Winnie-the-Pooh Day

Last night we personally experienced the weather phenomenon called "Rolling Thunder". After and evening of showers and light wind, the lighting and thunder really got with the program about 2 am. The lightning spread across the sky from horizon to horizon with thunder following soon after. The thunder was almost constant, rolling from side to side and top to bottom, it seemed. We got up and stowed the various antennas due to the high wind, and tried to go back to sleep. The wind was blowing so fiercely that the motorhome rocked and rolled like a cork in a bathtub! It's said that gusts were near 70 mph.

This morning the wind was still going strong.

Looks a lot like the Weather Channel, doesn't it?

Wanting to get out and see the area, but not having a clue where to go, we gathered up Sasha and drove to the gate and turned…..right. Eventually we arrived at Palo Alto Battlefield National Park. In Spring 1846, 2,300 US troops marched out of the brush onto a prairie known as Palo Alto, "Tall Trees". Across the field, 3,200 Mexican soldiers lined up to block their way. Both armies were positioned to defend the territory recently annexed from Mexico by the United States, known as Texas. US troops led by General Zachary Taylor were out-manned, but had superior artillery. Mexican General Mariano Arista attempted to use out-dated cavalry tactics in an effort to outflank the American line. After a five hour battle, the artillery advantage took its toll, and the Mexican army withdrew, only to be decisively defeated the next day.

After a short hike with Sasha around the more interesting sites at the battlefield, we retreated to the comfort of the car and started wandering again. About 20 miles later, on SR 4, the Boca Chica highway, we discovered the unimproved site of the Battle of Palmito Ranch.

On May 12, 1865, weeks after other major Confederate armies had surrendered, forces of the Union army on Brazos Island, under the command of Colonel Theodore H. Barrett, marched on the Texas mainland. They were met by 190 Confederate men of the Texas Cavalry Battalion, led by Captain W. N. Robinson. Reinforcements arrived for both sides, and the battle spilled over into the next day, when the 2nd Texas cavalry under the command of Colonel John S. "Rip" Ford arrived with six artillery pieces to decisively turn the tide of battle in favor of the Rebels, who chased the yanks all the way back to Brazos Island. As the sun set a Federal shell exploded over the head of a teen-aged Confederate soldier. Rattled, the young man turned and fired the last shot of the Civil War into the sand dunes in the distance! Private John Jefferson Williams of the 34th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, one of 118 US soldiers killed, wounded, or missing at Palmito Ranch, is recognized as the last soldier killed in a Civil War battle.

Today, much of the site of the battle is part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Wildlife Refuge.

The Boca Chica highway ends at Boca Chica Beach, just south of Port Brownsville. The high onshore winds we decided not to explore beyond the windshield of the car!

Welcome to the Gulf of Mexico!

After lunch at Mariscos De La Rosa, a busy local Mexican restaurant, we were blown back to Los Fresnos and the relative comfort of the motorhome. And yesterdays' weather was so nice!