Matagorda Bay Nature Park-Undiscovered or Unwanted?

Matagorda Bay Nature Park seems to be a bundle of contradictions.  Located where the Colorado River enters the Gulf, it has the river along with beautiful beaches, jetties, fishing pier and new facilities.  Most Texas Gulf areas are filled to capacity with the "Winter Texans", but here the RV park was about twenty percent capacity for the entire 9 days we spent here.  A brand new bridge was built a year ago replacing the old swing bridge over the intercoastal waterway providing  hassle-free access.

After crossing the new bridge there is a six mile drive along the river past cottages before reaching the Nature Park.  The RV park adjoins the visitor center.

So why are the RV's staying away?  The six mile drive from Matagorda on the mainland should not be a factor.  Perhaps it is the lack of stores and restaurants at the small village of Matagorda itself.  There is only one all-purpose store at the single four-way stop and only a couple restaurants in town-one of which is located in a house.  The only restaurant close to the park was not especially rewarding.  Although it had a nice location on the river, the higher prices and mediocre seafood determined that our first visit would be our last.  Most people drive the 30 miles to Bay City for groceries and restaurants.

Perhaps construction on the new east jetty was keeping people away.  The last hurricane had rearranged the landscape tremendously moving a lot of land from the west jetty and moving it onto the east side.  The construction closed the jetty and pier and a section of the beach.

All the sand in the picture was moved there by the last hurricane.  The west jetty is in the background.

The beginning of the new east jetty due to be completed in 18 months.

Another contradiction for me was the lack of good bird photography despite the great number of birds present.  In my opinion there is too much good habitat and the birds are very spread out.  Great for birders but not for photographers.  I watched large flocks of shorebirds, skimmers, pelicans, and gulls at the mouth of the Colorado but that area was all closed off because of the construction.  When the jetty work is completed perhaps good opportunities will present themselves to the photographer.

View from the back of our RV.

Beaches and Shells

Since a nearby site had the highest Christmas bird species count in the country for several years running I thought I would see a lot of winter birders here, but I never did see anybody carrying binoculars.  Instead the park's inhabitants were into collecting shells.  Picnic tables by many RV's were covered with shells.  So, following the adage "When in Rome.....", we paid $10 for a yearly truck permit, pushed the four-wheel drive button, and hit the beach.  Edie was a little apprehensive at first since you can drive for miles and a few places were soft but she soon became the "Shell Queen" and wanted to collect at every low tide.  I always thought of Sannibel when collecting shells but this was much more fun.

Those are all shells-not stones!!!

There is a lot of infrastructure work here and a couple more years may produce the answer as to whether this becomes a winter magnet for northeners.