Biking and Sunset

We biked around the park today. We went to Sunset Point, where we saw this large fishing pier with no water anywhere near.  Then we pedaled to the Eagle Point Screened Shelter area. There we found a mowed path out to a grassy area, a great place to watch the sunset. Ken got some interesting bird photos.

On our last visit here in 2011 we saw a very large flock of American White Pelicans and Double Crested Cormorants migrating together. Today we spotted a similar flock, but it was rather far out in the lake and smaller than the ones we saw on our earlier trip.

Later we drove back out to Eagle Point to watch the sunset. Our campground loop is surrounded by trees which block the western view. We took our chairs out on the point and enjoyed watching some Great Blue Herons fishing for their dinner. Then we watched the setting sun until it disappeared under the horizon. It's was very quiet. We could hear a chorus of frogs and some twittering birds.

It's Thursday, and a few more campsites on our loop are occupied. We figure they're here for the weekend. So far they haven't been noisy.

We watched a NOVA episode we had recorded, called Earth From Space. We've actually seen it before, but it was well worth watching again. The amount of data the scientific satellites collect is awesome, and the relationships that have been established are very interesting. From space, the Terra satellite can measure the surface of the earth down to 1/4 inch. It has observed the swelling of the earth around volcanoes when they were about to erupt. 

Satellites report that a staggering number of lightning strikes hit the earth each day, on the order of 6000 every minute. The power of the bolts splits nitrogen, and the resulting nitrates and ammonia fall to earth with the rain and fertilize the planet. The complex interrelationships that have been observed by the satellites makes me think of the whole earth as a single giant ecosystem.

Ed went out today to check out the Lufkin VFW campsites for us and sent photos. The sites are on grass and look quite negotiable to us, at least unless there are very heavy rainstorms just before our arrival. It could get muddy fast.