Port O'Connor TX -- The End of the Road

Although we stayed in Port O'Connor on the Gulf Coast of Texas for six weeks, arriving there on January 20, we really did little more than hunker down to stay warm as the weather was cool, damp and at times stormy for most of the time. We were parked at Beacon 44 RV Park essentially in the middle of the town, but about a mile from the water's edge. The owners were gracious and frequently hosted pot luck suppers. We enjoyed one such that featured Roast Pork, Roast Beef and Roast Moose.  All were equally good tasting and hard to tell any difference between the beef or the moose.

The town identifies as being at the end of the road and it is indeed. It is about 35 miles one way to Port Lavaca where there were regular shopping opportunities but made us plan our forays accordingly because of the distance!

On a mild day we were able to visit a ghost town, Indianola, which at one time was a major port town south of Galveston. Many German immigrants arrived here in 1845 and were stranded after their agents went broke and abandoned them.

Storms and fires effectively destroyed the town and the harbor by the time of the Civil War. In 1856 several shipments of Camels arrived at Indianola as part of the US Army Camel Corps experiment to replace horses and mules with camels as the primary pack animals in the southwestern portions of the nation.

Nothing of the original town remains other than a stone purported to be from the original courthouse.  Several historic markers identify various points of interest.

Brown Pelican and a Ring-billed Gull resting on some old pilings at Indianola. 

The same two as above but joined by a cormorant and another gull.

This Egret was looking for lunch as we drove past.

At Beacon 44 RV Park there was a nice central pond where one could fish (catch and release) and that was home to several domestic ducks like these. Also were the ever-present mallards and some interbred hybrids.

On the drive to Port Lavaca, we saw Red-tailed Hawks on nearly every utility pole. While at Indianola we also saw a Roseate Spoonbill fly overhead but coud not drive the car and take a picture at the same time!  So all we have are Hawks to share.

We left there on March 3rd and next stopped at a Thousand Trails Park northwest of San Antonio TX. Details and photos from that stop are in a separate posting.