Heading home day 2, San Marcos, TX

We spent the day roaming the area.  We headed out to Gruene, TX about 10 miles from our camp site.

cut little town, lots of shops, something for everyone.  car rally in town, (we plan on going tomorrow) but here is a preview..

We went into a few shops before stopping for lunch at:

my lunch:

beautiful trees and flowers throughout the town..

big dance hall..

Back to the campground:

critters:



river rats:

Fred's truck had some issues so it had to go to the dealer!

Kim brought a game that was suppose to be hours of fun,, it was more like hours of frustration!

out for dinner in San Marcos at Grins..  Kim and I had catfish, Eric had a burger and Fred had a Mexican plate.  good food, good drink and good friends!  great way to end the day, of course we had a camp fire!

heading home day 1

The electricity went out at about 7:20 this morning..  we thought it was a sign to get out of town so we left!

We headed out at 8:15.  it was hard to say goodbye to our new friends but we will see most of them later this year when we all return.

they sky was overcast, the traffic light (until we hit San Antonio) and we had a few drops of rain, not enough to use the wipers.  great day for traveling.

we arrived at Pecan Park RV park in San Marcos (about 50 miles north of San Antonio) at 3:00 pm. 

welcome bucket.. with our favorite Wisconsin beers on Ice..

Fred and Kim have been here for a week, enjoying the weather and the sites of the Hill Country.  Now we are here to add a little excitement!

Fred does not look happy but he was so excited to see us he was shaking..

we are right on the San Marcos River..

the sound of rushing water is wonderful..

we got back from our walk around the park..

we need some food..  Fred made Wisconsin Brats, Kim brought out Wisconsin cheese and crackers and of course our Wisconsin beer.  wonderful dinner with wonderful friends. 

now time for the camp fire..

what a wonderful way to end the day.  we did a little bit of wind, so no bugs..

We did hear on the news that a bad storm (high winds, hail and heavy rain) hit McAllen last night.  hope everyone we left behind is OK.   we are sure there are lots of trees down on our trails!  but we are heading north. 

we will be here in San Marcos until Monday.  the weather looks good here for the weekend, high 80's and sunny.

our last week of work for the season

The weather is getting really warm, so I guess it is time to head north.  Three more days of work then we head home.

Weed whipping was the main chore for Monday.  want to get all the benches, signs and trails one last time.

so many different wild flowers..

had to go out for dinner, cleaned out the cabinets and refrigerator.  went to El Rancho Grande in San Juan. 
We began with an order of Guacamole, that was very good.  they don't add anything to their Guac here in south Texas, just avocado.  but it was very good and we ate the whole order..

Eric got the Monterrey plate, Enchilada, taco and tosado with Guac which was pretty good.

I had the tocos with fajita chicken.  There was a least one half of a chicken breast in each taco.  it was cooked to perfection.  juicy, tasty and right off of the grill. 

I only ate one of my tacos, dinner for Tuesday night will be the leftovers!

Went to the store to pick up some Beer to bring home for Cinco de Mayo/Derby Day celebration.  a 12 pack of Victoria and 4 bottles of Corona Familiar.  Eric is not sure if they will make it home! 

Tuesday:  our last full day of work...

seen a few critters today:


can you see the indigo snake?

he was not the biggest we seen but the slowest, we were able to get a picture of it..

this guy is cute..

we were looking at a bird of some kind (trying to figure out what it was) when we heard a splash and ducks squawking and flying away.  then we seen this dark wet animal coming out of the water.  finally got the binoc's on it, the picture does not do it any justice but it is a bob cat with a duck in its mouth!

today was Mike and Judy's birthday's so we had cake.

Mike has the hat on, Judy is sitting down.

great evening with new friends..

Wednesday: only a half day today.  Have to go get my new crown.  Did some final cleaning of the trails and our tools and shed.  Headed to Mexico to get my crown, buy some Gin then head back to the US for dinner and packing.

dinner was at:

kind of a dumpy looking place outside..

but the food was delightful! 

