We are now over 2/3 of the way to our goal of hitting all 89 (the total number at the moment) state parks by the time Ashlyn is 18! It’s crazy to think about, but we have been chipping away at this for 7 years now and with 4 years left, it still feels achievable!

Estero Llano Grande was our second stop on Friday and was a whopping 30 minutes away from our first one. On the way, we drove a stretch of highway that was incredibly close to the border and got our first glimpse of “The Wall.” Took us a minute to realize what that structure was though!

Like Resaca de la Palma, this park is a registered world birding center and doesn’t permit vehicle traffic in it. It also boasted a grand, well landscaped entrance and headquarters. We spent some time on the patio that overlooks the wetlands and boardwalk system observing some ducks and ducklings before setting off on our quick trail to alligator lake. We’re not much on birds, but we’re definitely in on seeing some gators!

Along the way to the lake, we passed a marsh area that was incredibly lush for the time of year and interrupted an armadillo rooting around. We always love seeing those critters.

The alligator lake had 3 viewing areas along side its oblong shape, but we didn’t see anything for the 20ish minutes we spent there. But the walk was eventful enough and we had managed to go fairly deep into the park since it is quite small.

Parts of the trail were covered in blazing hot pea gravel and we pushed Sally to trot over those areas as fast as possible and would jump from shade patch to shade patch, but that poor pupper was not having a good time at this point in the day. So I pushed ahead with her back to the headquarters pavilion for a cooler rest spot while Nathan and the kids stayed at the marsh to see some more wildlife for a bit.

We only spent an hour at this park. For a birding enthusiast, this park is well maintained and offers numerous amenities for observation and exploration. But we were ready for hotel AC and enjoyed cold beverages that evening at Howling Rabbits and 5×5 breweries in McAllen. 🙂

-Lindsay

The stars had finally aligned and the time had come to tackle the 5 state parks that border Mexico. Since 3 of them are day use parks only and the other 2 are small and near cities, we opted for the whirlwind of hitting them all in 3 days. Even with Texas’ record breaking heat this year, now seemed like the perfect opportunity to check them off the list.

Starting off in Brownsville on Friday, Resaca de la Palma was one of two day use parks certified as a World Birding Centers that we would be visiting that day. In efforts to maintain a peaceful habit for birds, vehicle traffic within the park is limited to electric golf carts serving as trams. So, we parked in the lot outside the gates and proceeded to check in at the headquarters where they issued the adults wristbands. After that, we were free to roam any of the trails by foot or rented bicycle as the trams only run on weekends during the summer. The area around the headquarters was beautifully landscaped with numerous bird/pollinator habits and blinds for safe viewing.

We set off down the main paved road loop that crosses the resaca a number of times and links to other gravel trail hikes throughout the park. Resaca is the regions given name for the channels or oxbow lakes created by the Rio Grande. The main resaca in this park was dry at the time, but a ranger said it would fill again once the rain returns. Keeping aware of the pavement temperature and increasing lack of shade, we made it as far as the first crossing on the resaca and decided we had seen enough.

Once back at headquarters, Ashlyn and I wanted to do the quick trail that would take us out on the decks we saw from the main trail, but Sally was pretty worn out already. We hadn’t taken her out on the road much this summer and we could tell she was feeling out of shape. The guys stayed in the shade with her while Ashlyn and I zipped down the very cool and easy trail. We kept seeing scatterings of feathers along the trail and concluded that the birds must enjoy roosting and possibly dust bathing in that area. Ashlyn collected a few vibrant colored feathers and the signs at the end of the trail were quite helpful for identification.

We met back up with the guys and loaded up for the 30minute drive to our next park. And just like that, we marked #59 off! Apparently these southern most parks really come alive in the winter with both wild life and visitors. Not being birding enthusiasts ourselves, we’re just here to view and appreciate what TPWD continues to do for nature and wildlife conservation while giving humans a way to witness it.

-Lindsay