February 12, 2006

February 12, 2006

La Feria to Padre Island National Seashore, Texas

YEAR 2 DAY 240

 

Today was sunny and warm.

This morning we prepared for departure, and left La Feria RV Park about 11:00 A.M.. We drove east on Hwy. 83 to Harlingen, then turned north on Hwy. 77. From "The Valley" to Corpus Christi is a long stretch of nothing but scruffy desert. Much of that stretch is King Ranch land. King Ranch is a massively huge ranch in southern Texas. If I recall correctly from our visit there last year, it is the largest ranch in the world. We stopped for lunch at a road side rest area. After lunch Joanne drove for awhile. We changed drivers again when we turned off Hwy. 77 onto Hwy. 44, heading east into Corpus Christi.

We drove through Corpus Christi, and across the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway / Laguna Madre onto Padre Island. The road became P( for Park )22 leading into Padre Island National Seashore. We stopped at the Visitor Centre at Malaquite Beach to get a camping permit. Malaquite Beach has a small National Park serviced campground, and camping is permitted along the first 5 miles of South Beach. Just drive onto the beach, pull over beside the sand dunes, and you're camping. As we were getting our free beach camping permit, I asked the Park Ranger for a Volunteers In Parks / V.I.P. application package for Padre Island National Seashore. Well ... talk about being in the right place at the right time. The Malaquite Beach Campground Host that was supposed to work until March 1 left today due to a family emergency. The next Campground Host starts March 1. The campground host position is vacant for the next 2 weeks. When the Park Ranger found out that we have experience as campground hosts, she asked us if we were interested in being their campground hosts until March 1. We immediately said yes. Not only would it be a great assignment for the next 2 weeks, it would give us some preferential consideration for a future assignment. Padre Island National Seashore is one of the most desirable National Parks for WorkCamper jobs. They have a lengthy waiting list for Volunteer positions. Preference is given to previous WorkCampers / Volunteers when the park needs to fill vacant Volunteer positions. The Park Ranger, Ardrianna gave us an application form to fill out, and asked us to return at 1:00 P.M. tomorrow to be interviewed by her boss.

I shifted Dee-Dee into 4 x 4 mode, drove onto the beach, drove about a mile south, did a U-turn so that the door of the trailer faced the Gulf Of Mexico, and parked. I made the U-turn wide enough to get Dee-Dee's and Harvey's tires wet in the Gulf Of Mexico. We're camped on Padre Island's South Beach, on the western edge of the Gulf Of Mexico. It's great. Bo seems to remember this place from last year, and was absolutely thrilled to romp along the beach, apparently having no recollection of last year's unpleasant experience with a jelly fish. We did an obedience session along the water's edge. Joanne joined us when we were done, and we went for a long walk / romp along the beach. I took off my shoes and socks, and we got our toes / paws wet. The Gulf Of Mexico water is a bit cold. Teddy came out of the trailer, and did “floppies” in the soft sand, making his little cat version of “snow angels” in the sand. Teddy loves flopping in soft sand. Strange cat !

I set up our solar panel to catch the morning sun. We filled out the application forms for tomorrow, then went for a walk along the beach as the sun set. By the time the sun set behind the dunes, there was a full moon over the Gulf. Very lovely ! Joanne prepared supper while I did today's accounting and started work on today's journal entry. We went to bed early, as we often do when we’re boondocked / dry camped without electricity.

DSK