The Valley looks and feels peaceful after a busy tourist season
Big Horn Sheep
A Bull Elk spends his days alone, after the rut. A broken antler is his battle scar
A Mom and her baby,; spring and summer have come to an end
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A late autumn sceneA beautiful sight as you drive up toward Estes ParkThe green grasses of summer have turned goldenA Photographer trying to capture this serene scene.
I have more photos to share with you tomorrow. Until then enjoy your day.
Trying to talk me into a morsel.“No food, no more photos for you.”
Here are photos of three of the four Elk we spotted while driving toward Estes Park. These guys were lounging around in someone’s front yard. Perhaps full and lazy after a fine meal.
The Sleepy Guy
They were laying behind this fence on the grass and I didn’t want to get too close and bother them.
The Sleepy Guy and his friendsThe Alert One“Okay, you’re had your fun, now go away.”
These young Bull Elk are still sporting some of their winter coat, which will be replaced with shiny, smooth hair.
If you would like to read more about Elk visit this web site called Elk Facts. Below are a few Antler Facts taken from this web-site:
Antlers
Only male elk have antlers
Bulls shed and grow a new set of antlers every year
New antlers are covered in fuzzy skin called velvet
Antlers harden by late summer and the velvet peels away
By September, antlers are solid bone
A set of antlers on a mature bull can weigh up to 40 pounds
As we walked around the lake every now and then a cold gust of wind would make us want to hunker down. We would bring jacket hoods up and hands would seek the warmth of pockets. The gusts of wind wouldn’t last and the beauty surrounding us motivated us onward.
Sprague Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park
There were some hardy souls in the lake fly fishing. What a lovely way to spend a few hours.
A happy guy fly fishing at Sprague LakeCheck out that arch!Lots of snow in the mountains.Sleeping BeautyShe Awakens
As we were driving out of Rocky toward Estes Park, seeking a late lunch, we saw three young bull Elk taking a snooze. This is the featured image from above; this young bull Elk looked very tired. He was laying his head on a tree stump.
Another Sleeping Beauty?
More photos to come! I hope you enjoyed your visit to Sprague Lake today.
What does, a salt dome, pepper pods and a 200 acre jungle have in common? A trip to Avery Island, Louisiana, and a good time!
The salt dome extends eight miles beneath the earth’s surface and its protruding “island” part of the formation rising above the surface is Avery Island.
The pepper pods, obtained shortly after the Civil War, are special capsicum peppers. Seeds from these capsicum peppers, grown on the Island, are exported to Central and South America, where tabasco peppers are cultivated and harvested.
The 200 acre jungle is home to the world’s most beautiful sanctuaries for the preservation and study of flora and fauna. Edward McIlhenny, son of Tabasco sauce inventor Edmund McIlhenny, was a noted naturalist and explorer and decades ago he cultivated what is today called The Jungle Gardens of Avery Island.
Live Oaks and Lazy Lagoons
It all began when Edmund McIlhenny cultivated a crop, invented a product over 125 years ago and founded a company on Avery Island.
As their current day brochure states. Much of the world knows about Tabasco pepper sauce.
McIlhenny Company Tabasco Sauce Brand Pepper Sauce!!
**I want to give credit for the information in this blog to the wonderful writers at Tabasco, I used their brochures in writing this blog.
The Tabasco Visitors Center. I love our flag and here with it are the Louisiana State Flag and the Tabasco flag.
Wednesday, April 2nd we traveled to Avery Island to visit Tabasco. We always have to be conscience of the time we are away from the coach, because of our two beautiful four-legged friends. So when we drove to Avery Island we needed to make a decision on what we wanted to see as we only had time to visit one of two tours. Did we want to tour the Jungle Gardens or take the Tabasco plant tour? It was not a tough decision.
Tabasco factory tours
We decided to toured the Jungle Gardens. What beautiful grounds they have; we could have spent the entire day hiking around admiring these gorgeous gardens and taking photos!
A meandering road through The Jungle GardensLooking for UFO’s or perhaps UFB’s.
The 200 acres of jungle gardens are home to a large collection of some 600 varieties of camellias, including some that McIlhenny developed, along with thousands of azaleas, acres of wildflowers, groves of evergreens, english hollies and wistaria vines, just to mention a few.
The 300 year old Cleveland OakHave you ever driven through a Wisteria Arch?
You can see Live Oak trees through out the gardens.
When I look at this felled tree, I have to wonder how long it lived and how long has it been since it died.
Beautiful Azaleas and lagoons are everywhere
Bees and Flowers
Wisteria Flower
A lovely white Azalea
A bee enjoying a pink Azelea
Twisted Wisteria Vines
Wisteria Arch, Wisteria was first introduced into New Orleans around 1875.
This Live Oak tree is named for Grover Cleveland. He visited the McIlhenny family and this tree around 1891. It is over 300 years old.
