The 2004 Adventure, February 14 to 18, 2004, Cacti

We did wash the trailer and truck, got the 2000 miles worth of dirt cleaned off, only to have Texas dust cover them both the next time the wind picked up.

I have done some input and a little fact finding/internet surfing, on the Darden lineage.

Yesterday we went to a lovely little nature park in Weslaco. It is 6 acres, non-profit, and very charming. Lots of different plants to look at, lots of cactus, of course. They have a little area set up for bird watching, about 6 or 8 lawn chairs set up in a row. In front of this row of chairs is a log, on the ground, so you can put your feet up while you watch the birds. They had a lot of different kinds of feeders, some with citrus fruit, and some hummingbird feeders. We saw a hummingbird, it was a bit larger than ours in Michigan, but just as fast! Also saw what I believe was a flicker, only this one had yellow over his eyes, then a patch of red on the top of his head, and then another patch of yellow on the back of his head (neck). We forgot the bird books (DUH), must remember to pack them next time!

Oh, Larry Brittain, we really would like you to come down here with us sometime, this park offers free golf after 2 PM each day! Do you think you could handle that?? HHMMMMM??

We have about 2 1/2 weeks left, unless we decide to stay a little longer. The park is starting to empty out, we hear that some have moved on to Arizona, and others have already headed home. We hear that in the next couple of days even more will be leaving! It is interesting being parked for more than a couple of weeks at a time, we thought we might be bored by now, but, so far, we are not.

Apple Cactus, I have one of these growing in my office at home, it is about 6.5 feet tall. This one growing at the Nature Center in Weslaco Texas is at least 3 times that tall.

Century Plants, it is hard to see, but they are taller than the cyclone fence

behind them, making them something close to 7.5 to 8 feet tall.

A variety of cacti, a century plant, several varieties of prickly pear,

barrell cactus and more, it was a bright day, the photos would

have been better on a cloudy day.