Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

We went on a 1-1/2 hour ride to see if we could get to see the endangered Whooping Cranes that flock to Texas in the winter. They summer in Canada, then head for points south and arrive in Texas in November. With a wingspan of 7-1/2 feet, they are able to average 400 miles a day by gliding on thermal currents at heights from 1000 feet to one mile high. The present population is only about 475 wild and captive.
We did see three Whooping Cranes with our binoculars, but were not able to get their pictures because they were too far away. One of the more common animals in the area that we did see was the armadillo. They were along the rode digging for food.

There were also a lot of gators along the path that we walked, this one was about 9-10 feet long.
Then we came across this big guy. He had to be at least 12 feet long and very big. I didn't think gators came this big, he was huge.

Joyce with the gator

If you click on this shot you'll be able to see a group of 20-25 gators of various sizes. Note that these animals are all free to roam and can be found along some of the trails in the refuge, that's how we found these.

Another shot of the little armored one. After leaving the park, we witnessed a couple of young local guys who stopped along the rode and were trying to catch an armadillo. It's amazing how fast the armadillo was, the rednecks couldn't catch him.

We spotted some deer along the rode.

There were dirt mounds everywhere along the rode. This sign explains what they were.

Here are the mounds.