Austin’s Congress Avenue Bridge and 1.5 million bats

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Back before the pandemic we were visiting our family in Austin. We all took a day trip to San Antonio one Sunday, and planned to see the bats of Austin that evening. This is a recap of that adventure.

Who would think that a winged visitor from Mexico would make such a splash in downtown Austin, Texas. Such is the story of the Free-tailed bat. These critters migrate to Austin in March and stay through November. The colony spends each day under the Congress Avenue Bridge and emerges en-mass at sunset. This daily event has become a famous local attraction in Austin.

View of the watercraft waiting for the bats

Mexican Free-tailed bat

We planned to see the bats after a day in San Antonio. Because it was a Sunday, free street parking was available if you could find it. A ten dollar garage was well worth the cost. When we got there I needed a restroom and found one at a great restaurant a block away. The restaurant staff where we had supper knew exactly what time the bats would emerge. After supper we walked the two blocks to the bridge. Because it was Sunday the crowds were not large and we walked right up to the bridge rail for a great view.

The bat colony takes flight

A viewing deck was on the river bank for a look up at the bridge. A wide variety of tour boats, canoes and kayaks were in place on the water of Lady Bird Lake waiting to see the show. And what a show it was! The first bats started to fly about 10 minutes before sunset. It didn’t take long for hundreds of thousands of bats to fly out from under the bridge. The sky was filled with masses of bats! It looked like they were flying along the river. Before the Congress Avenue Bridge was built where did the colony of bats spend daylight hours?

New Orleans’ famed above ground tombs in St Louis Cemetery No. 1

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St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 was established via a Royal Spanish Land Grant in 1789. It was originally outside the city limits, and was at least twice its current size. The Archdiocese of New Orleans now has control of this cemetery. Currently the only way you can get into the cemetery is with a licensed tour guide. Unfortunately vandalism has forced this action. This cemetery was definitely on our list of things to “be sure to see” when we visited New Orleans in January, 2018.

Multiple designs for the tombs, some fancy and some plain

The famed above ground tombs and wall tombs are designed for use by generation after generation. Many of the tombs are owned by individual families. Some of the very large tombs are known as society tombs where several families or groups have combined resources. The laws dictate that a year and a day passes before an additional burial is permitted. As you would expect, there are many well-known, famous and infamous people whose tombs are located in the cemetery.

We are standing in front of the tomb of Marie Laveau, the famed Voodoo Queen. This is reportedly the most visited tomb in New Orleans.

We decided to go on a St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 and Voodoo tour put on by the Gray Line. Marcia, our tour guide, was a delightful host of our small group. As mentioned above, you must be with a licensed tour guide to gain entrance into the cemetery. Shop around, but we suggest going with the Gray Line Tour Company.

Plaque on the tomb of Marie Laveau, the most famous voodoo Priestess from New Orleans

Nicholas Cage had this tomb built in the cemetery. He says he wants to be buried here, and the IRS cannot touch a burial plot. We were told that Cage visited the tomb a year ago with his brother.

Not all tombs are as well maintained as others.

Multiple generations of the same family interred in a wall tomb.

Fort Lowell Park showcases 19th century military history of Tucson

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Fort Lowell in Tucson takes you back to the days of the 19th century, primarily the military history of the Arizona Territory.

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"The Chief Trumpeter" “The Chief Trumpeter”

Fort Lowell Park is now a large city park northeast of downtown Tucson. It is home to several ballparks and soccer fields. The ground is also the site of a former frontier Army fort. The original military post was opened in 1860 on the outskirts of the then tiny town of Tucson. This location was abandoned several years later and moved to the Fort Lowell site, seven miles northeast of downtown Tucson. The fort remained until it was decommissioned and abandoned in 1891.

The Fort was used as a staring point for several Army expeditions chasing down “renegade” Apache bands. Perhaps the most famous event that began at Fort Lowell was General Crook’s expedition that led to the “surrender” of Geronimo.

Today little remains of the original buildings. The old hospital building remains are the largest reminder of the original fort. The mud brick walls are now…

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Sunset Beach at Tarpon Springs offers free concerts

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This is a recap of a delightful experience we had at a beach near Tarpon Springs, Florida a few years back. We had been selling our wares at shows and markets and took advantage of a break for some R&R.

The bandstand at sunset on the beach

Bonfire on the beach, doesn’t get any better

We had left the Sponge Docks shopping and attractions area and were headed towards one of the Tarpon Springs beaches. We wanted to see the sun set over the Gulf. We ended up at Sunset Beach and much to our surprise and delight we spotted signs for a free concert on the beach that evening.

