This
beauty was photographed in our yard Jan. 2016.
Even
in Texas it’s rather unusual to see butterflies in the winter.
This might seem like a bit of a cheat, to combine three
camping sites in one post. Especially since they aren’t located near each
other. Bear with us. They have one thing in common - Monarch Butterflies.
We’re going to begin with Kaw Lake, sitting on the border
of Kansas and Oklahoma. It’s east of Ponca City and west of Food Network’s
Pioneer Woman home turf. This is a Corp project with a few campgrounds located
around the lake. We stayed at Coon Creek on the west side. The roads which take
you into the various campgrounds can be a bit rough. They’re not necessarily an
indication of campground condition, though. We were there in early Oct.,
shortly after the main camping season had closed. The campground was still
open. A volunteer host wasn’t available to assign a site and check us in. There
were envelopes available for self-check in. Which we strongly recommend you do,
along with hanging your America the Beautiful Pass, if you have one. The
campground was still being supervised and maintained.
The
storm and cold front which followed us.
The
butterflies had disappeared for the day by this point.
Kristal
wished she could get photos of them.
They
were mostly staying under the trees where the light was not so great.
Her
cold wasn’t helping with photographic endeavors either.
This is the first location where we’ve experienced Monarch
Butterfly migration, ever. Shortly after we set up camp we started noticing
groups of them flying thru our campsite. At first, we weren’t quite sure what
we were seeing. Fall had arrived in northern OK, too. There were leaves which
were falling. The butterflies were flying anywhere from 4-5 feet above ground
to several feet above our heads. They kind of blended in with the leaves, until
we realized they weren’t landing on the ground at all. We arrived around 3 PM
to our campsite and noticed our visitors as we were setting up camp. Several
groups flew over for about 2 hours. The next day, there were a few in the
morning after the sun was up. We didn’t see any more after that. We think we
arrived at the tail end of migration for the area. It’s also possible weather
had an effect. It was 84° when we arrived. A thunderstorm with a cold front
followed us in. While it remained mostly on the east side of the lake, the cold
didn’t. And the rest of our stay was chilly. Still, it’s the most butterflies
we’ve ever seen in one place. We didn’t choose this campground with the
expectation of seeing them either, since we didn’t see any while further north.
It was an unexpected blessing after a rather difficult day of travel. (Kristal’s
cold was settling in.) Which illustrates the best blessings are always the ones
you don’t expect to receive.
Lake Arrowhead SP, approximately seven miles south of
Wichita Falls, TX was our second butterfly encounter. We actually stayed at
this park twice, while leaving Texas and on our return. We don’t think there is
a campsite here which isn’t level. Heard of mesquite? Perhaps as BBQ wood? There
is plenty of it here. Along with cactus, prairie grass and some wildflowers.
Some sages were still blooming in October. There was the occasional Monarch
along with some other species flitting thru the park. The main attraction for
Kristal was the discovery of a butterfly garden on the park’s map. It’s by the
ranger station/park entrance. We stopped as we were leaving, for a photo op
& to ask questions. A Monarch did visit, but Kristal wasn’t yet in the
habit of wearing her new glasses while using her camera. Which gives her
trouble when zooming for close-ups. The photo came out fuzzy. Pooh! Oh well,
she learned something new while inquiring about the garden. The previous week
the park employees had been tagging migrating Monarchs. We didn’t know such a
thing was possible.
One of
the official Texas State Longhorns.
Note
the yellow flowers at the bottom of the photo.
They
attracted butterflies at both state parks.
Kristal
tried to take photos. The butterflies were just really skittish.
And
her patience was a bit short.
San Angelo SP was Monarch stop number 3. The weekend we
were there, the park was hosting a Monarch themed BYOH (bring your own horse)
trail ride. San Angelo is referred to as the Gateway to West Texas. It bridges
prairie and desert, with the desert becoming more prominent, than it is up by
Wichita Falls. The state park is located just north of the city. We were
actually in the area to see if we might like to live there, and looked at some
real estate in a town 30 miles north. The real estate hunt wasn’t so
successful, but we did take note of large bushes in peoples’ yards. Those
bushes attracted a lot of butterfly activity, of varying species. (Sometimes
called Texas Sage. See the wildflower.org link.) Unfortunately, the cold
weather found us in San Angelo the last two days we were there, when we had
more time to explore and take pics at the SP. There are several Texas Sage
bushes at the south entrance. But the butterflies had skedaddled.
Now, what does any of this info mean to you, the RV
traveler? Monarch migration is a major miracle, in our opinion. Such fragile
beings, and yet the last generation of summer/fall makes the trip to their
special place in Mexico, to ensure the survival of their species into another
year. If you want to witness this event, you have to be in the right places at
the right times. And you need to be observant. Or you may miss them. In our
case, our butterfly encounters at each of these campgrounds was a total fluke.
None of them were planned ahead of time. For those who are interested in
tagging, we definitely recommend visiting the following butterfly websites.
It’s a very interesting study which gets a lot of its help from citizen
scientist volunteers. Earlier summer Monarchs don’t migrate. However, it’s not
a bad idea to practice your butterfly netting skills, identifying genders,
proper handling of the subject, and documentation. (You never know. Data you
collect on summer butterflies might be valuable to another study.) When
migration begins, you will hopefully feel confident in your abilities to return
a healthy specimen to the skies. Once you run out of tags, submit your
documentation, then a few months later you can check to see if any of your
butterflies arrived in Mexico. This is an activity for people of most ages, as
long as they can be patient and very gentle. RVers who are traveling thru a
large geographical area have the potential to provide a lot of interesting data
on one report. It could also be a way to volunteer at state parks.
https://texasbutterflyranch.com/2012/09/04/butterfly-faq-how-to-tag-a-monarch-butterfly-in-six-easy-steps/
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