Thursday, March 19, 2009

Big Tree and Back to the Beach

We are very at home here in the Aransas Bay area. After spending some of last winter here, we are familiar with most of the businesses and facilities.

Today we headed out to explore the Fulton area, and then up to Copano Bay and over to Lamar.

It is late in the winter season and the first thing that we are not used to, is the birds are gone. Not entirely gone, as the marshes still are alive with birds singing, but the massive number of birds on all the docks and up and down the shoreline, have moved to their summer homes.

There are occasional Egrets and Blue Herons, but no where near the number that were here a month ago. The Blue Herons spend much of the summer in Missouri, at our summer home on Lake Ozark, and it is getting warm there now, so….it is time to follow them home.

We did go out and pay our mandatory visit to the Big Oak Tree. This is on St Charles Bay, and is part of the town of Lamar. It is so peaceful, and was a council place for Native Americans before we European descendants arrived.

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The most important fact on this reader board is that the tree is over 1000 years old.

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John Brown did an excellent job of writing about this tree in his blog of several days ago so I will quote his explanation.

The Big Tree of Lamar is one of the most famous in the world. The giant live oak is a charter member of the Live Oak Society of America, and has been the subject of one of Ripley's "Believe It or Not" cartoons. It is measured to be more than 35 feet in circumference, 44 feet in height and has a crown spread of 89 feet. The Texas Forest Service estimates the tree to be over 1,000 years old.
The Big Tree is also known as the Lamar Oak, Bishop's Oak and the Goose Island Oak. It is recognized as the State Champion Coastal live oak. It is said to have been a council tree for the Carancahua Indians and for the white men who came after them.

Thanks John.

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From there we did the normal everyday stuff, getting an oil change for the new Toyota, and lunch at the Subway. Next out to the beach to see the grand kids. However, since the ferry is very busy, and we are 10 miles away, and we are slow, we didn’t get there in time before they were too tired and had to go back to their campground.

I did drive along the beach again for several miles, and will report that the rowdies are still out in full force. And so were the police.

We joined them (grandkids, not the rowdies, LoL) at their trailer, and spent the evening before it got dark with them. A good time, but I wouldn’t want to camp at that place, since it is narrow lots to the maximum. I was sitting next to their picnic table in my lawn chair leaning against the tire of the motorhome in the next lot. But it is only one sand dune away from the ocean. With all the kids right now.

Retired Rod

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