We're on the road again!

 Note: We're including some blogs from the month of April that were interrupted when we had to make a speedy trip to Oklahoma to help after Denisa's Mother's house burned. So we are catching up with "old blogs" while we are still helping out in Oklahoma.

After a two-month resort stay, we were both anxious to be on the road again! Our first stop is not far away--straight east 45 miles to an RV park in Harlingen, Texas. Since most Winter Texans have already headed north, it's easy to find a RV spot in South Texas in April. We are enjoying Passport America rates at Palm Gardens RV Park. We woke the first morning to the chatter of birds all around us. We think that the winter camper that just left this spot must have fed the birds, because they were certainly friendly.

They especially liked hanging out near the knot in the tree right beside the motor home. They were content to pose for pictures.

While we had taken pictures of the solid green parakeets at our last campground, this flock has red heads.

Besides the chatter of the parakeets in the trees, we were also awakened to the whistles of the black-bellied whistling ducks in the street. It looked like they were patiently waiting for the morning bird seed, and we were sorry to disappoint them.

While we have spent a lot of time in this area, we have a couple things we have never seen. One of those is Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. So as soon as we got the motor home set up, we drove the 25 miles to its entrance. The drive included lots of trecul yucca. The yuccas were in peak bloom, and their white flowery tops were beautiful.

Also called Spanish daggers, they provide food and shelter for wildlife. Denisa stood beside one, just to show how tall they grow here in the wildlife refuge.

We knew that these blooms are edible, since we had tasted them during a ranger-led nature walk some years ago. They can be added to salads for a pretty addition to the greens.

Over and over we saw that the local birds also enjoy snacking on these petals.

 We even saw large chachalacas balanced on top of the blooming yuccas.

Those yucca blooms are a sign of spring, as is the new growth on the big cactus plants in the refuge.

The visitor center and all services are closed within the wildlife refuge. That means that no entry fees are charged, and there are few visitors. While we didn't see people, we quickly started seeing wildlife along the trails. 

We actually heard this guy before we saw him. We followed the bird call upwards until we found him among the new growth greenery at the top of the tree.

Interestingly, when we peeked through the window of the bird blind, we didn't see any birds. Instead, we saw a small deer nibbling at the bird feeder, and then picking up the seed that had been scattered.

We drove some of the paved roads in the refuge, then set out on a hike. Our first stop was on the shores of this body of water--Laguna Atoscosa--where the wildlife refuge got its name.

Many water birds make their home here, and they were beginning to roost since the sun was sinking in the sky.

But before it got dark, we wanted to make the hike to Alligator Lake.

The wildlife didn't disappoint us here, as a gator surfaced long enough for us to get his picture.

The setting sun was spotlighting his long snout as we decided it was time to hike back to the pickup. It was dark by the time we got back to our camping spot in Harlingen. It was a long day, but we both agree that it sure feels good to be on the road again!