Eric had the burger, I had the ribs..  we would give the ribs a score of 8-9 out of 10.  smoked perfectly and without sauce!

this will be on our list for next year!!  the beans and cole slaw were really good too.

spent the evening packing up and getting the RV ready for the road.  Spoke with Fred and Kim, we are anxious to see them.  Hope to be on the road by 8:00am tomorrow.

We really loved our time here is South Texas and especially at the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge.  We met so many wonderful people, ate some fantastic food, seen some great sites and really enjoyed our work. 
 
We are on sabbatical until Dec 3rd when we return back here!

I will continue updating the blog until we get home on April 6th.

Beautiful Weather for our final weekend in South Texas

we finally hit a few days in a row where the weather is beautiful and we are not working!!  Went for a long bike ride on Thursday.  Here is Eric trying to be a local.. picking onions. 

they have already harvested the onions, and getting ready to plow the field again. 

Eric got 16 good looking onions..  once the field has been picked, it is open to anyone that wants to get the leftovers.  same way with the cabbage.

this is where they pack them out..

Went to the Volunteer Banquet on Thursday night.  fun time was had by all. Music and dinner!

charro beans..

Enchiladas, rice and salad...

dinner was pretty good, cake for desert then they handed out the awards.  we are pretty much the newbies!  less than 500 hours (last year we were not with fish and wildlife), some people had 2-8000 hours!    got back to the compound for a nice campfire, stars were out, beautiful weather, warm and not windy..

Friday we went back to the refuge for the bird walk.  today the wind was calm so we were able to see more birds.  we got another 8 today.  our count is up to 124.  I think we actually have more but we have not confirmed our sightings. 

the blue shirts are our bird walkers, Joanie and Mark from the UP.  (Michigan)

we went to the Hawk watch too.  they sit on the levee 7 days a week for a month from 8 am until 1 pm counting hawks etc that migrate north. 

we seen some snakes too...  I think it is time for us to head home, the snakes are making their presence known..

went out for dinner to BJ's Brewhouse with Mike and Carol.  Our first time here.  Carol and I split mushrooms stuffed with artichoke spread.  it was pretty good! 

I had the Blue Burger..with crispy fries.  it was the best burger we had so far!  and that is saying something.  very very good. 

Eric had the California chicken on grilled sourdough bread with potato wedges.  again it was very very good.  this place could be a repeat.

had to put the A/C on today.  it got hot and the humidity kicked in. 

Saturday: went to Onion Fest in Westlaco with Mike and Carol.  It celebrates the 1015 onion.  we expected more onion stuff.. they had 2-3 onion blossoms vendors and one onion ring vendor!  It was still a fun time. 

A small car show, thought it would have been bigger and we were looking forward to the "dancing" cars but... either we got there too late or they did not have them.

We tried our hand at throwing the football in the clowns mouth. 

Eric, Mike and Carol all missed!  I got it right in the center!  won a beautiful black t-shirt from the local radio station.  just what I need a black t-shirt but... it was fun and free!

of course they have to have queens and their entourage, got a couple of the girls to pose for me..

But they did have dancing horses!  they were great, so beautiful, graceful and talented...

it was a bit too hot and humid to eat at the fest, everything was deep fried!  so after the horse show we went out for a bite. then had a wonderful campfire with all of the other volunteers.

sunset:

that's our RV and Truck in the picture..  we will be back next year!!

Sunday:  a short bike ride with Mike and Carol at Bensten State Park:



we went to the hawk tower and spotted two more hawks..  our count is growing.. 

cactus is flowering...

we went back to the compound to relax and pack up before going out for dinner at:

warm soft biscuits with soft cinnamon butter to start with, shelled peanuts for appetizer.  Cesar salad was wonderful so was the dinner salad Eric had.   we both had steaks, I had the sweet potato, Eric had regular baked.    all of the food was fabulous.  will come back here again next year..

it was a wonderful weekend, good weather, great friends and fabulous food. 

3 more work days then off to Wisconsin!!