Friday, February 29, 2008
Serenity Prevails
Do you enjoy quiet, peaceful camping, or memorable day trips, friendly people, helpful park rangers, birding, fishing; life on the slow track? If so, escape to Falcon State Park in the bottom of Texas for a week or two. The park is tucked in between Roma and Zapata along the Rio Grande on the border with small Mexican towns that are just a walk or bike ride away.
Perhaps the peaceful life stems from the remote location of the park. There is no great gorge, or particularly high mountain to climb, no water parks or large beaches to attract noisy crowds. There isn’t much to do except bird watch, fish, hike, converse with your neighbor, join a bird walk, drive to Rio Grande city to pick tomatoes, sign up for the Friday night dinner or participate in or listen to “Pick and Grin” jam session Tuesday and Thursday nights.
On one Tuesday morning bird walk we identified 35 bird species and were shown the location of the bird blinds, the 2-mile nature walk, the boat ramp and directed to the nearby wildlife refuge in Salineno. My husband and I visited the wildlife refuge at 8:30 AM one morning. We entered what may seem to be a fantasy in a storybook. Through a gap in the fence, we could see several homemade WELCOME signs. We followed the signs, took the turn in the road and entered a bird sanctuary developed by the DeWinds beginning 22 years ago.
They drive down from Wisconsin, park their motor home and place numerous bird platforms laden with seed, oranges and peanut butter, set up a dozen chairs and welcome anyone who comes by their reserve. They are knowledgeable and love their “job.” They are memorable for their knowledge and their big smiles.
There are other places to visit near the Falcon State Park, but it is easy to get into the mood to just sit and watch the birds, hear the coyotes, breathe the fresh clean air right from your folding canvas seat and wait for the glorious sunsets.
Perhaps the peaceful life stems from the remote location of the park. There is no great gorge, or particularly high mountain to climb, no water parks or large beaches to attract noisy crowds. There isn’t much to do except bird watch, fish, hike, converse with your neighbor, join a bird walk, drive to Rio Grande city to pick tomatoes, sign up for the Friday night dinner or participate in or listen to “Pick and Grin” jam session Tuesday and Thursday nights.
On one Tuesday morning bird walk we identified 35 bird species and were shown the location of the bird blinds, the 2-mile nature walk, the boat ramp and directed to the nearby wildlife refuge in Salineno. My husband and I visited the wildlife refuge at 8:30 AM one morning. We entered what may seem to be a fantasy in a storybook. Through a gap in the fence, we could see several homemade WELCOME signs. We followed the signs, took the turn in the road and entered a bird sanctuary developed by the DeWinds beginning 22 years ago.
They drive down from Wisconsin, park their motor home and place numerous bird platforms laden with seed, oranges and peanut butter, set up a dozen chairs and welcome anyone who comes by their reserve. They are knowledgeable and love their “job.” They are memorable for their knowledge and their big smiles.
There are other places to visit near the Falcon State Park, but it is easy to get into the mood to just sit and watch the birds, hear the coyotes, breathe the fresh clean air right from your folding canvas seat and wait for the glorious sunsets.
# posted by Ann Carol @ 8:59 AM 
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