Matagorda Bay, Texas

While we survived the tornado that ripped through the campground, we still had an enjoyable visit. We spent the next day helping clean up the campground, but the following day was a day to enjoy the beach. We found many interesting sea shells and enjoyed the warm afternoon sun.

 

Matagorda Bay was "discovered" way back in the year 1510 when Spanish explorer Alonzo Alverez de Pinieda documented the area. 

The Texas Colorado River ends it's flow at the Gulf of Mexico in Matagorda Bay. Approximately 40,000 gallons of water flow into the bay every SECOND! The bay is home to several ports, Port Lavaca, Matagorda and Palacios.

Matagorda Bay is a renowned fishing location in the region, due to its status as a nutrient-rich estuary. The mainstays of the settlements on the bay include seafood processing, manufacturing, agriculture and tourism. Commercial fishermen, such as this trawler pictured here, specialize in oyster, blue crab, and shrimp. Palacios houses the largest blue crab processing plant in the United States.

An afternoon stroll along the shores of the Colorado River provides solice as the sun sets over the island on the other side from the campground. This picture was taken from the back of our coach.

There is not too much surf when the tide is out. The water was a warm 78 degrees. There are many sea shells to be picked through along with many many oyster shells. Here we are looking westward.

I thought I'd give equal time looking eastward. There was a fire burning almost 55 miles away. You can see the smoke on the horizon.

Another view of the sunset from our campsite.

There is a long pier adjacent to the campground. This is a fishing pier that offers excellent fishing and views over the water. It juts out almost 1500 feet from the shoreline. It terminates onto a man made jetty that allow additional fishing. At high tide the jetty is under water.

That's Debi and Jasmine walking on the pier.

We enjoyed many evenings walking on the beach and the pier. This is a place where one can get lost with their own thoughts and enjoy the beauty of our great country.

Mother Nature still rules the roost and she struts her stuff every now and then. I'm standing on the jetty at the end of the pier when the tide began to come in. I snapped a few pictures before scurrying to the safety of the pier.

As mentioned earlier, trade through this region is important to it's economy. Looking westward toward Matagorda Bay, the Colorado river is on the left while the Matagorda Ship Channel allows ships and barges to travel into the bay itself. The channel on the right is a series of locks to allow the ships to navigate this portion of the river.

As the sun sets, the Colorado River is in the foreground with the Gulf of Mexico directly behind.