On the first day of autumn, as light began to show on the horizon, I pedaled my bike north on County Road at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge (LANWR). I sweated in the humid, morning heat. I listened to the crunch of gravel beneath my tires and smelled water-starved mesquite. Six nilgai loped across the road in front of me. To the east, mesquite trees blocked my view of a cultivated field and the sun lighting the horizon. On my left, the west, was thick thornscrub. A flock of White Ibises flew overhead.
Suddenly, from a tree on my right burst a Great Horned Owl. It looked at me as it swooped past. It flew over the brush and curved back to the road. It perched on the end of a dead branch on a mesquite tree on to my right, some 200 feet ahead of me.
I stopped pedaling and stopped. The owl stared at me. I took out my camera and tried for a photo. The sun hadn’t risen, and the light was poor. I walked the bike about 50 feet and tried again. The majestic bird looked behind itself and at me, and it stayed on its perch.
I walked the Surly bike forward two more times. The owl stared down at me from its perch less than 50 away. It opened its wings as if it was to fly, but then settled and stayed. I took photos and simply watched the owl as it watched me. After a while, I talked to the Great Horned Owl. I thanked it for staying while I enjoyed the moments in its presence.
The owl didn’t leave. I did. I rode off to the north toward my destination of North Point. I looked back and saw the owl, still on its perch, looking at me. Then I thought that I should have stayed. How many opportunities will I have to commune with a Great Horned Owl? It made the day.
Here, I was about four miles from the Visitor’s Center. I pedaled another three miles to an intersection. To my right, the east, was the road to Horse Island that I mentioned in another post. To the left stretched the road to Cayo Atascoso, which I have also written about.
The road in front of went toward North Point, the northernmost point on the LANWR. I continued pedaling. The caliche ended at the intersection. The first quarter mile was dirt, and then sand and silt. One mile from the intersection the road became bumpy.
Many nilgai antelope use the road. When it’s wet, their hooves sink into the mud. When it dries and bakes in the South Texas sun, it creates a hard, bumpy surface. Grasses grow on the road, so along with the bumps one pushes through the growth if it hasn’t been mown.
The road slopes up and then down to North Point on the bank of the Arroyo Colorado, about 11.5 miles from the Visitor’s Center.
From North Point, one has a view of the mouth of the Arroyo Colorado, which is also the Harlingen Ship Channel, a mile to the east and of the Laguna Madre. It’s often busy with boats, tugboats, and barges.
On a bicycle, there is no place to go from North Point except back to the intersection at County Road. It’s a great ride, about 23 miles round-trip from the Visitor’s Center.
