A Shrouded Forest

I have been trying to go to McAllen, Texas, once a month or so, just to pick up some things that I can't find here in the Port Isabel/Brownsville/Harlingen areal. I like to go to Sprouts Farmers Market to get my organic produce, and I found a thrift store I really like as well. Since it takes nearly a few hours to get there and a few hours back, I try to leave quite early in the morning, which gives me a good excuse to watch the sunset in my rear view mirror. 

But, besides the stores, I try to take in a bit of nature along the way as well. So, on the way home today, I stopped at the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, which runs right along the border, enclosed by the Rio Grande River on the south. There are a number of trails to choose from. I chose to go down one that gave a really good sampling of this "dense, subtropical forest," including a lot of really, really tall trees shrouded in Spanish moss. I happened to get there are just the right time to catch the morning sun shining through the moss, which gave it a sort of eerie but cool nuance. 

I couldn't really see a lot of animals in this part of the refuge, but I sure could hear them. It sounded somewhat like jungle sounds we might here in the movies. I just kept walking, looking up, looking around, and just feeling astounded at the strange beauty of it all. 

After a bit, there were not as many of the shrouded trees, but I saw a sign saying "Tower Trail," so I walked along to see what I could see. 

It wasn't a super-high tower, but for a person with balance issues, it was the cause of more than a little trepidation. However, my sense of intrigue won me over and I did go up the spiral staircase, holding on to the sides with both hands with every step. It was a pretty cool view of the tree tops. Actually, there were two towers with a mobile walking bridge between the two. I did not venture across the bridge, not this time, anyway. Maybe next time.