A RANDOM RIDE- TOWARD A SUNNY DAY!

                                                      A RIDE TOWARD THE SUN
It wasn't raining today! Early afternoon we decided to take a ride. Where to?
We weren't sure, so I suggested we drive toward San Benito, we haven't been there yet. San Benito is rather close to Brownsville, just a regular town, we continued on. Suddenly the sun was in the distance! Now, we haven't seen the sun for days, so we drove toward it. We were on our way to Pharr (pronounced far). Those brown signs on any road attrack my attention. They are signs for parks, refuges, lakes, and other natural wonders. We passed a brown sign indicating a refuge to the left.

Turning around we headed back to the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge. We have a senior park pass (good for all national parks/cost:$10, great bargain) so we went to the center for our dated window slip, and proceeded to gather up camera, binoculars, water and hats. Walking down the paths we encountered several Chachalacas.

They are noisy birds, sounding like monkeys. The sun was out, the woods was tropical, the path was muddy, the binoculars were ready, what a great afternoon!
Chachalacas, Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, Altamira Oriole, Kiskadee Flycatcher, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, American Wigeon, Mottled Duck, American Coot, Common Moorhen, along with herons, egerts, Roseate spoonbills, all in one place!  This is a great refuge to visit!         This is the Altamira Oriole hiding behind the branches.
The most unique part of the afternoon was coming upon a suspended bridge!
Right there in the middle of the refuge there were sprial stairs leading up to 
a small platform, which connected a suspended bridge to another small platform. We ascended the spiral stairs, to the first platform. This seemed like new construction. Everything very white and clean. Holding on to the ropes we crossed the suspension bridge. It was undulating and shaky. Of course, it could be made more shaky by jumping up and down!

The long suspension bridge, made from ropes and "recycled, plastic wood." It was so high and so much fun to cross! We were at the canopy of the woods, looking down made my knees a little weak. Had to get that out of my head, as I needed to get to the other platform, then down those spiral steps. We will return to this refuge, maybe when my sister comes down to visit. She'll love this!

Below: looking up at the suspension bridge.   Spiral stairs-4 sets of them.