#66 Feb 2015 This Fascinating Earth and Space Beyond It!

Galveston has many places to explore, however, we gravitate to senior’s days whenever possible. Tuesday is such a day at Moody Gardens which has 3 pyramids with each pyramid $5 instead of $20. One pyramid houses aquariums, another plants and the third one is IMAX movies which we did not watch. The four of us wandered and soaked up a vivid array of fish, birds, animals and plants and gained a greater understanding of the earth’s oceans and tropics.

These bat sea stars are very different from the ones we see around White Rock.

The giant Pacific octopus turns red when excited or threatened. He was excited about something because his colour changed and he moved quickly.

Look carefully and you will see two white seahorses and one brown one.

I had to copy the following info from the signage. Seahorses are fascinating.

All potbelly seahorses look fat, but if you see one that’s really big, you’re looking at a male who is showing off in courtship or is pregnant. In his rounded pouch, he may carry 400 embryos. The male carries his brood for weeks, then endures hours of contractions to expel his tiny, half inch long offspring. But there’s no time to rest; within a day or two, he may become pregnant again.

This bird calmly sat on the railing as everyone walked past.

The parrots were having a private moment.

The ocelot paced continuously around the same path.

These monkeys were entertaining themselves beside the pathway for a while then we saw them in the trees. They looked more natural there but were not as easy to photograph.

The komodo dragon was quietly watching something we couldn’t see.

This chameleon was intent on his destination.

The tropical rainforest had so many birds, animals and flowers I just enjoyed them without the camera, however, I couldn't resist the orchids.

The Gulf of Mexico has many wintering birds that we don’t recognize but the sandhill cranes in a field near the RV park were easy to spot.

The next day Al and Gail were not feeling well so Ralph and I went to the Houston Space Center on our own. We missed their company as it’s always fun to compare what we saw.

The Houston Space Center is adjacent to the Lyndon B Johnson Space Center where NASA does much of the research and development and testing for the space program. The tram tour departs from the Houston Space Center and travels into restricted space in the Johnson Space Center. It goes into buildings and areas where work is currently being carried out.

The exhibits provide insight into how much detail and planning goes into the space flights that have occured over more than 50 years.

When the Apollo missions were finished each space shuttle was given a place of honour around the US. The shuttle Independence is displayed here atop a 747 that carried the shuttles to earthbound locations.

The challenges of everyday life in space are illustrated.

This is the lunar rover. Three of them were left on the moon after the last three Apollo missions.

Various personal mobility vehicle prototypes were displayed.

This vehicle is part of the Orion project for manned spaceflight to Mars. That project will be a collaboration between NASA and various other agencies.

The Rocket Garden displays actual spacecraft that have been used.

This building houses a Saturn 5 rocket. The image on the outside is the only way to convey the size of the rocket designed to fly three Apollo astronauts to the moon and back. Notice the size of the tram in front of the building.

#65 Feb 2015 Galveston and the Ocean Star

After the parade in Bandera we headed for 1000 Trails Colorado River Park in Columbus TX for one night. The park map showed pecan groves so in the morning I went exploring with no idea about what a pecan looks like on the tree. A fellow camper was very helpful and showed me the trees and found some nuts on the ground. I was so busy learning about pecans that I forgot to take pictures but I hope I remember enough to recognize them another time.

Texas also has rocky hills.

As we headed to Galveston we realized the countryside was flat – no hills, no valleys just flat. The altitude was anywhere from 10 feet to 30 feet. We were approaching the Gulf of Mexico. Low marshy areas welcomed us to Galveston Island.

Galveston has endured many major storms and hurricanes and has rebuilt each time. Many residents and businesses have learned to build on stilts.

From 1983 to 1987 we lived in Edmonton in a round (geodesic dome) house. We were tickled to see a geodesic dome on stilts along the beach.

We stayed in Jamaica Beach at the same park as Al and Gail are enjoying for their second winter. It is a great park just across the road from the Gulf of Mexico.

When we arrived on Sunday Al and Gail had just returned from a cruise. We all went for groceries and supper and started to catch up with our activities.

The next day we wandered along the Strand downtown and admired the old buildings that have survived the extreme weather on the Gulf.

We watched a video about the hurricane in 1900 that took 6,000 to 8,000 lives. The devastation is impossible to comprehend.

This is a cruise ship port and we caught the old and new cruisers.

There are pelicans everywhere, both white and brown ones.

We toured the Ocean Star, a decommissioned offshore drilling rig.

We have seen the rigs in California and now here and have always wondered what they looked like up close.

There was a great deal of detail in the presentations. We could not absorb all the info but grasped a general idea about how many people contribute to the safety and success of the rigs.

