Three Cats Ranch Shutdown

Geez...what a couple of shameless slugs we were yesterday. We ended up at the post office and eventually had some lunch, and finally...having bored ourselves to death with our laziness...we decided to go out for a short hike on the park nature trail.

Right away, and far off in the distance, we saw this small mammal cross the trail. At first we thought it was an armadillo.

When we got closer, we realized it was an opossum. Here, he was trying to look all badass. We weren't afraid.

It was a rather uninteresting and muddy trail.

It just kind of wound all around a small round in the wooded area of the park. Eventually, we came to this boardwalk that led out to a tidal marsh. It was closed off, but we didn't let that stop us. We simply climbed over the barrier.

The boardwalk seemed sturdy enough, but we realized it was probably closed off because there was no railing at the end. The railings still there were very wobbly. This is probably a remnant of Katrina.

It was pretty out there, if a little stinky. Far in the distance was a great egret.

The light was a little strange at this time of the day, but it made for some interesting silhouettes.

I've been trying for weeks to get a good picture of this Silver Buffaloberry. My camera wanted to focus on everything but the berries. We've seen it all over the south, and one common name for it is "Florida holly." The buffaloberry has been a staple food to some American Indians, who ate the berries in puddings, jellies, and in raw or dried form.

From our hike through the woods, we walked down to the Gulf shore. I mentioned the seawall in a previous post. We crossed the road and sat on the seawall. To the west, we saw this.

To the east, we saw this.

For us Oregonians, it's kind of funny to be sitting on a salt water shore and talking about east vs. west, rather than north vs. south. We walked along the seawall to a small beach off in the distance.

There, I took dozens of pictures of these killdeers.

The beach was small, but we walked out to the water's edge. It was like being at the edge of our own little world.

The shutdown is over, and so we'll be heading to the Stennis Space Center today. I've done some reading about it since my last post. As it turns out the Infinity Science Center has been open all along. The price of admission includes a bus tour of the Stennis Space Center,, which has indeed been closed during the shutdown. Taking the bus tour from the Infinity Science Center is the only way to see it. We're heading to the science center today, and we're optimistic that we'll be able to get a tour of the space center. Let's hope so because today is our last day here. Tomorrow...New Orleans.