Galveston Island State Park

We've been camping at Galveston Island State Park for the last 8 days and have enjoyed it so much that I've not made time to write about our experiences, but today is so windy that being outdoors is difficult, so I'm determined to catch up the blog and write a few entries about the things we have been doing since arriving here.  This first piece is about the park itself; subsequent entries will be about some of the things we have been enjoying about the town of Galveston.

This park was hard-hit by Hurricane Ike in 2008, as was the entire island and the city of Galveston, as 8 feet of seawater overwhelmed the island.  As a result, the beaches, the marshes, the buildings and shelters, and the dunes were irrevocably changed.  This affected all those living and visiting here (human and animal).  Massive efforts to renew and reclaim have created a beautiful area for beach camping, beach walking, shelling, and birdwatching both on the beach and in the surrounding wetland areas.  For those of us used to the plentiful trees of the Midwest, this area seems at first glance pretty barren; some shrubs, grasses, smaller palms, but no large trees, all of which have succumbed to the series of hurricanes that have sent ocean waves over the land, with the result that saltwater has killed nearly all of the larger trees.  Although we seem to have arrived at a time when shells are less prevalent than we had expected based on what we had read prior to our trip, just walking this beautiful beach at all times of day and early evening is enjoyable.  Since the beach faces north-east, sunsets involve beautiful colors in the sky over the ocean, but no direct view of the sun, so one morning I set my alarm to ensure I would be up in time for the sunrise and sat on the beach in my chair with camera in hand for nearly an hour recording the day begin - it was beautiful on several fronts (the sky, the water, the quiet of the beach shared with no one but the shore-birds). I've also been able to capture the moonrise reflected on a section of the water nearest the dunes, although I've yet to gain sufficient control of my camera to take a really good moonlight photo.  Still, here are my attempts at portraying "our" beach at various times of the day.

Sunrise:

Sunset:

Moonrise: