Coming Into the Country

Leaving the snow laden peaks and passes of Colorado, we descend into New Mexico. Rolling hills, arroyos and juniper forest give way to endless miles of dry, non-descript shrublands.  From Roswell, land of green alien symbols of every sort, we travel south and east across the immense state of Texas passing time counting red-tailed hawks, wind machines and the gauge of our  rapidly diminishing gas tank.  Towing the Parachute is an expensive proposition…we knew it would be.

A night spent outside of San Antonio brings us into the hill country and at long last, down to sea level along the coastal plain.  Trip Advisor leads us to a family run Tex-Mex restaurant in Kingsville where we consume massive quantities of chips, salsa, enchiladas and migas…before the final stretch, taking the pothole laden backroads into Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.

The Parachute gets backed into the last available space in the Volunteer campground…full of gargantuan rv’s twice the size of our little pee-wee. Lots of seasoned volunteers here who are “full timers”, living and volunteering all over the country.  But that’s another entry..

The photo above shows one of the “must have” items.  Yes, sets of Christmas tree lights set up around the camper to discourage the nocturnal packrats from eating wires and building nests in your vehicle’s engine compartment. And it works, so we are told…

Making Lists.....Checking Em Twice..

The Fun Finder, nickname: Parachute is our newest acquisition, if you don't start counting the innumerable plastic bins and a brand new battery for the Tundra.. We purchased it in Fort Collins last week from a couple with 4 dogs...(.yes, the dog hair is thick...) but the floor plan is practical, and it came with lots of kitchen items from the previous owners as well as the absolute necessity of an air conditioner.  It will provide us with a respite from the warm, rainy and  humid days on the the Gulf Coast. There's a full bath, too.(whoo hoo) .and a great deal of storage for a 19' travel trailer.  At least, it seems like that to me, but the real test will come with living in it for three months... will we still call it a 'fun finder' down the road?  Hmmm.

We are madly prepping for our departure at dawn on the first day of 2014.  Leon has masterminded a multipurpose elevated rack for the bed of the pickup and is putting on the final touches.  We plan to transport our bikes, boats, camping gear & fishing  essentials...and other prerequisites for exploring this part of the world during the next few months.  It's all rather a challenge in temperatures that don't rise above 25 degrees even on the best sunny day in Western Colorado. Wish us luck in packing it all in!

The "Parachute"...in our snowy driveway....

The Backstory...........

This falcon is one of our inspirations for returning to the Laguna Madre along the Gulf Coast of Texas.  Last November we attended the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival (lots of bird nerds!). During our 5 days of birding, exploring and becoming entranced with the wondrous colors and sounds of the birds and butterflies of the Rio Grande Valley, a day- long trip took us to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.

 We were taken by the diversity of landscapes, the immense and shallow hypersaline lagoon adjacent to the waters of the Gulf, home to 80% of the world's population of wintering Redhead Ducks....as well as this rare  Aplomado Falcon. We spent a cool, rainy afternoon driving the 15 mile Bayside Drive and chanced upon two falcons perching close, giving us great views; one even dropping quickly off the fence to pounce on a mouse...we know because we heard its last squeak before becoming falcon lunch.

In late summer we applied at the volunteer.gov website, hoping to spend the winter at this...or some south Texas refuge honing our birding skills and exploring a new and interesting landscape.  Luck and opportunity came our way in the form of volunteer positions leading guided birding tours and working at the Refuge visitor center.  The volunteer perks will be an RV pad with full hookups, access to a community building with kitchen and laundry facilities and a 3 day work week.  That leaves four other days for exploring.  We are a bit daunted by the prep before we leave Western Colorado...but the excitement is growing.  Our next step is picking up our home away from home: a small travel trailer.