Roadtrip 2022: Heading West {Sea Rim State Park}

This trip was originally planned for Spring 2020 in our overlanding trailer, but of course all travel plans were cancelled, our Jeep was totaled and our overlanding trailer was off on its own adventures. Finally, two years later, on April 16, we loaded up our 30ft Grand Design Imagine travel trailer and hit the road for the summer. Our main destinations are Yosemite National Park, Las Vegas, and our last two states: Minnesota and North Dakota. First stop: Tallahassee. We arrived just before Easter and enjoyed a delicious dinner with family. Next was an overnight stop at a Boondockers Welcome a few blocks from the beach in Mississippi. A perfect location for an evening walk to the beach so Asher could fish in a new state while I looked for birds. 

 

We went back in the morning for another try at it, before pressing west. Asher has become quite the fisherman. He won a fishing contest last fall for which he was awarded the $200 rod and reel that he now uses. He had expressed an interest in fishing in each state along our path. We had not planned to stop in Louisiana, but to honor his challenge, I scouted out locations along our route and found Lake Charles. Asher fished and I birded while Journey soaked up some rays. 

 

That evening we arrived at our campsite in Texas, where not only could he fish from our campsite, but he delighted in the fact that he had just fished THREE states in ONE day! 

Sea Rim State Park is in the southeast edge of Texas along the Gulf of Mexico. I love watching him fish from the comfort of our couch! You can see the Gulf in the distance from our campsite.

While he didn't catch any fish, he did catch a large, beautiful Blue Crab! That's when we found out crabbing is a huge sport at Sea Rim State Park. Not only is it allowed, but the rangers will gladly lend you supplies (string and a net- just add chicken) and teach you how to catch them! 

Asher found this Banded Watersnake, while crabbing. He came to get me so I could take photos.

Asher spent the next day catching dinner for the family. At high tide the crabs will come from the ocean into the smaller pools to catch their own dinner, some would instead become ours. To keep them they must be at least 5 inches "horn to horn" and not bearing eggs.

Journey found actual quicksand, and I found myself warning, "Don't play in the quicksand, unless one of us is right by you!" Ahhh, words we never thought we'd say....

Dinner is served: spaghetti with Blue Crabs.

This is a great location for birding! While the boardwalk trail over the marsh was lost to hurricanes, birds congregate on the ruins in huge numbers. I found many birds including a KING RAIL in our campsite, quite a few nighthawks, plus a Whimbrel (lifer) flew in while we were crabbing! I will explain more in the next post.