Bolivar Peninsula (mostly pictures)

Location: Bolivar Peninsula RV Park; Crystal Beach, Texas

All Pictures taken with Nokia Lumia Icon 929 Cell Phone

I pulled out of Quintana 5 days ago with another overcast day in which to travel. Once I arrived at Galveston the skies cleared and the sun came out. After riding the ferry over to the Bolivar Peninsula and setting up camp, the weather was very nice. It was a little chilly but still the way I like it. The weather has cooperated for my entire time here at Crystal Beach. Tomorrow is moving day so my fingers are crossed that it remains nice. 

I've been to Bolivar/Galveston several times over the years so I don't feel like a tourist/explorer in a strange place as I do when I travel to places I haven't visited. I guess that is why I've been slow at posting to the blog. 

I think it will be best to make this post with pictures and captions.

Crossing the Intracoastal Waterway as I'm leaving Quintana Beach. It gives an idea of how flat the terrain is along the coast. That is the Gulf of Mexico in my side mirror. Seems a lot of things have been in my side mirror. 

A view from the same bridge but looking down on a small part of the industry in this area. 

This is about half way to Galveston. You top a bridge and "bingo", another refinery/industry. It is a good picture showing the comparison of heavy industry on the left
co-habitating with the nothingness of nature on the right.

Speaking of industry, that is the smoke coming from the petro-chemical storage fire in south east Houston. This picture was taken from the Bolivar/Galveston Ferry.

That's Liberty in the middle on a nice weather day. The front part of the campground is only about 20% full. It is a Passport America campground so I'm getting 50% off for the first 4 days. 

This is Rollover Pass. It is located about 10 miles north/east of Crystal Beach. The pass connects the Gulf of Mexico with the upper reaches of Galveston Bay. The pass was cut and dredged in 1955 which created what we see today. Before that it was just a narrow piece of land on the peninsula used by smugglers to offload illegal cargo from ships in the Gulf and transport it across the narrow strip of land where it was loaded on smaller boats in Galveston Bay. Today, fishermen flock to this location to try their luck. 

This is looking back towards the bay which is on the other side of the highway bridge. I've been here before when every foot of the wall has been taken up by fishermen. 

One of the great things about Texas is you can drive on a lot of the beaches. You can drive and find an isolated spot to park and look out at the Gulf. In this case, I parked in hopes of seeing the full moon rise. The sun is setting directly behind me and the shadow in the picture is Freedom's shadow.

It was a little bit hazy when the moon came out. And this picture is not very good because I don't know how to take night pictures and I'm generally too lazy to learn since I rarely take them. But, the experience is still in my memories (silent echoes),,, at least for a while. 

One of the sunrises from the campground. 

This was another late afternoon visit to the beach. The pelicans put on a show by diving into the water for their supper. It was nice and peaceful.

Good morning sunshine. This is taken from my little slide window looking over my neighbors RV. There was a low fog in the vacant field next door which gave a mixture of emotions when looking at it all.

The Commodore Motel. Memories from a long time ago.

How is this for a view while gassing up Freedom. I wonder if the locals get used to the view and not notice it anymore. It would be sad if they do.

Can't ride the ferry without seeing the gulls

Still on the ferry while looking out in the Gulf at the Ships in Parade line waiting to enter the harbor.

Ships all the way to and past the horizon

A couple more ships and a gull. 

People feeding the gulls on the fantail of the ferry.

This is the north jetty of the entrance to Galveston Bay. It stretches a couple of miles out into the Gulf. Waiting ships. 

This is as far as you can walk on semi-smooth concrete. It is about 1/2 mile from shore but still almost 2 miles from the end of the jetty. I didn't go any farther since there was danger in walking on the uneven blocks. One misstep and I could be in trouble with me being the only one this far out.

Looking back to shore for the jetty.

There is a lot going on in the is picture. It is taken for the jetty looking back towards the harbor entrance. You can see the ships going in and some waiting. The two mounds of earth on the right side are old gun emplacements at Fort Travis used in the past to protect the harbor. The Fort is also the location where Jane Long fooled Jean Lafitte and his pirates into thinking the fort was still manned. You can read about his from my previous visit there. Look on the archive list on the right side and find the post from 10/30/2014 to read about the Mother of Texas.

This is an old picture from 2014 showing the "Tea Pot House" on the southern end of Galveston Island. I usually drop by to see how it is doing whenever I'm in the area and for years it has been vacant. 

But things rarely stay the same for very long in this life. Someone bought the old "Tea Pot House" and remodeled it, even added a deck. I had to look twice to make sure what I was seeing. I think it is good that someone is giving the old place a new life, but I wonder if there will be a need to make the drive to see it next time I'm on the island. Oh well, "if things don't change, something is wrong."

Tomorrow is moving day. I'll be camping at a campground in Duson, Louisiana near a privately owned RV shop that I have an appointment on Monday for them to check out the bedroom A/C unit on Liberty. They have certified technicians so I'm starting out confident they know what they are doing. If I get good vibes from them, I may have them check some other things. It is hard to find a good RV shop without it being a dealership. While in the area, I'll make a quick stop to check on my sister and her family. I'll come back for a longer visit in the near future. Unless things change, I'll be back in Mansfield at my usual campground by Monday or Tuesday afternoon.

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.