Coming into Texas, a state of contrasts

January 22-23, 2016

From Louisiana, we drove along the Alabama and Mississipi Gulf coast.  We were at first surprised at what seemed like miles of vacant, empty "prime" oceanfront land...then we clued in and realized this was property devastated during hurricane Katrina and other hurricanes.  On the ocean side of the road, miles of beautiful beach without a structure or tee insight, on the land side, dozens of lots for sale, some new housing developments and many, many vacant lots with visible remnants of building foundations or fencing... powerful reminders of the forces of nature.  No photos.

Then, we drove into Texas, and I was reminded of the theme to "The Beverly Hillbillies" when they referred to oil as "black gold" and "Texas tea"... Yes, there is definitely evidence of oil extraction, production and refining everywhere.

 








And then, our first Texas State park, Sea Rim, unspoiled beauty of the Gulf Coast.  Sighs of contentment!!!  Not entirely a happy story however, as we learned that the park suffered tremendous losses during two hurricanes a few years apart.  They had rebuilt a new visitors centre after the first hurricane, and it was all washed away a few years later... Facilities are very basic now as they plan to rebuild yet again...