The jungle gardens are a birder’s paradise! We made the right decision in taking this tour.
Over one hundred years ago, Edward McIlhenny helped save a beautiful egret from extinction – the Snowy egret. In 1895 when the snowy was being hunted for its plumage, Edward, built an aviary on Avery Island, and then captured and raised eight wild snowy egrets.
For the love of this bird, it all started over 100 years ago. The beautiful Snowy Egret
After they had raised their hatches and were ready to migrate, he released them. The snowy egrets returned the next spring and every spring since.
Today this rookery is fondly called “Bird City” where some 20,000 Snowy Egrets, plus many other species of birds, return each spring to raise their young.
The RookeryAn Anhinga coupleThe Great Blue Heron enjoying The Jungle Gardens
For the love of the Great Blue Heron:
For the Love of Herons
Others also enjoy The Jungle Gardens:
A snoozing little guy!Nature’s ultimate camouflage design at workI Spy
As the time for our departure from Avery Island approached, we stopped at the Tabasco Store to look around. We enjoyed a nice cool cup of homemade ice cream, of course made with Tabasco peppers, sampled some of their flavored sauces and even purchased a few items to bring home. It was another fun day spent in Cajun Country!
The Tabasco Country Store
Side note: On our way down to New Iberia, Louisiana and then out to Avery Island we stopped for lunch at a local place called Landry’s. They serve a different daily lunch to a huge number of hard working folks! The food was delicious!
On this drive we were impressed with the oil and gas related businesses we passed. Thousands of people employed in this industry in numerous small Louisiana towns. From, large oil companies, oil service and training companies, to local support businesses like Laudry’s all employing hard working people.
We should all thank these businesses that supply our oil and gas, and the folks that work in them. It made us happy to see the booming economy in this area, to know that America is rich in oil and gas and that Louisiana is employing lots of people to work in these industries.
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We said farewell to Louisiana, for now, and drove to Beaumont, Texas!
While in Beaumont we enjoyed two full, wonderful days of birding. We met some nice folks from the Houston Audubon Society in High Island and it was a special treat meeting a fellow birder and blogger at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. More on meeting Judy and how we spent these exciting two days later.
We arrived this morning, April 6th, at Stephen F. Austin State Park and we will be here for several days. As I sit here typing I can even count the number of Northern Cardinals we are seeing, so many in one place!
Big Mama (This Gator was sunning herself behind Felix’s Fish Camp)
We arrived at Meaher State Park on Sunday and have eaten our way to Tuesday. It is a good thing we are leaving Wednesday morning! However, with more southern Good Eats to look forward to, before we leave the states of Mississippi and Louisiana, I guess going on a diet will have to wait until I return home! I won’t even think about Tex-Mex as we travel across Texas!
What do all the items listed below have in common? Good Eats in Spanish Fort, Alabama!!
Two places, to enjoy a fantastic meal around the Mobile area are: Felix’s Fish Camp and The Oyster House. Both of these restaurants are located within a couple of miles from the state park.
These are the two we dined at, but there are many more to choose from. Judging by the people eating out in this area, we would say the economy is booming!
Felix’s Fish Camp (where we enjoyed a delicious lunch)Felix, when he is not in the kitchen cooking!The Original Oyster House (our day two lunch)At The Original Oyster house we enjoyed a tall glass of Southern Pecan beer from the Lazy Magnolia Brewery (located in Mississippi!
If you are ever driving west on 1-10 toward Mobile, Alabama, think about stopping for a day or two at Meaher State Park in Spanish Fort. Ask for their senior discount!
Meaher State Park is a lovely park situated in the wetlands of Mobile Bay. Lots of Bays in the area: Mobile Bay, Ducker Bay, Chacaloochee Bay, Justin’s Bay, D-Olive Bay and I am sure there must be others.
The campground has 56 new campsites all with full hookups. It has a new bathhouse with a 6 machine laundry room. All sites have blacktop pads, lots of grassy area between each site and all set in among tall pines. We are in a back-in site right on the Bay. Which bay, I guess it depends in what direction you are looking!!
If you are into touring grocery stores (which I get a big kick out of) while traveling, you will have a wonderful selection to pick from here in Spanish Fort, to include Florida’s Publix and Fresh Market!
Back Yard Gator (one of two hanging out behind our coach)A Reflection of a Happy CamperA Cloudy Day SwimmerA Broadwalk out into the Bay Do you see our camp site in the distance?Another view of our site from the boardwalk“Are you enjoying the Sunset over my Bay?” I feel like I should have given her a name!Hundreds of ducks landing in the Bay for the night!The Bay Bridge in the distance and a Fishing Pier in the park on the rightA Bay Sunset as taken from our backyard
Did you think I forgot to take any additional bird photos? Nope, just wait!
Wolf Song Blog 