The SAILs kicked off the new year with a trip down to the Texas coast. We packed up and headed out on Thursday, bound for Goose Island State Park. There we enjoyed hiking, cooking over the campfire, and chasing off a few Raccoon raiders. On Friday it was off to Port Aransas (via ferry) to visit UT's Patton Center for Marine Science Education and the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center. We learned about the fish and other sea creatures in and around the Texas coast, watched ships passing through the Intracoastal Waterway, saw overwintering shorebirds and a local alligator, and were treated to a view of three Whooping Cranes. On the way back to the campsite we also visited The Big Tree, a live oak with a 35 foot circumference, the second largest live oak in Texas. In the evening we had dinner over the campfire, including hot dogs and s'mores, and gazed up at the vast starry sky above us. Sabbath morning we packed up and headed to the Annaville church, where the SAILs delivered the special music and enjoyed a wonderful potluck. In the afternoon, we headed east to Matagorda, where we set up camp on the beach before making a dinner of chili and cornbread (cooked in dutch ovens). That night we explored the beach in the dark, watched the stars, and told stories around the campfire. After a windy (but warm) night on the beach, we packed up and had breakfast, then enjoyed a final stroll on the beach (or for some in the surf). Before heading back to Austin, we stopped by to observe ships passing through the Colorado River Locks, a visit coinciding with our study this year of dams.
Some of the wildlife and nature the SAILs encountered
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