This drawing of the rig above an aquarium shows the top and bottom of the installation.

This link is a replica of a link in an anchor chain under the rig.

We came away with an appreciation of the technology and commitment of the people involved in pulling our resources from below the ocean.

#64 Feb 2015 Cowboy Mardi Gras!

As we entered Texas we started to discover the variety of terrain in this very large state. First came the plains with mountains in the distance and increased speed limits. Ralph keeps close to 60 mph and is passed by most of the traffic. We will arrive in our own time using less fuel.

In Texas you can see forever.

Once again the overpasses are very attractive.

There is all kinds of energy production everywhere.

We booked into Kerrville TX intending to explore the history of nearby Fredericksburg. The next morning we looked at each other and said “not this time”. We have learned to recognize when we need time off from travelling and being busy. This was time to do laundry and other chores and just take it easy.

Before we left Surrey we investigated various membership RV/camping groups. Many are only useful in the US and many are too local for the amount of travel we are planning. Coast to Coast seems to fit our travel plans. The program is similar to timeshares but with a much more reasonable entry cost ($500 USD) because we used a reseller who set us up with a home park in the state of Georgia that we will likely never visit.

All of the groups have restrictions about length of stay, time of the week or season and reservations. Keith and Karen are members of Coast to Coast and gave us a better understanding about how to use the program. The parks are across the US with a few in Canada and the cost is $10 or $15 a night. Some parks are not close to points of interest but for the cost we can drive a few miles in the car rather than paying higher park fees to be close to the action. We stayed in Kerrville for 3 nights at $10 each.

Kerrville is a mid size city with grocery shopping and a good BBQ restaurant. We heard about the nearby town of Bandera (population 987), which is dubbed “The Cowboy Capital of the World”. Friday afternoon we wandered the town to see the Mardi Gras preparations. It seems the most popular activities are parades and drinking, all carried on in the streets.

The 11th Street Cowboy Bar is the centre of the action inside and outside.

There are many original buildings still in use.

The stores and restaurants all decorate with the Mardi Gras theme.

Saturday morning we packed up the RV and headed for Bandera's “Cowboy Mardi Gras Parade”. Small town parking was easy.

Many of the audience dress up and the “throwers” on the floats aim for the best dressed.

Throwing beads and treats is a serious endeavor.

Colour is the order of the day. The official colours are purple, green and gold but everything goes.

Floats are packed with throwers.

Modern riders also participate.

And the animals.

The cowboy theme draws lots of attention, after all, this is Texas.

Genuine Indian ponies and riders enjoy the attention.

Ralph was on the street catching beads while I was standing on a retaining wall catching photos.

The party continues all day.

#63 Feb 2015 Carlsbad Cavern

The next morning when we left Deming NM there was ground fog from all the rain. Eerie!

Our first stop in Texas was a truck wash. The manual one would have taken hours. The hand wash was $60, 4 people, 20 minutes and clean vehicles. Money well spent!

In the future we plan to visit the western states as far as Texas. Therefore, we chose only a few points of interest on this trip. Carlsbad Cavern was a “must see”.

We planned 2 nights in Van Horn TX at Oasis RV. This vehicle is a diesel VW Rabbit 2 door front welded to a 4 door rear (or vice versa 4 door front to 2 door rear). It was the only redeeming feature of the park, however, it is 90 miles from the Cavern and just off Interstate 10 which is most of our route across the Southern States.

It is impossible to describe or photograph Carlsbad Cavern which equals about 14 football fields. An elevator takes visitors down 750 feet. The walk around the Cavern is 1 ¼ miles and the suggested time is 1 ½ hours. We took 3 ½ hours and were euphorically exhausted at the end.

The view in this photo is ¼ mile across. If I had not taken the photo I would not understand it.

Can you see the “Cave Man” in this part of the cave?

Notice the person in the lower left of this photo. It gives some sense of perspective.

Stalagmites (might reach the ceiling) meet stalactites (hang tight to the ceiling) and become columns.

Columns may become immense and very fanciful.

The Cavern is lit by more than 1,000 bulbs and tubes, and 19 miles of wires. All of the lights are designed to reveal the cavern’s natural colours. None of the bulbs are coloured. The park is in the process of replacing the current lights with LED bulbs.

Our next overnight was in Ozoma TX and then on to Kerrville TX. As we checked in another couple arrived and asked if we were from British Columbia as they had noticed our license plate. They live in Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast. As we chatted the receptionist looked at us with a frown. She had no idea where British Columbia is located. We often say it is north of Seattle with similar weather. That didn’t even help.

We visited with Bruce and Cathi that evening and enjoyed sharing our experiences. Meeting new people is one of the pleasures of our travels.