We've landed in Texas!

We've landed in Texas at Matagorda Bay Nature Park. It's a 1,600 acre park and preserve at the mouth of the Colorado River (TX) on the Matagorda Peninsula. The park has about two miles of beach on the Gulf and two miles of river frontage and hundreds of acres of coastal marshes and dunes. It is one of the best birding areas in the nation. We have only been here 3 days and already love the place!

Our site is right on the river with a fishing dock right out our door!
Speaking of fishing:

 

This is my home made (parts from Home Depot) shrimp gun. I take it out to the flats at low tide and suck these little ghost shrimp (yabbies) right out of their holes and use them as bait. We went fishing last night and Cindy caught a real nice sand trout in the river. We are headed out to the ocean tomorrow to try our luck there.

At high tide, Bottle Nose Dolphins come up the river right past our dock!

The wild life here is amazing! We don't go anywhere without a camera!

The "Pavement Princess" gets her feet dirty! We bought a beach permit so we can drive the beaches, there are over 20 miles of beach on the peninsula you can explore!!!

Had to put this pic in. When you stop for gas in Louisiana it can really reduce your MPG. Cindy was a very happy girl, lol!  Gas stations are definitely not this much fun at home!!!

Next stop, Kinder Louisianna. Little ways off the expressway, but with a name like Coushatta Luxury RV Resort at Red Shoes Park, I was intrigued! Again, at a casino, but with full hook ups and cement pads and night time temps above freezing, it was a good place to stop and de-winterize. Spent 3 nights here doing all the things it was too cold to do at home, plus laundry as it is usually cheap at casino campgrounds. Ate dinner the first night at the casino's buffett, it was good, but on the way here we saw a little place called Fausto's serving cajun food, so decided to try it the second night. Well, it was so good we ate there again the next night and I had a cajun baked potatoe with crawfish and cajun rice and I have to say it was the best baked potatoe I ever had!!

Well, after 3 nights we had everything unpacked and put away and we were ready to hit the road again and head into Texas!

Tried to put some miles behind us today, drove to Wesson, Mississippi. Stopped at Lake Lincoln State Park, full hook ups and pull thru site again. Pretty park on a lake, but still getting down into freezing temps at night meaning unable to de-winterize the camper yet, so back on the road again in the morning.

Well, we only made it as far as Caruthersville, Missouri today.  We were bucking 17+ mile/hour headwinds so we decided to stop early. Found a campground with pull thru sites, full hook up, cable, internet and wonderful hot showers for only $19.00. Oh, did I mention the campground is at a casino?? :) Honestly, it was easy to find as there were many billboards and it's not far off the interstate so it was quick and easy, we didn't even have to unhook the camper from the truck, and it's right on the Mississippi River! 

Next morning, back on the road again.

First day on the road, Friday, we made it as far as Effingham, Illinois.  Found a small campground not far off the interstate with pull thru sites.

It's January 19, 2013, and it's time to hit the road again and head south!