !

                                                                We visited both the Vis and the Visitor's Center.  The Vis is in the process of being rebuilt after being demolished by the hurricane.  It is to open this week, I believe.                                                                                                                     We returned to our motorhomes and I am able to take a few photos of Judy and Emma.                                                                                                             We had dinner together and said our thank you and goodnight as we were to be on the road again Sunday. 

A special thanks to Judy for taking her day off to show us the Reserve.  

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I am so encouraged by your comments, suggestions and admonitions.  AND thank you for using the Amazon link at the top right portion of the blog.  

Stay warm to those of us who are seeking warmth and sun. For you in Florida's sunshine, put on your sunscreen and wide brimmed hats.

Please stay safe out there and may God bless you with all his riches!  

                                                                                       


















22 comments:

  1. Sure hope you aren't getting caught up in any of that horrible weather in Texas. It's beautiful here. So glad you got to meet up with the Bird Lady. That would make for a really great day. Travel safe.

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    1. We had nasty, nasty wind and a temperature drop of about 40 degrees in a matter of minutes.

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  2. Grew up on the Oregon coast--love fog! Great photos & what a good time with Judy!

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    1. I love fog too.....as long as we are not driving in it. Judy is a ball to be around. It was sooo good to laugh with her.

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  3. OH my what a great visit with a favorite blogger gal!

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
    Karen and Steve
    (Blog) RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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  4. Can't believe we just missed each other! At least we could have waived on I-10 as we passed if we had known. Enjoy and get warm but be careful of those roads this morning!

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    1. The roads were fine. If it did rain,sleet and freezing rain, it missed us completely.

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  5. It was so nice to meet up with Judy and have a free tour of the area.
    Love meeting fellow bloggers.

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    1. We also love meeting bloggers. Sorry to say that we missed Paul and Marsha Weaver in Houston and Dennis and Donna while at Potters Creek.

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  6. How nice to be able to spend time with Judy at the Reserve. With this awful weather in Texas, glad you had a good day for your visit.

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    Replies
    1. We did have a great day! Sure wish it would have worked out to meet with you and Paul.

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  7. Looks like your doing fine with your Droid. Nice that you got to meet Judy. I wonder if she will ever come West again. The grill of your big rig probably filled that pick-up trucks rear view mirror & scared it right out of the line-up.

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    Replies
    1. Our daughter says the Droid photos are better than the Cannon's.

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  8. We stopped at Anahuac last year but no one was at the visitor center so we went on. Must have been the off season. Would have loved seeing Judy again. Glad you got there the right time of year!

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    Replies
    1. Sorry that you missed Judy last year. Keep trying!

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  9. Glad we didn't have the miserable weather of the last couple of days for our visit!

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  10. Love your opening cartoon!! So sorry you had to drive through the soup to get to Judy and Emma but it was clearly worth it.

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    1. The soup drive was not that bad most of the time. But at times.....ewww. What we missed most was seeing the Gulf for the last time.

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  11. Meeting Judy is one of my #1 people goals. Along with you, Al, karen, and a dozen others in blog land.

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    Replies
    1. There are many out there I look forward to meeting.

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