We decided to go to the Padre Island National Seashore today. The entrance, about 30 minutes away from the RV park, is at the north end of Padre Island. The National Seashore extends 60 miles south along a narrow strip of sand that is Padre Island. At the south end of the National Seashore, the island is split by a channel, separating the northern part from the southern portion of the island that extends further south to the Mexican border. The southern part of the Island is not part of the National Seashore but also remains undeveloped.
The park visitor's center is 4 miles south of the park boundry and you can only drive another mile after that on paved road. From there on, it is only beach driving for 55 miles. Only 4-wheel drive vehicles are recommended. There are no facilities and the Park Service says you are on your own; If you get stuck, that's your problem. They said a tow out of the sand from a company in Corpus Christie might cost anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000. I am not sure AAA would cover that. Interestingly, Texas beaches are considered public highways and only street legal and registered vehicles are allowed on the beach. They also don't allow metal detectors anywhere in the park to protect artifacts.
The visitor's center was small, but had some nice exhibits and, of course, a gift shop. It is part of what is called the "Malaquite Pavillion". The complex includes picnic tables, an auditorium, two observation decks, restrooms and a walkway to the beach. There is also a small RV park adjacent to the complex (20 sites, no hook-ups).
Activities in the park include swimming and sunbathing, picnicking, fishing, beach combing, boating, windsurfing, birding, and kayaking. The park is also home to the Kemp's ridley sea turtle, which comes ashore to nest from April to mid-July. More than half of the Kemp's ridley nests found in the U.S. are located here.
We took a short walk along the beach, got our feet wet and found a few shells. The good shells are found at two beaches down around the 25 mile road marker. We decided we didn't want to go there however, and were content with our modest collection.
Padre Island is quite a place - 60 miles of remote, undeveloped beach. In fact, the park service says it is the longest stretch of undeveloped barrier island in the world.
After our beach walk, we headed back towards town and stopped for lunch at a seafood restaurant on the Laguna Madre, the large lagoon on the other side of Padre Island.
After lunch we decided to take a look at the USS Lexington, a WW II aircraft carrier berthed at the Port of Corpus Christie about 10 miles north of the RV park. The set-up is similar to that of the USS Midway in San Diego, but the setting is not nearly as nice and the area around the location is a little "skuzzy". We didn't take the tour, although Judy said she would if I really wanted to do so.
We traveled back to the naval base along the waterfront (Shoreline Drive) passing a lot of beachfront houses/mansions that, in our opinion, displayed more money than good taste.
On the way back we passed a large and impressive college campus along the waterfront, Texas A&M at Corpus Christi. It is a very nice looking campus and very well done.
When we reached the north gate of the base, alas, it was closed. It is a weekday gate and closed on weekends. So, we had to backtrack a little, but it all worked out as we found a CVS/Pharmacy where Judy needed a few things and a grocery store where we got ice and a take-out dinner (a deli chicken).
We go on to Galveston, TX tomorrow. We will be travelling along back roads and along the coast. The weather looks good - no rain but wind can always be a factor.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment