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Along the Natchez Trace

Thursday, January 19, 2012

At Falcon State Park

Yesterday morning Bill & I took a long walk around the campground here at Falcon State Park.  The weather, which was warm and wonderful on Tuesday turned chilly and overcast...  so we were dressed quite a bit warmer than the day before...
Bill looks like he's having a bad hair day, but actually he has on his crazy "hair-hat".  I've no excuse for my wild look....

I haven't read the history of Falcon Lake, but know that the Falcon Dam controls the water on the Rio Grande River in this part of the Valley.
The dam is to the left...  that's Mexico across the water. 

Bill's geology background surfaced as he told me these rocks contained lots of fossils.  Last year the river flooded and we could still see some of the results of the high water.

This park has lots of little, almost hidden, picnic areas.  You can see the lake in the background.  While our RV site is a bit of distance from a view of the lake, it is relatively private.  Not at all like a crowded RV park.

In fact, many people who camp here are birders. Since there is such a variety of birds...  some found only in this area of the USA...  it's not at all unusual to see lots of bird feeders in areas behind parked RVs.
I didn't think to bring any bird seed, but hung up some oranges shortly after we arrived here.  This is a Verdin...  small, desert bird.  It has a chestnut patch at the upper edge of it's wing, but the string holding the orange kind of hides it.

We've had cardinals, pyrrhuloxia, curved-bill thrasher, orange crown warblers, golden fronted woodpecker, and various other birds visit us here.  We've seen lots of deer track...  and came across this bunny on our walk...
I'm sure he thought he was well hidden...  and he certainly blends right in with the desert floor.

The flora is really interesting here.  If we were here for very long I'm sure I'd have to invest in some field guides...
There are at least 4 different bushes in bloom...  mostly blues and purples...  but others as well.  These aren't huge, flashy flowers, but lovely, delicate ones.

And then there's the prickly pear cactus...
Hey Bill...  can you stand just a little bit closer? 

While on our walk, we came across this...
A Bat Condominium!  Bill had to check this out closely as he has built bat houses and put them out in different places.  We didn't see any activity... probably the wrong time of day... or wrong time of year.

Today we leave Falcon State Park and head to Hondo, Texas.  There is an Escapees RV Park there that we want to check out.  We have less than a week before we have to be back to Glen Rose so our mini-vacation is quickly coming to an end.  That's all for now... 




2 comments:

  1. Yea!!!! Great blog...you know more about the birds here than I do!! Now I will add you to blogs I follow!! Thanks for the wonderful food...I want that recipe!!! Travel safe and keep in touch!

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  2. Interesting bat condo. We have a few bats that have lived in the loft over our barn for years. We like 'em cuz they eat the mosquitoes. Great photo of the bird with the orange.

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