Oh lucky us! NOAA has predicted that the South will experience more rain, while the North should expect warmer weather. All we can do is shake our heads…
Amistad Means Friendship in Spanish
By all accounts, the 66,465 surface-acre Amistad National Recreation Area reservoir, was alluring. From the name’s meaning, to the fact that we’d spent 3-1/2 weeks playing in the dry desert, to the fact that we could finally launch our water toys! Moreover, when we arrived, it was a 90-degree day filled with relentless sunshine. We were drenched in sweat just setting up camp at San Pedro Campground. Boy! We were ready to jump in the lake. First, however, errands took precedence which, for the ice cream devotee in our twosome, meant stopping for a cool treat at Raspa King in Del Rio.
We got back to camp just in time to put the party deck down grab a beer and enjoy Mother Nature’s nightly show! Naturally, talking about plans for the week that lay ahead made us giddy with excitement and we thought, with our fingers and toes crossed, maybe the weather guessers might have the forecast wrong…
…Nope!! They were spot on! It poured nonstop that night, winds shook the fifth wheel like it was a toy, and the temperature plummeted! Sadly, Curtis found a beautiful little dog wandering around our site, he took pity on her and brought her in for the night. We were sure that she must belong to the only other camper in the campground, and they would stop by soon to ask if we’d seen her. Regrettably that didn’t happen, so the next day we searched surrounding neighborhoods hoping to spot a “Lost Dog” flyer to no avail. Reluctantly, we took her to the county pound and hoped like hell that they were able to place her with a foster home, in the very least. It still hurts our hearts to think of her.
Melancholy set in, as our visions of frolicking in the sun, were completely dashed. For the remainder of our stay grey clouds ensconced themselves overhead and it was persistently cold. Everything we’re trying to escape. By the end of the week, we were ready to leave, if only in the hopes of finding better weather. Who knows? Maybe Amistad will call to us again and we could call it a friend then.
Falcón not Falcon
And here we were thinking it was named for the bird of prey, yet its not. Falcon State Park, located at the southern tip of the Falcon International Reservoir was actually named after the Falcón family, who in 1800, established a settlement in the area that now sits at the bottom of the lake. Luckily, the campgrounds at the park don’t have a similar fate in store; quite the opposite. The lake is currently only a little over 14% full and it is still huge. So, we pointed our truck further south and set out.
We found the sunshine along with a campground that wasn’t full. It bode well for our stay. The park isn’t very large, and after being cooped up in the rig for a week, we were able to venture outside. The air still had a coolness to it, so we weren’t eager to jump in the lake right off the bat. Instead, we decided that tooling around the park on the bicycles, was first in order. It took us only about 20 minutes to check out the various campground spurs.
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“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
-Maya Angelou, American memoirist, poet, scholar and civil rights activist
We discovered that the park also has a hidden gem; a butterfly garden! Coincidentally, we choose to visit it one morning when attendees from the Texas Butterfly Festival (had no idea!) happened to be visiting. They took us under their wings (get it, hehe?!?!), and we were excited each time they called to us, “Curtis and Laura come see what we found!”. We were fortunate to have them point out an elusive Dogface caterpillar, as well as identify the difference between a Monarch and a Queen butterfly, in addition to other wonders. Amusingly, the butterflies were pleasantly swarming, and we thought to ourselves that the garden probably attracted only a handful of species; it was small after all. We were absolutely floored when the group informed us that this year only 30 species had been counted due to the well-needed rains, but down from the typical 50 species they’d had during previous years! I then set about snapping photos of all the different foliage, since I’ve always wanted to set up our own butterfly garden at home. Apparently the North American Butterfly Association is a good source for plant suggestions as well. I also wonder if a swarm of butterflies could stave off a mob of yellow jackets?
“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.”
-Loren Eiseley, American anthropologist, educator, philosopher, and natural science writer
Once the warm weather alighted, it was finally time to enjoy the water!! Paddle boards were finally dug out of our Harry Potter magician inspired storage! And since the lake is regarded as one of the best largemouth bass lakes in the state of Texas, we definitely had to break out the fishing gear!
We might’ve been a little zealous to get out on the water so quickly, as I seem to remember more paddling against the wind. Subsequent days, however, proved calmer and we delighted in watching (and hearing) the ospreys dive into the water for their catch as we focused on potentially catching “the big one”. Alas, I was only successful in catching, and releasing, one small catfish. Good thing we had pulled tuna steaks out of the freezer! That night, Curtis grilled up a mean dish, Tuna Steaks with Jalapeño Peach Salsa (www.Grilled.com).
Apparently it Wasn’t Going to Last
Evidently, we were allowed only a short reprieve from the rain. Moving day coincided with another round of cold soggy weather, and this time, it seemed to go on, and on, and on…
English 
Glad you are safe from the storms. Does the dessert bloom at this time of year?
Apparently there are plants that bloom during the fall/winter seasons, yet the very small number of blooms we experienced seemed to be at the end of their life cycles. However, some plants are opportunistic, producing blossoms after rainfalls. We did notice this while in Big Bend because we drove into the same entrance each visit, and drove past some of the same plants each day. After the rains, it was clearly noticeable that they’d produced more flowers, and they were more vibrant.
Still enjoying reading about your adventures but Curtis needs to get out of that chair more often, he looks way to comfortable, lol. Continued safe travels
I know!! He moves from his recliner in the rig, to one out on the shore of the lake. Rough, I tell ya! More ‘action’ shots to come! Lots of love!