When we first pulled up in our RV a nice lady stopped us and she thought we were one of the food vendors there to set up! Once she realized we were not the food truck she politely directed us to the other parking areas.

Sunset Beach is just beautiful. The covered stage was perfect for live music, and everyone of the many folks there enjoyed the music, the bonfire and the available refreshments.

Good food, reasonable prices!

The sunset was stunning: one of those cloudless events that brought a beautiful orange hue to the entire skyline. It was pretty windy, but folks just bundled up, brought their own chairs, and enjoyed the band. Free marshmallows and sticks were also provided for everyone who wanted a toasted marshmallow.

We checked the Tarpon Springs website, and in 2022 the free concerts are still being offered. This is the link to the concert information. 

Check the dryer first

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At the time, this was an aggravation, but in retrospect it was kind of funny. Glad it wasn’t raining…

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Yes, those are leopard sheets... Yes, those are leopard sheets…

There is something about coming off of a long weekend festival and heading to a campground for a little rest, relaxation and doing some laundry.

The campground was nice, great roads, only 15 bucks with the Passport America discount and the laundry was only about seven sites away. Ok, it was small, two washers and two dryers. One dryer had an “Out of order: does not spin” sign on the door with the coin slots taped shut. Ok, I got that. A couple of loads won’t be bad, waiting for the one dryer.

Two loads started, no sweat. First load into the dryer: coins in, heat level set for high, start buton pushed. Well, 30 minutes later the laundry is still wet. Long story short, this dryer had no trouble spining. It just didn’t provide any heat. The result was turning the Four Winds 22E…

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Good timing at Mt. Rushmore National Memorial

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One thing we have discovered about Roadtirement is that timing is sometimes everything. We hit perfect timing when we visited Mt. Rushmore a while back on one of our trips to Seattle. We were at Mt. Rushmore National Memorial on a Sunday in late August a week before Labor Day. The traffic was minimal, and we discovered a vehicle pull off on the Norbeck Parkway, Route 244, where you can see George Washington’s face in profile. The parking area was nearly void of cars and outside the Park grounds.

See George directly above the white truck?

Sure there were some vehicles that pulled in to the turn off, but very few stayed for any length of time. It seemed like we had that beautiful slice of Mt. Rushmore all to ourselves.

George’s big profile view

Some statistics: George’s face is 60 feet tall, his nose is 20 feet long and his mouth is 18 feet across. Oh, and don’t forget his eyes. They are 11 feet wide each. Glad we had a telephoto lens!

 

Historic and haunted Stanwood Hotel and Bar

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It is that time of year, waiting for Halloween! This is one of the more documented and investigated haunted sites in Washington State.

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Several years ago we found this neat old place in the historic town of Stanwood, Washington. Stanwood was originally a lumber, mining and shipbuilding town. The Hotel was first opened in 1894, and a plaque on the front of the building proudly proclaims the local historical society taking note.

Stanwood Hotel and Bar

The hotel has a rather raucous history as you might expect from what in reality was a frontier town. Over the years some unseemly characters took part in rather unseemly activities at the hotel and bar. Some of these events have led many to believe that spirits of the past still roam the bar and hotel. Current staff and patrons have reported repeatedly seeing apparitions in Victorian age clothing. Some have been pulled at and pushed. I personally had a weird feeling of being observed in the hallway to the restrooms, an area with lots of reports…

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Haunted Suicide Railroad Bridge

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The sad story has been repeated over and over: Unwed girl gets pregnant, gives birth, and takes her life and the infant’s life as well.

This tale of tragedy takes a paranormal turn in Columbus, Indiana. The time is in the mid 1920’s, when illegitimate children brought shame not only to the mother but to her family as well. One such birth led to the young unwed mother making the decision to take her own life and her baby’s. The location of the suicide was an open railroad bridge over the East Fork of the White River in Columbus, Indiana.

The old open RR bridge

Locals still report seeing the misty figure of a young woman with a bundled blanket in her arms standing on this bridge, which does not have adequate width to even allow current pedestrian traffic. This figure vanishes into “thin” air. Perhaps even more unsettling is the mournful sound of a baby wailing, also heard emanating from somewhere in the area.

The center portion of the bridge

Research into this apparition has revealed a couple of accounts of the sighting of some sort of large yellow eyed creature being seen on this bridge at times. However I was not able to confirm any such sightings or reports of same with the locals.

Note: This post is taken from our My Paranormal Encounters blog.