Last Tuesday…..
As another ‘polar’ vortex makes its way south to the Texas Gulf Coast, hubby and I stay nestled inside our 250 square foot home on wheels. With plenty of propane, electric, and a couple of layers of clothing, we stay toasty warm as the high winds rustle the trees and rock the rig.
As much as the swaying trees and limbs would occasionally make me nervous, I was glad to be surrounded by the mature grove of oak trees breaking the wind. This is when I got to thinking more about these unusual oak trees.
I don’t know about you, but when I envision a coastal town I see beaches, palm trees, multi-colored houses, high rise condos, and quaint shops in a beach town setting. Rockport, Texas, is a combination of all that……well not exactly; no high rise condos, very little beach, and instead of palm trees the area boasts an abundance of wind swept oak trees. Oh, there’s the occasional palm tree here and there, but it’s all about the oak trees.
When we turned off Highway 35 to get to our RV Park I was surprised by the trees. The above photo is the road that leads to Goose Island State Park as well as Hidden Oaks RV Park….. pretty, but a little nerve wracking when driving or pulling a high clearance vehicle.
Usually when folks talk about Rockport they’re quite often referring to the area which is technically more than one town; the town of Rockport, Texas, with a population slightly under 9,000 and the town of Fulton hovering around 1,600. The dividing line between these two communities is somewhat blurred as one town blends into the other. Therefore, it’s common for one to refer to the area as Rockport – Fulton or just Rockport, but to confuse you even further Goose Island State Park is actually located in the town of Lamar which is just across the Copano Bay with a population of around 600 but still referred to as ‘Rockport’.
I never tire of riding my bike or walking around this neighborhood in the town of Lamar, Texas. The trees and vegetation are dense. The only evidence of the presence of any homes are the driveways leading into the grove of trees. It isn’t uncommon for me to startle deer, birds, or other wildlife as I meander down the roads. The occasional clearings give the cranes room to land.
This particular road (12th Street) ends near the shore of the St. Charles Bay, and also takes you to an oak tree reportedly over 1,000 years old. Aptly titled the “Big Tree”, this mature oak tree measures 11 feet (3.41 meters) across the trunk, 44 feet tall (13.4 meters), 35 feet around (10.71 meters), and 89 feet across the crown (27.1 meters).
The fence was put around the tree to keep people from walking near the base of the tree thus compacting the roots which makes it hard for the tree to get water. Visiting the Big Tree is listed among one of 51 things to do in Rockport.
Visiting the Lamar cemetery is also listed as a ‘thing to do’ especially for history buffs; burials from Confederate Army soldiers, WWI soldiers, as well as other’s dating back 150 years. Even in the cemetery the oak trees are a feature adding a sense of mystery and character.
During storms and high winds, the trees act as shelter for a sorts of wildlife perhaps even the whooping cranes.
So let’s see…… we’ve visited the Big Tree, stopped at the Lamar Cemetery, and saw the whooping cranes; 3 down, 48 left of the 51 Things to do in Rockport. Hmm, doubt I’ll whittle down that list since our time in Rockport is coming to an end.
We’ll be hitting the road and one of our stops will be Fredericksburg, Texas. Any recommendations on places to camp or things to do in the area would be welcome. Either comment here or email me at livelaughrv@hotmail.com Thanks and I can’t wait to be in better Verizon territory. This intermittent connectivity is driving me crazy!
Live Laugh RV 